re: Toddler, 3, is snatched and eaten by leopard at safari park in Uganda

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So...when these big cats in zoos, or even LSU's own Mike the Tiger, "play" with kids outside their exhibit by following them around, watching them intently, or jumping at them when they sit at the glass, it's just a learned behavior to hunt small animals and not innate predatory behavior?

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There is a difference between (A) generally attempting to eat a small animal that happens to be there and (B) successfully, and very easily, killing and eating a particular type of small animal in a particular environment.

If LSU actually let Mike eat the little kids he "attacked", he'd probably try to eat every one that he saw. Instead, when he tries he is blocked by glass, so he doesn't try that often. The attempts to eat little animals reflect innate predatory behavior, but not trying to eat every small animal is learned behavior (as in, learning how tiger-proof glass works).

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So...what's your point and how does it refute the point I made?

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It didn’t need prior experience with human prey to do it in the first place though.

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You’re right. But you also have to admit that the experence taught this particular leopard that toddlers are an easy prey. Predators learn from trial and error do they not?

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Should we kill all leopards?

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When did I ever say anything that would suggest that? My only point was that this leopard learned that small humans are easy prey. And being that predators learn from trial and error, this leopard, if the opportunity arises again, will do it again. It’s not that the leopard is evil or even mean. It’s just a wild animal being a wild animal.

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So...what's your point and how does it refute the point I made?

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You asked if Mike jumping at little kids was learned behavior or innate predatory behavior.

I assume the point you were making is that big cats that have never eaten humans before will still try to eat a little human.

My point is that the level of success a big cat has in eating little humans will effect its future behavior. A cat that pounces at a child and hits a glass wall will eventually stop jumping into the glass every time a child is in that area, because its efforts to obtain a meal were unsuccessful. It's not unreasonable to think that the cat has "learned" (in whatever sense you want to use the word) that jumping into a glass wall in exchange for nothing is not an effective use of its energy.

A cat that is easily able to eat a child with no adverse consequences has learned the opposite lesson (it was a very effective use of its energy) and should be expected to adjust its behavior accordingly.

A big cat that "knows" that it is super easy to eat humans is more dangerous than a big cat that does not know this.


Edit: I think some of the confusion here is that people are arguing different points.

This particular leopard is not dangerous because it has shown itself capable of killing a child. Any leopard is capable of killing a child.

This particular leopard is dangerous because it killed a human with little effort and no adverse consequences and is now walking around with the knowledge that it can kill a human with little effort and no adverse consequences. If that knowledge could be removed from its memory, it would go back to being no more dangerous than any other leopard - but it can't, and that's why it needs to be killed.

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"The hunt is on with the intention of capturing the leopard and removing it from the wild because once it has eaten human flesh, the temptations are high to eat another human being, it becomes dangerous."



this is such BS

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Agreed

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I assume the point you were making is that big cats that have never eaten humans before will still try to eat a little human.

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Yes.

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My point is that the level of success a big cat has in eating little humans will effect its future behavior. A cat that pounces at a child and hits a glass wall will eventually stop jumping into the glass every time a child is in that area, because its efforts to obtain a meal were unsuccessful. It's not unreasonable to think that the cat has "learned" (in whatever sense you want to use the word) that jumping into a glass wall in exchange for nothing is not an effective use of its energy.

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It may learn not to make an attempt if the glass or fence is there, but remove that and the behavior is still ingrained. Otherwise, all predators would give up and die, as they are successful less than half the time when hunting. (Depending on the species in question. African wild dogs are successful something like 80% of the time.)

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A cat that is easily able to eat a child with no adverse consequences has learned the opposite lesson (it was a very effective use of its energy) and should be expected to adjust its behavior accordingly.

A big cat that "knows" that it is super easy to eat humans is more dangerous than a big cat that does not know this.

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Maybe, maybe not. There are lots of variables there. Availability of said prey compared to other prey. Nutritional value of one prey item compared to another. Health of the predator in question.

Leopards already "know" that humans, especially children, are easy pickings. This is a cat that, in much of its range, predominantly eats primates, and is capable of taking down prey nigh 10 times its body weight. What's a relatively weak, hairless ape with unimpressive dentation or fingernails to a creature that has been reported to take down an eland?

5 pages

And not one I saw a leopard dragging a bigger kid across the quad?


OT is slipping

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You think the leopard will stalk, hunt, and prey on children from this one instance.

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I think if left alone it will return to this area and hunt again. It’s lerned that this area has available easy prey.

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I think the leopard will continue hunting the prey it's always hunted and IF it came across another little child it would probably treat it like prey just like it did in the this instance

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You’re kind of making my point here. The leopard has lerned this area has available easy prey so it will return. As long as it thinks food is available, it will come. And if it comes across another child and it sees an opening, it will attack.

It’s the size of the human that’s so tempting to the cats, not simply that it’s a human

Easy meal, not just a meal

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The toddler was being looked after by a nanny

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Naaah, naaaaah......