Recently, the Hunchun area of the Siberian Tiger and Leopard National Park found the remains of a Siberian leopard suspected of being eaten. A joint investigation team composed of the Siberian Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration, the Hunchun Municipal Police and the Siberian Tiger and Leopard Monitoring and Research Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration confirmed that this was a rare incident of Siberian tigers "hunting" Siberian leopards.
It is reported that the scene where the remains of the Amur leopard was found in a mess, and the dead Amur leopard was lying in the snow, and multiple traces of gnawing were found on its head, abdomen and buttocks.
"After arriving at the scene, we followed the trail and found the footprints of another feline along the way, and there were obvious traces of a fight about 160 meters to the south, which should be the first scene of the 'crime'. At the time, the police confirmed that the leopard had been hunted and eaten only a few hours earlier, and that the carcass had not stiffened at that time. Yu Hongxun, deputy director of the Hunchun Branch of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, introduced.
Traces left by the Amur leopard being dragged
According to the investigation results, through the measurement of footprints at the scene, fighting marks and predation Xi, the Siberian leopard was killed and eaten by an adult male Siberian tiger. Through pattern comparison, it was determined that this Siberian leopard belonged to the leopard group in the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, and the number was No. 73. "This is an eight-year-old male leopard in the prime of life, who has spread to the area as an adult and established its own territory, belonging to the first 'aboriginal people' in the region, and is the third generation of the Amur leopard population to return to China, and has bred multiple pups. Feng Limin, deputy director of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard Monitoring and Research Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, said.
"This Amur leopard has been recorded more than 800 times by our sky-to-ground monitoring system, and the most recent monitoring was recorded in September this year. As of this year, the mainland has been continuously monitoring tigers and leopards throughout the park for more than 18 years. Feng Limin said that the investigation team is also doing on-site hair DNA screening and tiger paw print analysis to further confirm the identity of the tiger involved.
Suspected Siberian tiger footprints
Studies have shown that the weight difference between the Siberian tiger and the Amur leopard is huge, and the objective difference in size makes the Amur leopard unable to compete with the Siberian tiger under normal circumstances. "This Siberian tiger hunting of the Siberian leopard is the first tiger hunting cheetah in China, and although it is a rare natural phenomenon, it has happened many times around the world, including in India. This is also a very good opportunity for our research on the conservation of tigers and leopards in the Siberian region and the conservation and management of the national park in the future. Chen Yang, deputy director of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration, said.
Do Siberian tigers eat Siberian leopards?
Adult male Siberian tigers tend to weigh more than 200 kilograms, while male Amur leopards weigh only 50-80 kilograms, a huge difference in weight and strength, so Siberian leopards are actually potential prey for Siberian tigers. However, in the course of long-term natural evolution, the Amur leopard has learned the skills to survive in the territory of the Siberian tiger, so as to coexist with the Siberian tiger.
How did the Amur leopard avoid encountering the Siberian tiger?
The food of the two is not different, the Siberian tiger mainly preys on large and medium-sized prey, while the Amur leopard mainly preys on small and medium-sized prey; there is a dislocation in the activity time of the two, although the peak period of activity is basically concentrated in the morning and dusk period, which coincides with the peak period of prey activity, but the peak activity period of tigers and leopards is dislocated in the morning and dusk period; the activity areas of the two do not intersect, the Siberian tiger mainly moves at low altitudes, and the Amur leopard mainly moves at high altitudes. As a result, the Amur leopard was misaligned with the Siberian tiger through its feeding niche and spatiotemporal niche, minimizing the chance of encountering the Siberian tiger while coexisting in the same habitat.
Why do tigers kill leopards?
Although the Amur leopard tries to avoid encountering the Siberian tiger, it is difficult to avoid it completely, and if the two encounter, the leopard cannot escape in time and will be killed by the tiger. The on-site investigation also found that the area where the incident occurred was an open area, which made it difficult for the leopard to escape when it encountered it up close.
With the construction of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, the ecosystem has been restored rapidly, and the herbivore population has grown rapidly and spread, thus laying the foundation for the recovery of the tiger and leopard population. The entire life history of the No. 73 Amur leopard condenses the changes in the forest of the national park where it lives. When it first settled and established its territory, there were no other Amur leopards and Siberian tigers in the area.
With the establishment of national parks, Siberian tigers, both male and female, began to settle in the area and began to breed as the ecosystem was further restored. As the tiger and leopard population grows, so does the probability of tigers and leopards encountering each other. Although No. 73 was strong enough and knew his territory well, encountering another powerful predator, the Siberian tiger, who was also familiar with the terrain, led to this rare natural phenomenon of tigers hunting leopards. Although this kind of territorial overlap between tigers and leopards cannot avoid friction, it will not affect the population size, and after a period of adjustment, the ecosystem will tend to balance with the further spread of tiger and leopard habitat.