African Leopard vs North American Cougar

[dinosauria101]

^Yes, that is the African leopard. It's from Namibia, where Cape leopards do not AFAIK live.

[elosha11]

This is a classic contest. The cougar may be slightly larger and may have more robust forelimbs. The leopard is also extremely powerful and likely has the stronger jaws and larger head on average, although the cougar is also known for its skull bite. The leopard is considered to be more aggressive. I'd slightly favor the leopard here, but just barely. 55/100.

[6f5e4d]

I can definitely say the leopard would still win, as its far more built with its jaws and musculature to win against the cougar.

[elosha11]

I agree with respect to the jaws and big male leopards also seem to have a thicker neck and a dewlap, which may provide either a defensive or intimidation advantage But isn't there some evidence to suggest the cougar might have more robust forelimbs? On the other hand, leopards demonstrate terrific upper body strength as well, given how they cache heavy prey in trees.

More info on the dewlap from www.panthera.org/blog/2018/09/04/lions-have-manes-leopards-have-dewlaps

Many biologists believe that a male lion’s mane serves as an indicator of sexual fitness. Studies using life-sized toy lions sporting contrasting mane colors and lengths found that male lions were more likely to approach the imposters with lighter, shorter manes, while female lions were drawn more to models with darker manes. These results suggest that males with shorter, blonder manes are less intimidating to rival males, and thus perceived to have lower overall fitness.

We can apply this theory to hypothesize about the functions of a dewlap on a male leopard. However, fights between elusive male leopards are rarely observed and documented by scientists. This makes it difficult to confirm if the leopard’s dewlap has any defensive functions. Likewise, it’s hard to determine if it serves a similar purpose to that of a large, dark mane in sexual selection, as an indicator of fitness and longevity.

Another speculation about the dewlap is that it simply makes mature leopard males appear larger and more intimidating to rivals. Typically, as a male leopard ages, his dewlap enlarges. Mature males hold wider territories and have more opportunity to mate with females.

[elosha11]

Here's a pretty good indication of cougar fighting ability. Two big male Florida panthers. Interesting how they seemed to target each other's hindquarters as the fight continued.

[6f5e4d]

The leopard might be prepared for something like that, especially if it did face one of those Florida cougars.

[elosha11]

Apr 7, 2020 1:29:18 GMT 5 6f5e4d said:

The leopard might be prepared for something like that, especially if it did face one of those Florida cougars.

Slightly confused. The leopard might be prepared for what? An attack to the hindquarters? Leopards seem to prefer face to face fights, each trying to get a throat bite, from what I've seen.

[6f5e4d]

Oh, well, the cougar attacking the butt is not as expected for the leopard. the leopard would probably just turn around to deal with the cougar if it had the chance.