thought this might be of interest to some of you the picture is of 2 leopard skulls. the smaller one is from a 130# class male taken in zambia. the big one is of a very old guy. measures 17 15/16 taken in the loveld of zim. besides the size difference see you much fuller the skull especially around the eyes this cat was 7'11 and weighed just a bit over 200

Nice comparson pics. The big one is a toad!

Butch great pics!!

Please post more if you have them!

Very interesting.

Quite illustrative - thanks for sharing.

What a monster. Could you please post pics of the cat?

Thanks

ok here's a picture - the ph is jumbo moore

Which area in Zim was that super cat taken? Save?

Great cat. Leopard in the Luangwa tend to be smaller and sleeker. Would be interested to know if you took the Zambian one there?

jumbo had an area in the arda just outside of triangle. that concession was really full of leopards. the zambia cat was indeed in the luangwa - with johnny duploys outfit terry vonruyen was the ph on that trip incidentally both were taken in daylight

here's the smaller one - sleek is indeed the right term

http://carnivoraforum.com/topic/9333892/1/


Link to an interesting study on puma/leopard skulls.

The smaller one is nice as well.

I love those massive males...they look like a different species!

Simply put ,just two fantastic trophies that anyone would be proud to have taken...

Holy balls
Nice cats, Congratulation

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
thought this might be of interest to some of you the picture is of 2 leopard skulls. the smaller one is from a 130# class male taken in zambia. the big one is of a very old guy. measures 17 15/16 taken in the loveld of zim. besides the size difference see you much fuller the skull especially around the eyes this cat was 7'11 and weighed just a bit over 200

Notice the "absence" of the fissure down the middle of the forehead of the larger skull compared to the smaller one? A sign of age. The older they get the less visible that fissure is.

quote:

Notice the "absence" of the fissure down the middle of the forehead of the larger skull compared to the smaller one? A sign of age. The older they get the less visible that fissure is.

Do you have a picture of their teeth??

Great post!

Where are the measurements taken for a leopard skull?

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Where are the measurements taken for a leopard skull?

Back to front of skull & across the zygomatic arches or put plainly, at the longest & widest points.

I'm thinking the smaller male may still have been a bit young or maybe just a wimp for a leopard; that happens in all species. In a zoological book I once looked at many years ago they had the pictures of skulls of most of the north american animals. On the page with the gray wolf skulls, one of them was absolutely tremendous. It was much bigger and so much heavier through out. This must have been a very brawny individual. Pumas are their smallest in central america as is the jaguar the smallest there in all it's range. Pumas in patagonia and chili are every bit as big as pumas in north america.

Thanks Steve.