Chimp & See Talk

LeoMaleDL01 - Leopard and vocalization

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    I found two videos with what I think are lions and a vocalization that might or might not be the lion. In the video here, the lion that is seen is probably not vocalizing. In the other one ACP00064c7 and ACP00064c8. It's not seen. Does anyone know something about it.

    @depuppy3 suggested for ACP00064c8 that it might be alarm call. But I have not idea by whom. It sounds a bit like barking.

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  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    @loisendaan thinks the video here is an African golden cat rather than a lion. I think we have an expert here for the cats somewhere.

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  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    That seems REALLY big for an African golden cat. Other than the markings on the legs, it looks like a lion. Young lion cubs do have spots, so maybe this one is just immature.

    Or, less likely, but possibly a lion/leopard hybrid?

    Or this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marozi ? 😃

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  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    Yes, I also think golden cats are not that big. The cameras here are at a height of 1 m, I think. The hybrid crossed my mind too, but I don't know how likely something like this is. But definitely possible (as almost everything in nature).

    Thanks for the Marozi link - fit somehow in the halloween spirit tonight!

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  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    @ksigler, you have any ideas about the vocalization?

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  • ksigler by ksigler moderator in response to AnLand's comment.

    Just a guess, but I think it's baboons, or maybe chimps. I should add that there are a lot of different species at this site, and I'm not as familiar with the vocalizations of everything we're seeing (and not seeing) here.

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  • Snorticus by Snorticus

    These calls sound very like the alarm calls on this Smithsonian channel 2:43 video of chacma baboons in response to a cheetah in their territory, at the 0:40 mark and beyond, kind of sounds like "wahoo" - that double syllable sound.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD5xqHh8Hxc

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  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    I'm consulting the experts and so far its looking like leopard....more as it comes in 😃

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  • northernlimitptv by northernlimitptv scientist, moderator

    Pretty sure those are baboon alarm calls!

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  • DZM by DZM admin in response to northernlimitptv's comment.

    Plot twist?!

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  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Update from the experts:

    1. from @africanleopard:
      Yes, for sure a big male leopard. Watching the back leg, which starts blurry and then the spots appear a second later makes me wonder whether some of it is just distortion from the video. Around 4 seconds you can almost see a couple of spots on his side. Spotless and albino morphs obviously exist, like this cheetah from Kenya http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/25/spotless-cheetah-pictures-wild. It would be nice to have a full colour video. Hopefully he turns up again.

    2. from Philipp Henschel of Panthera

    email1: That cat looks interesting. But I never heard about a leopard/lion hybrid in the wild, and the body proportions look leopard-like. I will try to send it to a few people to see what other colleagues think.

    email2: most people I sent the video to already got back to me. Other than @africanleopard and I, an additional 3 people also ID-ed it as a leopard.
    As for the appearance of the fur, there were two theories suggested:

    1. the leopard being erythristic (just google "strawberry leopard"). In such animals the spots may almost be invisible in night photos taken with IR flash
    2. the leopard having mange. This seems more plausible, and could also explain the dark patch on the leopard's face/cheek. It can lead to a loss of fur over most of the body, which could explain the lack of spots on the flanks
      Only daytime photos or footage could really resolve this.

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  • yshish by yshish moderator in response to MimiA's comment.

    Very interesting. I'm so curious how it looks like in colours now 😃 What a shame we don't see them as often.

    Thanks for sharing these replies 😃

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  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    We've seen already some leopards here at Dry Lake. While comparing the videos, he is definitely not one of them. All have normal fur pattern and coloration (as fas as you can see this in b/w footage) and a slimmer body build. Let's hope, we find him again.

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  • ksigler by ksigler moderator in response to MimiA's comment.

    Thank you for gathering these opinions, @MimiA ! I find color morphs in wildlife interesting, so the idea of an erythristic leopard is pretty cool. Especially since we've also got Roux at this site! Too bad this wasn't called Red Lake. 😃

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  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator in response to ksigler's comment.

    Ha! or Ginger Lake 😉

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  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    Im going to add this individual as LeoMaleDL01, maybe we can recognize him again in other videos from Dry Lake.

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