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Mandal, D.; Chatterjee, D.; Qureshi, Q.; Sankar, K.
Behavioural observations on interaction of leopard and striped hyena, western India
2018 Cat News (67): 20-21
Interspecific interactions are crucial for community composition since they govern species distribution, abundance and broadly species coexistence. Interspecific interactions among carnivores have been well studied in India. However, these were limited to a few species only and direct observations are rare. Studies on interspecific interaction between two sympatric carnivores such as leopard and striped hyena with a wide distribution range throughout peninsular India are rare. We report two instances of interactions between leopard_ Panthera pardus_ and striped hyena _Hyaena hyaena_. In one instance, a leopard and a striped hyena were photographed feeding together on an adult nilgai _Boselaphus tragocamelus_ kill of a tigress _Panthera tigris_. We have also recorded a breeding female leopard that killed a striped hyena (sub-adult female) at a den site. We report here photographic evidence on these interactions between leopard and striped hyena for the first time.
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