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Biggest Leopard Sub-species?
Topic Started: May 17 2012, 08:41 PM (41,456 Views)
pars
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Dear all,

After a long research in my computer I could find my notes on the measurements of the leopard including the valuable info coming from Chui. I am making an asessment by each subspecies:

PERSIAN LEOPARD

As for Persian leopards, there is very limited data but this may change given the recent initiation of research in Iran and some other areas. Accordin to thi srecent survey In a recent study 9 males weigh beetween 44 – 91 kg. Average for male is around 67 kg. In this research both Northern Persian and Southern persian were included. Southern Persians are smaller than their northern brothers since in Southern Iran their prey is less abundant. So we can assume that the average of Northern Persian males is 70 - 75 kg.

One male weighed in southern Iran in 2009 was 56 kg and 115 cm long (without tail) and had a very impressive chest girth. Although not a large leopard it was very stocky with a BMI of 42.3 much higher than African leopards. Furthermore, it was from southern Iran not northern Iran which along with Turkey and the Caucasus is reputed to have particularly large leopards. A male leopard from northern Iran measuring 171cm along the curves (approximately 160cm between pegs) is reported in “Mammals of the Soviet Union”. If this individual was similarly stocky it would have weighed around 240lbs (110 kg).

The persian leopard is very large and weight as much as south african leopards. A persian leopard found and killed by a hunter in Mujunkum (Muyunkum) desert of Kazakhstan, in the first time in the history. The animal was an old male and its hide (post) lenght measured 1.58 m. from nose till the tail. The tail was 1.05 m.

recors of hunters from Turkey and Iran argue the existence of 100 + kg male Persians


AFRICAN LEOPARD

Exceptionally large males weighing over 91 kg have been reported from South Africa’s Kruger National Park, where average adult weights are otherwise 58 kg for males and 37.5 kg for females. Male leopards from the coastal mountains of South Africa’s Cape Province are much smaller, with an average weight of 31 kg . (Norton 1984) suggests that this is because prey species are smaller in these mountains.

In the rainforests of north-eastern Gabon, one adult female weighed 26 kg, and two males weighed 34 and 41 kg .

In the rainforest of the Ivory Coast’s Taï National Park, on the other hand, a male leopard was captured which weighed 56 kg.

A full grown male leopard weight in average 134 lbs (60.6 kg.) in south africa (Kruger national park, sabi sand etc. where the top weights are 200 lbs), except cape and mountain leopards that otherwise weight in average only 70 lbs (30.9 kg.).

In Northern Kwazulu, Natal, a male (10 - 11 years old) captured by scientist was 79 kg., while a 3 – 4 years old male was 60, a 6 – 7 years ol done was 59.

The heaviest wild leopard weighed by researchers was a 96 kg (211 pounds) male captured in Namibia. The source of this record is the book, "The Hunters Or the Hunted?: An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy" (1983) page 91. This book is authored by a scientist and the leopard was captured for study not sport hunting. And Peter Turnbull-Kemp a perfectly reliable source states in his book that at the time of his writing (1967) there were 7 reliable records of 200lb+ leopards that he was aware of.

The thing about leopards is that there is a huge amount of variation in size due not only to varying prey availability but also the presence or absence of lions and tigers. There is actually very limited data for leopard weights/measurements compared to lions, tigers, and even jaguars and almost all comes from areas where leopards were never considered particularly large. According to Pocock a well reputed expert on leopards and other cats the largest leopards in Africa were from Algeria, Upper Congo/Southern Sudan, and the coastal forests of West Africa. This was primarily based on skull measurements and while I don't know of any measurements for the Algerian leopard those from coastal West Africa and Upper Congo are indeed very impressive approaching the Pantanal jaguars in skull length.

The average skull length of 7 mature male leopards from North Eastern Congo (DRC) was 261mm including two at 279mm and 282mm. Even more impressive a sample of 3 male leopard skulls from the coast of Gabon had an average length of 274mm with the largest at 282mm. While the Gabon sample is small and thus may not be reflective of the true average it is impressive nonetheless that such large skulls are present despite a very limited sample. For comparison the average skull length of 17 adult male jaguars from Venezuela was 282.2mm and 12 from the Mato Grasso area of Brazil averaged 282mm. On the other hand, the East African plains leopard or the Southern African leopard which we are used to seeing have an average skull length of about 230mm and only exceptional males reach 260mm.

Most of this data can be found in Pocock’s The Leopards of Africa (1932) and some in J.A. Allen’s “Carnivora Collected by American Museum Congo Expedition”. The data for jaguars is from “Notes on the biology and status of the jaguar in Venezuela” by Mondolfi and Hoogesteijn 1986.

Leopards from the Atlantic equatorial forests of Africa are probably very large based on skull measurements (near jaguar sized skulls). The Loango NP region of Gabon is said to be a pristine area with undisturbed wildlife and is home to a large population of this type of leopard. People suspect male leopards from this region to be around 70kgs on average. Thus leopards in parts of equatorial Africa reach skull lengths of around 280mm with some regularity which is about the same as an average male jaguar of the largest types. It is not at all farfetched to hypothesize that such large skulled leopards will weigh 200lbs or more given that a jaguar with an equal skull length weighs around 220lbs. This is further substantiated by the fact that these forest leopards have particularly stocky, jaguar-like builds based on the few available photographs.

Leopards from parts of equatorial Africa can obtain based on the above data it would be perfectly sound to suggest he weighed around 200lb.
Although large skulls may not necessary reflect a correspondingly large body size, skull size is considered a reliable indicator of size by scientists. The reason why these equatorial forest leopards are so large is probably due to the absence or scarcity of lions in the region combined with the abundance of prey. Keep in mind however that not the entire Congo rainforest has such large leopards but specifically the north eastern part and certain coastal parts where the forest supports more prey. The leopards from the central Congo rainforest have an average skull length intermediate between the large forest leopard types and those from the East and Southern African bush.

Another area of mention which probably supports very large African leopards is the forested Rift Valley region of central Kenya. One source suggests that the “mountain leopard” of this area is typically 25% larger than the plains leopard (the kind regularly featured on tv documentaries). Also most of the very large skulls recorded in Rolwand Ward’s are from the Kenyan highlands. While the reliability of Rowland Ward’s is certainly questionable there’s no reason why measurements from one region would be more exaggerated.

Leopards are reputed to be very large specifically from the highland forests along the Rift Valley region in Kenya (and northern Tanzania to a lesser extent). Those from the bush or plains are said to be much smaller. The Masai Mara is part of the Serengeti ecosystem and is mostly open plains. Here leopards have access to abundant prey but there is also a dense population of lions which restricts their size.
In hunting literature the large type of leopard of East Africa was usually referred to as the "mountain leopard" and was considered a much better trophy than the "plains leopard". Not only is it much bigger it also has a darker more richly colored coat with larger rosettes. Large leopards of this sort are probably still found in the forests of the Aberdare mountains and Mt Kenya. A small but dense population of impressive leopards also exists in the nearby Lake Nakuru NP.

Most of the very large leopard skulls recorded in Rowland Ward come from the mountain forests of Kenya. Listed skulls from the region measure up to 286mm long with a good number of skulls over 260mm in length. In contrast there are just a handful of similarly large skulls listed from south eastern Africa (Kruger NP area). Forests on the Aberdares and Mount Kenya, provide excellent habitat for leopards, with plentiful prey and few lions. Before the hunting ban they enjoyed a high reputation amongst the professional hunters as the leopards there were large (60 – 95 kg/ 132 – 209 lbs.), abundant and handsome, with melanistic individuals not uncommon and provided fine tropies. Treetops Salient in the Aberdares has the densest population of warthog, bushpig and giant forest hog I have ever seen in Kenya despite having also a dense population of unusally large leopards.

Leopards from Northeastern Congo and Southern Sudan have similarly large skulls as the coastal leopard and are probably similar in size or possibly a little smaller.

Leopards from the forests/highlands of central Kenya are often said to be very large.

Leopards in these parts of Africa probably average around 150lbs and possibly 160lbs with 200lbs not being uncommon.



INDIAN LEOPARD

The largest Indian male called Balaji, caught at 108 kg and 139 in the captivity. It is also the largest wild leopard ever recorded.

Average weight. 52 Kg (54.5 kg. in another source). Average head and body length of 4 males: 130,2 cm. In another source the average total length is 7 ft. (215 cm.), female about 1 ft. (30 cm.) less. An exceptionally large male may reach 8 ft. (245 cm.). Weight 150 lb. (68 kg.), female about 110 (50 kg.). these are maximum weights. Ordinary weights are 115 lb. (52 kg) and 85 lb. (39 kg.). there is much variation in size in various parts of India.

Adult weights for male: 50 - 70 kg. and females: 29- 54 kg. (Nowell and Jackson 1996).

In the Indian subcontinent leopards seem to reach impressive size in areas where there are few tigers. In such areas the average weight of males may be around 65-70kg. Dunbar Brander a very reliable naturalist suggested that the average jungle leopard (as opposed to those that hang around villages) is around 150lb (68kg). Some very large skulls have also been reported from India (length plus width) over 19".


SRYLANKAN LEOPARDThe largest record is 77 kg. Average weight of 11 males: 56.3 kg (58 in another source). average head and body lengght: 126, 5 cm. The largest male record: 77 kg.

INDOCHINESE LEOPARD

Average weight of 3 males in Thailand is 56.7 (40 - 70). Average Head and body leght is 127,3 cm. (119 - 132). In another survey, a prime adult male weighing 40 kg. head and body lenght 132 cm. hind foot lenght 24cm. A young adult male was 37 kg., with head and body lenght 112 cm. hind foot lenght 23cm.

NORTH CHINESE LEOPARD

North China Leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) is a subspecies of leopards native to northern China. This leopard is so rare that it is almost never seen in the wild. The North China leopard is a medium sized leopard. The rosette pattern of the North Chinese leopard almost resembles a jaguar pattern. It has longer fur than other leopard subspecies and has the darkest coat of all leopard subspecies. They have darker orange background fur than other leopard subspecies. Average for males is stated as 50 kg, but no source found for this measurment.

JAVAN LEOPARD

Body weight range of male 40-60 kg. Average is 50 kg. No scientific source has been found for this info.

AMUR LEOPARD

Amur male leopards are not larges and weight in average 110 lbs (50 kg.). According to another measurement male amur leopards are between the range of 32 – 48 kg.

Old resources argue the male's weight between 37.2 - 89.8 kg. The average is 63 kg.

ARABIAN LEOPARDArabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) is a smallest subspecies of leopard than that of its cousins in Asia and Africa. Very light in colour, the deep golden yellow between the black rosettes is only present on the animal's back, whilst the rest of the body is beige to greyish-white. At about 30 kg (65 pounds) for the male and around 20 kg (45 pounds) for the female, the Arabian leopard is much smaller than most of the African and Asian races.


To sum up, the largest races of leopard are those from Turkey/Caucasus/Northern Iran/Turkmenistan area, Barbary or Maghreb countries (Morocco/ Algeria) West African Coastal forests, Northeastern Congo/Southern Sudan, Kenyan highlands, South Africa/Namibia and some parts of India where tigers were few.



Edited by pars, May 26 2012, 07:03 PM.
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ManEater
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Thank you very much for these informations .
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Homotherium
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So, in present day the largest one is Indian Leopard?
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Kurtz
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Homotherium
Jun 23 2012, 01:53 AM
So, in present day the largest one is Indian Leopard?
I don't think so
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Homotherium
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Kurtz, Pars has wrote above that the largest indian leopard was 108 kg. There are no reported other leopard subspecies with such body mass.
Edited by Homotherium, Jun 23 2012, 03:54 AM.
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chui
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pars
May 26 2012, 07:00 PM
Exceptionally large males weighing over 91 kg have been reported from South Africa’s Kruger National Park, where average adult weights are otherwise 58 kg for males and 37.5 kg for females.
This is a baseless statement that’s been circulating the web for some time and is probably the reason why so many people seem to believe Kruger leopards are particularly large. It appears to have originated from the catfolk website (here: http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/cat-website/catfolk/ssaprd02.htm) which erroneously cites Turnbull-Kemp’s 1967 book as the source. However, I’ve read Turnbull-Kemp’s book and though he does state that there are records of 91kg+ leopards he considers reliable, nowhere does he say that any of these leopards were from Kruger or that leopards from Kruger are particularly large. He only mentions one particularly big leopard he heard about from the Kruger area which supposedly weighed 187lbs (85kg) but says its stated length was inconsistent with the skin making the weight a bit questionable.

Peter Turnbull-Kemp is a great reliable source on leopards and he provides some great info on the size of leopards in his book, “The Leopard” 1967. The info on the size of leopards he himself measured is particularly valuable given his reliability. It’s unfortunate he didn’t provide more detailed measurements of individual leopards he handled and measured.

Some excerpts from his book.

The male leopard from the Sabi Sands which supposedly weighed 187lbs.

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This is what he had to say on 200lb leopards and the heaviest he himself had weighed at 170lbs (77kg) empty stomach. However, this was not the largest leopard he had seen.

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There were at least two bigger leopards he had seen firsthand but unfortunately did not weigh them. As he states in this excerpt and elsewhere in his book by biggest he meant the most massive overall and not just the longest.

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Note that the most massive leopard Turnbull-Kemp ever saw was from Cameroon (central Africa) despite years of experience in Southern Africa. He mentions several time in his book that equatorial forest leopards are particularly large and impressive.

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The fact that an experienced game warden like Turnbull-Kemp, who had handled and measured many hunted leopards throughout Africa and especially Zimbabwe and South Africa, felt that those from the central African forest are particularly large is worth noting. This combined with data on skull measurements, camera trap photos, studies on prey selection lead me to me to believe that these forest leopards are very impressive and probably the largest variety of leopard along with those from Iran.
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Kurtz
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Jun 23 2012, 03:53 AM
Kurtz, Pars has wrote above that the largest indian leopard was 108 kg. There are no reported other leopard subspecies with such body mass.
I am skeptical that there are leopards of 108 kilograms in India or anywhere else in the world
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Homotherium
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And what about the photo of 137 kg leopard? Yes, it is fat. But without this it is bag anyway. No less 100 kg.
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Kurtz
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Yes, but i in last 10 yrs asked too many, very too many experts and field researchers about weights on leopard and .... no way for that kind of weight
Edited by Kurtz, Jun 23 2012, 04:54 AM.
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Homotherium
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So, who is the largest?
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Kurtz
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Accoding with guy Balme the largest come from North Iran 90 kg.
Acording with Tristan Dickerson skull measuraments are very importat and so i guess with chui abot centra forest africa.
Kruger are big like Kzn or Zimbobwe, or some part of India or si lanka but i think not over 80-85 kilos abolute Max.
As for a freak largest from Valencia Namibia where aren't other predators, a freak of 96 kilos a guiness in my opinion.
But only my opinion!
Edited by Kurtz, Jun 23 2012, 05:08 AM.
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ManEater
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Great infos chui , could you show us again the old info that you had on african equatorial's leopard ?
Thank you .

Kurtz : You know , it is just an exceptional specimen , not the rule .
Edited by ManEater, Jun 23 2012, 05:17 AM.
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chui
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Hi ManEater, I may post some info on skull size of leopards including those from equatorial Africa later on.

Regarding the supposed 108kg Indian leopard I would agree with Kurtz that its hard to believe, I think we would need some proper confirmation of such an extreme weight which may not be possible now since the animal is in captivity. But it may be useful to save this animal's skull and skeleton after death which may provide a good idea of its size and build when healthy.

Also, though it may be fun to look at weights of exceptionally large individual leopards I don't think we can fairly deduce based on this where the largest leopards are from. Max size recorded for an animal will be dependent on the sample size, the chances of finding particularly large individuals in a population will obviously increase with the number of individuals measured. Since we have next to nothing on weights for leopards in many parts of their range it doesn't make much sense to compare maximum recorded weight from different regions. This is also why I don't think it's fair to compare record weights for cougars the highest of which (120kg, 136kg) are hard to believe quite frankly with maximum recorded weights of leopards since far more data has been published on the weight of cougars than that for leopards. For this reason I think its better to compare average weights rather than maximum weights and I think you can roughly speculate the potential maximum weight from the average. Generally speaking the very biggest males in a population are probably around 30% heavier than the mean weight of adult males in that population. So in a population with an average of 60kg you could expect the maximum to be around 78kg. Of course there will always be freakish rare exceptions but I'm more interested in weights which are attained with some regularity.

And given the lack of proper data on weights for much of the leopard's range, the next best thing is skull measurements which represent leopards from different regions much more adequately. Skull measurements are also more reliable since they obviously do not vary with the condition of the animal or how heavily it had fed before being weighed. Skulls can also be measured several times for verification while the weight of a dead or immobilized animal can only be taken once.

However, just for interest's sake here's a picture of a huge leopard from the forests of Mount Kenya which apparently weighed 93kg. This seems to be a widely accepted weight as I've found it mentioned by a few different reliable sources and I also think the photograph clearly shows a huge leopard. Trophy hunter's photographs are often deceptive but in this case the man's hand provides some perspective. Also, the skull of this leopard is listed as a very impressive 18.4" (10.9 x 7.5) in Rowland Wards.

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As the excerpt I posted in my last post shows, Peter Turnbull-Kemp accepted 7 records of leopards which supposedly weighed over 200lbs, though only one was confirmed to have an empty stomach. Unfortunately he does not provide specifics of any of these leopards and since he himself did not weigh or see any of these leopards first hand I'm a little hesitant to accept them outright. However, since his book was published in 1967 at least 3 additional fairly reliable records of 90kg+ leopards have been reported including the Mt. Kenya leopard above which was shot in 1969, a 91kg leopard from northern Iran which seems to be widely accepted, and the 96kg leopard from Namibia.
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Homotherium
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Where exactly live North Chinese Leopard?
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ManEater
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Indian leopard:

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