There are common behaviours with cat species that are predictable and easily understood. When leopards mark their territory they may claw trees, scent mark low lying shrubbery and let out a rasping bark to warn off intruders. Because they’re such solitary cats – the loners of the world – they avoid coming into contact with competitors. Avoidance is favoured over conflict. While we can generally list common behaviours in the Panthera pardus kingdom, there are the unusual behaviours that leave us in awe. We establish a thread and try to ascertain why they engaged in x and x; and sometimes walk away baffled. We do love it when an animal goes against the textbook – which is exactly what Mxabene the male leopard did a few a days ago. Ranger Nadia Bester, together with her loaded vehicle of guests, came across staunch and powerful Mxabene devouring a pile of dung!
Eating dung is not that uncommon among animals, but it is unusual to witness. So just why did Max dine out on a steaming pile of dung when he has a smorgasbord of protein delights on his doorstep? The reasons are many. Firstly, dung may have plenty of undigested food and thus wasted nutrients. It’s an easy take-out meal that requires little energy to source and eat.
Leopards are opportunistic predators and aren’t fussy in their choice of meal – dung beetles, birds and medium sized antelopes are all possible food sources for leopards. Never one to skip an opportunity to eat, leopards will quite easily digest anything edible in their path. Dung is the new KFC of the bushveld! Witnessing Max engage in coprophagia (dung eating) was rather amusing and he appeared to rest on it, frolic and eat it. It is rumoured that buffalo dung appears to be the favourite dung cuisine among big cats.
The undigested matter in scat is not the only reason why animals eat dung. You will notice that cats will roll in the dung and digest it. It is speculated that the dung masks their smell during a hunt and eating it aids digestion. However, are leopards masking their smell or rather releasing their own scent to mark territory?
Whether it was a snack, a scent masking or scent releasing act; the act itself was another rare sightings for our guests. Clearly Mxabene worked up quite the thirst during his in between real meals snack. After spending time with his pile scat, he slowly meandered down to the waterhole where we all managed to ogle over this powerhouse of a cat gently lap up the pristine waters.
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