In a physical confrontation, would these two cats be evenly matched? Cougars have a slight weight advantage (average male cougar-137lbs, average male leopard 130lbs). But leopards are small “big cats” while cougars are technically big “small cats.” Does the leopard being a “big cat” give it any advantages? These two animals never encounter each other in the wild, but if they did, who would come out on top in a fight and why?
I think if they confronted each other they’d both know this is not a fight worth getting in and would leave each other alone.
That said, if for some reason they did go full-on Thunderdome, I think it’d be close to a coin flip as to which would “win”. And by “win” I mean while one might live the survivor would be pretty badly mauled too such that it would probably not live long after (damaged enough to be unable to hunt and/or be easy picking for the next predator to come by or just bleed out if only a bit more slowly than its dead opponent).
If I had to put money down it would be on the cougar since the cougar is faster.
How old is the leopard?
This is probably better suited to IMHO than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Given two animals of equivalent weight, my money would be on the leopard.Leopards have proportionately much larger heads than cougars, with more powerful jaws. Once a leopard latched onto the cougar the fight would be over.
I agree, the puma is still listed as a small cat even though he may go up to 200# about the same size as a leopard.
Depends, the leopard would seem to have an initial advantage, but the fact that so many cougars apparently own leopard fur items would seem to imply that they could deal better than one might expect.
If the cougar latched on first the leopard is not getting away either.
It’s like saying my 100 ton press is more dangerous than your 90 ton press. On paper you are right but in the real world that is not an important difference. Both will ruin your day with ease.
I maintain in fights speed is a primary trait to lead to victory and the cougar has that (if only just but that edge is important in this case…ask a boxer about it).
Wouldn’t it depend on whether the cougar had had her nails done recently?
Not in the fight style employed by the big cats. They’re not boxing. They are not going to rely on striking with their paws to vanquish their opponent. Big cats kill by grasping their opponent by the throat and suffocating it, so power is more important than speed. A fight will be more like wrestling.
Here’s a fight between two leopards. They spend most of their time grappling at close quarters rather than jabbing and jumping away.
I don’t disagree.
I am suggesting that the more powerful jaws on the leopard are meant to be able to deal with larger prey than the cougar goes for. But that larger prey tends to be large herbivores (e.g. water buffaloes).
But that is of little benefit when the fight is between two smaller animals. The cougar’s bite on the leopard is every bit as effective as the leopard on the cougar. Both of them have a bite power that well exceeds what they need to handle an animal their size. The leopard being able to bite harder than the cougar gains it what when fighting each other?
And make no mistake the claws are part of the equation. If you’ve ever had or played with a cat you know they are a primary weapon for them and they use them with abandon.
I’m assuming here a fight to the death. In such a case I think the leopard’s advantage in power will be decisive once the two animals come to close quarters. A leopard is more likely to be able to prevent or break out of a cougar’s stranglehold than vice versa.
In a non-lethal fight, it’s possible a puma might be able to do enough damage with its claws to deter a leopard. But if they come to grips, that’s all she wrote.
The puma is faster though so she is likely to land a bite before the leopard.
And again…if it only takes (making number up) 100 psi to break a bone or strangle an opponent then of what use is a bite strength of 200 psi? And what advantage is a bite of 200 psi over 150 psi if all you need is 100 psi to do the job?
The bear would win… Or the pirate… And cake is better than pie.
The cake is a lie. (Thought everyone here knew that.)
I’ve heard that leopards are generally fierce fighters, while cougars tend to back off from danger if they can. Attitude, or perhaps Cattitude is everything.
Does anyone have stats on reaction speed? How fast they can move their paws when attacking? How long their forepaws are? How long their claws are? Which is typically more aggressive?
If you’re fighting someone with more muscle mass but everything else is the same (eg height, reach, reaction speed, endurance, experience, training, judgment, aggression, etc) you figure the more muscular person wins, since every time they hit you they are hitting you harder. But … what if the less muscular person has a faster reaction speed, greater reach, more skill, etc?
I don’t think we’ve been given enough information to tell who would win.
It’s not just a matter of landing a bite anywhere. The puma has to be able to get past the leopard’s guard and get a grip on its throat. The leopard’s strength is going to come into play in fending it off. And a puma may be a faster runner, but I have no reason to think its reaction times at short range are significantly faster. You’ve been stating that as if it’s an established fact, and I don’t think it is.
That’s relevant only if the opponent is not resisting or fighting back. A leopard can more easily break the weaker bite of the puma than the puma can the stronger bite of the leopard.
I’m assuming all other things are equal. The animals are equal in weight, equal in age, the same gender, and are equally motivated.
Admittedly these two species are more evenly matched than many others would be. The outcome of any individual battle might be a toss-up. But overall I would give the edge to the leopard.
We have not established that the leopard is stronger than the cougar. We know the leopard has a stronger bite and the cougar has stronger back legs.
I submit the cougar’s bite is more than sufficient to do damage/strangle a leopard such that the leopard’s stronger bite here is of little use.
And you are right, I think, to suspect their reaction times are on par. So I think this is akin to a boxing match. Both competitors are really close but the guy who is just “that much” faster will win more often than not.
I think both cats have a bite aimed at things a lot bigger than them. I doubt the leopard can get away from a cougar latched on to it any more easily than the reverse.