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Leopards killing Warthog & other prey; from the old site!
Topic Started: Jan 13 2012, 09:26 PM (17,080 Views)
Taipan
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Originally posted by Kifaru on AvA

SIGHTINGS OF THE MONTH

August 2006
Newington Male leopard 24 August

After being found sheltering away from the unseasonable rainy weather at the Emsagwen watering hole, the large Newington Male was found nearby early in the afternoon game drive. The cooler weather prompted him to become active earlier than usual and he quickly made is way into an area with a high termite mound concentration where he proceeded to investigate all mounds in the area. The fact that warthogs require large termite mounds in which to build their dens, and that they head towards these dens in the late afternoon to settle down in at night, indicated that the Newington Male had warthog hunting in mind. He soon came across an active warthog den and sure enough an extremely large male warthog was making his way towards it. The leopard slowly stalked forward with the warthog grazing towards its hole - and towards the leopard.

After about 20 minutes when the 2 large creatures were just meters apart, the leopard ran in and caught hold of the warthog. A short tussle ensued before the warthog was grounded, as the warthogs neck was so massive the Newington male would not have been able to strangle the animal conventionally, he thus began to bite open the warthogs chest, resulting in a bloody and graphic seen. After about 20 minutes of the warthog gasping for air and occasionally kicking about, it eventually gave in and died.

The battle between a male leopard and large warthog is as viscous as they come in nature; one can compare such an event to a pride of lion killing a large bull buffalo. This episode definitely ranks as one of the top game viewing events of the year.



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Impressive!

Link - http://www.malamala.tv/month.htm

an unrelated picture of a leopard with a treed warthog

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Taipan
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"Mafufanyane's most memorable kill was with a baboon. We followed him on the edge of the Simba Riverbed. He was salivating and scent marking extensively, indicating that the Roberson Male was probably close by. It was full moon and it was beautiful watching him criss cross the dry riverbed. The next minute, all hell broke loose and baboon scattered up trees alarm calling. In the thick riverine forest in front of us you could hear Mafufanyane and Baboon clash. When everything settled, we switched on our spotlights and slowly moved forward and found Mafufanyane on the bank, watching the baboon troop intently. One of our rangers followed the troop and discovered a baboon female with a small baby, being helped and surrounded by the troop males. The female had canine wounds into her skull and she was busy dying. Her motherly instinct kept her alive and it was difficult for us to watch her struggle upright with her baby clutched to her chest. In the meantime Mafufenyane fell asleep in the riverbed 20 meters behind us knowing that he fatally injured her and that it was just a matter of time. It is amazing how one’s brain, even as a conservationist, starts imagining a small baboon running around in the lodge, at Simbambili. Fortunately we do not interfere with nature, as another female baboon was calling close to the mother and baby. The little one scuttled over the river sand and up a tree to the safety of this female, probably realizing that its mother was dying. This adoption in these sever circumstances illustrated the strong bonds in a baboon troop. Mafufanyane reacted immediately, to shrieks of horror from the rest of the troop. Seeing that the baby was out of reach, he turned purposely to the injured baboon. A huge male baboon responded and leopard and baboon met each other 1 ½ meters in the air for a brief, but violent clash. Mafufenyane nonchalantly claimed his prize, dragging the female baboon for 40 meters and broke her neck, in full view of the troop. This experience left us speechless and humble, having witnessed the fierceness of nature, in the fight for survival."

http://www.tagasafaris.co.za/african-leopards-mafufenyane.htm
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Taipan
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"There have been reports on predation on chimpanzees by large carnivores. In Mahale, at least 4 chimpanzees were eaten by lions in 1989, when lions visited and stayed in the home range of a study group (1). In a rain forest habitat, where lions are not common predators, only leopards are potential predators on chimpanzees. Although there have been reports that chimpanzees attacked or chased leopards away, and even killed the cub of a female leopard, Boesch reported several cases in which chimpanzees were attacked or killed by leopards (2, 3, 4). He supposed that predation by leopards was the first cause of mortality of chimpanzees in Tai Forest, and pointed out that the density of leopards might be a factor influencing local differences in the party size of chimpanzees.
This paper reports on possible predation on an adult male chimpanzee by a leopard in the Petit Loango Reserve. The Petit Loango Reserve, 2o17'S 9o35 E, is located on the western seashore of Gabon. A tropical rain forest ranges from 30 m from the sea line to the interior, with patchy savanna vegetation in it (5). Seven species of primates live there, including gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla) and chimpanzees (Pan t. troglodytes), and the area also supports large mammals such as elephants, African buffaloes, leopards and antelopes (6, 7).
On August 7, 1995, I found the carcass of a chimpanzee in a forest about 300 m from the sea line. A part of the body that included the shoulders was on the ground with hairs scattered around it. The left hand was found 3 m north of the shoulder, and the lower half of the body was found 10 m north of the left hand. The right hand was found 17 m east of the shoulder, and the head was found 15 m south of the right hand, with its eyes wide opened (Fig. 1). The abdominal region and internal organs were not found, probably because they had been eaten. The head of the chimpanzee was infested with maggots, but the blood remaining on fallen leaves was not dry, indicating that the predation had occurred 1 or 2 days before.
The cranial bone was collected and examined (Fig. 2). There was no injury remaining on the skull. The canines were large. Third molars were all erupted completely, but with slight wear. Thus this chimpanzee was considered to be a late adolescent male of 12 or 13 years old (Mouri, personal communication).
Leopard dung was found at the side of the chimpanzee shoulders, and there were new footprints of an adult leopard in a savanna grassland about 20 m from the carcass. These remains suggest that an adult leopard ate a late adolescent male chimpanzee, which was probably killed by the leopard because leopards do not usually eat dead animals. Although I do not know whether this chimpanzee was in good health, this observation suggests the possibility that predation by leopards is a threat for chimpanzees in this area."

http://mahale.web.infoseek.co.jp/PAN/7_2/7(2)-05.html

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Taipan
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maze
 
Mother cheetah defends her cubs against leopard attack
captured this remarkable interaction between a male leopard and a mother cheetah protecting her two cubs.

In the first picture above the leopard and cheetah stare at each other. The next two pictures shows the cheetah mother being chased by the leopard (the cheetah cubs are in the background), but then in the fourth photograph she turns and snarls at the leopard, he then decides it is not worth his while and gives up on the chase (cheetahs are the fastest land animals after all!). Photographs five and six show her being re-united with first the one and then the second cub.

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Leopard kills Honey Badger
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winterherz
 
I rarely keep animal kill pictures when I see them, but I did save this one because it speaks of events less often seen in the wild. A story wasn't told, but my own theory is that the lion had their fill and the leopard, as an opportunist, readily scavenged from their kill.
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Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Leopard Kill Zebra

This morning I noticed vultures roosting on a tree & later noticed them flying down to the ground close to the track - a kill!?
Sure enough, on driving past, there was the carcasse of an adult zebra,lying almost unscathed, being observed by a mzungu who said that he had seen a leopard on the kill yesterday. This is a very large prey animal for a leopard to successfully bring down -probably 3 or 4 times it's weight, so I was suitably impressed.

Then I drove on through the milling herds of fat, striped wild horses -what a beautiful & what a SUCCESSFUL species this is, not least in the context of NNP, where it still occurs in good numbers, both in the park proper & also in what remains of the dispersal area, where zebra seem to have no problem with the many fences, which have bedevilled and destroyed the other common ungulate species - wildebeeste, a true creature of the unparcelled-out plains....

http://lifennp.blogspot.com/2005/09/leopard-kill.html
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Leopard killing Giraffe Calf

Date: Sunday, November 17, 2002


Just recently we showed photos of two leopards up in a tree feeding on a giraffe carcass that they dragged up there. Getting such a big carcass up in a tree is no easy feat even for a powerful leopard. What the viewer missed was proof of the actual kill, because giraffe is not usually this cat’s prey.
My curiosity has at last been satisfied by Trevor Stonebank of Florida who sent us a video of just that.

The giraffe calf has a broken leg and is being stalked by a leopard. Its parents are watching about 100 meters away from the edge of the clearing. It is doubtful that the calf sustained this injury in a first attack by the leopard as it would have grabbed it the minute its prey hit the ground and before it could get up again. All predators are quick to spot a weak or injured animal - and the leopard sees an opening here for an easy kill.

Whenever it gets too close - the giraffe lashes out with one of its healthy legs. If it strikes the leopard it can suffer a serious injury. But it is much too agile for that. The leopard is playing a cat and mouse game - it even rolls about on its back waiting to seize the right opportunity.

It tries to force an opening. Again the unfortunate giraffe reacts with a powerful kick. The leopard rolls onto its back almost right in front of the giraffe. Suddenly with a mighty leap it goes in for the kill, but fails and almost get a kick in the guts for its trouble.

As the giraffe turns its back on it, the leopard immediately leaps up again. This time it manages to topple the much larger but unsteady giraffe to the ground. The giraffe struggles feebly while it uses up the oxygen left in its body. Almost sadly the young giraffe's parents are watching this happen.

Well that’s only part one of this story. Even more drama unfolds!

While the leopard is suffocating its prey it looks around uneasily. It soon becomes clear why! A hyena appears at the edge of the clearing. It sniffs the air and then moves closer. At this stage the giraffe appears to be already dead, but the leopard stays down at the head side watching what the hyena would do next.

The adult giraffes also watch the drama.

The hyena walks around a bit, making sure the leopard is alone, then rushes in boldly. Hyenas often rob leopards of their prey. The cat puts up a show of force - snarls and lashes out at the hyena, which faces up to the challenge and drives the leopard back. The leopard crouches down next to the head of the carcass longingly licking it a few times while the hyena start ripping into the soft and tasty belly side. Not wanting to give up the leopard hangs around a few moments longer but then trots off to safety.

What you have seen here is precisely why leopards have to haul their prey up in a tree. With their keen smell and hearing it is almost impossible to hide a kill from hyenas. They are onto it in a flash.

The size and weight of the giraffe makes that an impossible task to haul it up a tree. It probably weighs in excess of 100 kilograms, which is about the maximum weight a leopard can carry up a tree.

Although the leopard is quite capable of squaring up to a hyena and even fighting it off it is not worth the risk getting injured. It depends on its agility and strength to make kills. Even a slight injury might compromise its speed and jeopardize it chances of making another successful kill. So it is better off letting it go and to live for another day. With a bit of luck it might get an opening to dash in and haul what is left up in a tree as was more than likely the case in photos we received.

http://www.5050.co.za/inserts.asp?ID=4599

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Gato Gordo
 

Leopards can take much more impressive prey in forest environement where there are no competitors like hyenas or lions. This is documented in an article by Fay et al of leopard predation on gorillas (that I posted today). The extract concerning leopard predation on ungulates is:

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This extraxt discusses how leopards in the forest may prey on much larger animals than in the savana: larger antelopes and even young bovines. Thus, a 200 kg gorilla is not outside the range of weight for a leopard to attempt preying. Possibly a gorilla is a much risky take than a young buffalo, thus explaining that no gorilla was found killed by a leopard, while kills of large antelopes and a young buffalo were reported. However, the authors favor the possibility that gorillas may be occasionaly taken.

I also posted a review of an article on leopard predation on chimps. It is the one of Cote de Ivoire that your source mentions. The article describes how chimps mount a group defense against the cat.

While baboons make only a small part of the leopard's diet, the leopard is the baboons main predator (by far outdoing other predators like lions, crocs, hyenas, etc). The same can be said regarding chimps and gorillas.

While some leopards have been killed by baboons, there is no record of leopards killed by chimps or gorillas. Some would explain this by argueing that baboons are more "fierce" or more "combat oriented". I would say that this is probably due to the leopard-baboon interaction being much more frequent and taking place in an open savana, not in a forested area. Perhaps loepards get occasionally taken by baboons and not by chimps/gorillas because baboons are faster and more agile than the apes, or because the leopard is more carefull (and prone to flee) when facing larger body chimps/gorillas than smaller baboons. A lot of explanations can be put forward. It's avery interesting topic.

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maze
 
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The full set of photos & story can be found here - Tortillis the Leopardess

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fredh
 
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WTF is that giant bull head next to the leopard?!
I mean, is that real? I admit I didn't get it...
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Leopard Catches Jackal
Date: Monday, July 30, 2007

Producer: Ronnie Watt
E-mail: veldfocus@iafrica.com

It was just recent that we showed a photo series by Pieter Oosthuizen of a leopard in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, stalking, attacking and killing a jackal. The prey was then carried up a tree.
That leopard, like this one on the video by Evan Douglas of Rondebosch, was resting and at ease in a shady spot. Evan’s video was taken at the Nxai Pan in Botswana. The leopard groomed itself, then paused and looked when an impala, not in view, snorted behind him.

Three jackals were also in the vicinity and they did not pay attention to the impala giving alarm.

The leopard saw the approaching jackal, crouched down…

And it launched itself at full speed, gave chase, and caught the jackal!

What Evan thought would make for idyllic pictures of a resting leopard, turned out to be a dramatic, quick action chase and kill. Watch again!

The other two jackals came closer and were howling and barking and this prompted the leopard to carry its prey off towards cover. As it walked by, it paused briefly several times as though to display the catch to Evan. Death must have been instantaneous, the jackal is lifeless.

The quintessential ambush and stalking predator, is how the leopard can be described. There’s barely time for prey to react before it is pounced upon. As a predator it is stealthy, bold and versatile which gives it a high survival rate where many other of the cats would fail. And if jackal can offer sustenance, then why not exploit the opportunity?!
http://www.5050.co.za/inserts.asp?ID=7856

Why isnt 'VeldFocus" The TV program not shown in other countries! >:( >:(

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Leopard Catches Kudu
Date: Sunday, September 11, 2005

Producer: Ronnie Watt
E-mail: veldfocus@iafrica.com

A young female leopard taking an adult kudu cow. The leopard was crouching in long grass and when the grazing kudu was about to step on her, the leopard launched herself at the throat of the kudu and refused to let go even though the kudu jumped and kicked and rolled about in a desperate effort to free herself.
It took 30 minutes of hanging on and throttling, says Rowan Stretton of Sterkstroom, before the leopard could complete the kill. He took these photos while serving as game ranger at Mala Mala and knew the leopard well. At that stage she had 2 small cubs and was clearly desperate to secure a meal.

Rowan says this was the most incredible display of gut strength and determination he had ever seen in the wild. I agree that the sighting is a noteworthy one because it is unusual for a leopard which is female and young, to take such large prey. Prey of up to 70 kilogram is usually hunted, this is the weight the leopard can carry up a tree to feed there. An adult kudu cow weighs 170 kilogram, that’s far in excess of typical prey. Rowan writes that the leopard and her cubs did feed on the carcass on the ground but they were chased into a nearby tree by scavenging hyenas. Every now and then when the well-fed hyenas take a rest, the leopards would sneak down and quickly feed.


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http://www.5050.co.za/inserts.asp?ID=6590

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