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In contrast to cheetahs, the leopard is the least specialized of the big cats (Estes 1997). It
is strong and compact built with short and massive limbs, a wide head with short, powerful
jaws and long canines. The base colour is tan, but highly variable depending on the
habitat. The black spots are grouped in rosettes on the torso and upper limbs. The long tail
is spotted or rosetted. Males are significantly bigger and heavier than females. Leopards
are nocturnal and solitary. Mother and offspring stay together for about 20 months, but
adults associate for mating purposes only. Both sexes are territorial and defensive against
conspecifics of the same sex. Leopards are stalkers and pouncers; they do not chase their
prey over long distances. Leopards kill their prey by biting through the throat and nape of
the neck. They tend to prey on animals below 70 kg, which are predominantly mediumsized
antelopes, as well as the young of larger species, but also hares, hyrax, birds and
even insects. We hypothesise that the common practise of hiding and eating kills in trees
is not observed where lions and hyaenas are not present, e.g. Namibian farmland.
Like the leopard, the brown hyaena is listed in Appendix II in CITES. Its occurrence is
limited to the South West Arid Zone, mainly Namibia and Botswana, but also South Africa
(Estes 1997). The brown hyaena is of typical hyaena build, being higher at the shoulder
than at the rump. Head, neck and shoulders are large. The brown hyaena has long,
pointed ears, and the muzzle is broad with robust teeth for cracking bones. The shaggy
coat is dark brown with partly straw-coloured hair; the legs are dark yellow-brown with
black stripes. As in the cheetah, there is no significant difference between the sexes.
Brown hyaenas are nocturnal and live in groups of up to 15 animals. These clans occupy
fixed territories and their social structure is highly developed. The cubs are reared
communally in a centrally located den. Brown hyaenas are opportunistic foragers that
predominantly scavenge. They eat almost everything even insects, as well as various fruit
and vegetables. Brown hyaenas show no more respect for leopards than for cheetahs.
They are large and aggressive enough to chase a male leopard from its kill. It often
happens that brown hyaenas cache some parts of a kill in a thicket or take scavenged
items back to the den.
2.4. Demography of Large Carnivores
2.4.1. Introduction
To understand the ecological factors that determine demographic trends in carnivores, it is
important to study free-ranging populations under natural selection pressure. Vital rates of
large carnivores have been reported in East Africa (Caro 1994, Laurenson 1995), but
cheetahs, leopards and brown hyaenas in Namibia are subject to different conditions. Due
to constant conflict with farmers, large carnivores in Namibia suffer high levels of removal
(Marker et al. 2003a). Determination of vital rates and demographic parameters such as
sex ratios, age and social structure, litter sizes and survivorship is needed to establish
whether the level of removal threatens the long-term viability of the populations.
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