Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 2, 2026

The Tail Suspension Test
Published on: January 28, 2012
Leopard (Panthera pardus) predation on a red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius) in the Issa Valley, western
Edward McLester1, Kyle Sweeney2, Fiona A Stewart3,2
1School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L33AF, UK. e.mclester@2016.ljmu.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Predation is predicted to be an important selection pressure for primates. Evidence for this hypothesis is rare, however, due to the scarcity of direct observations of primate predation. We describe an observation of leopard (Panthera pardus) predation on a red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) at the Issa Valley, a savanna-woodland mosaic landscape in western Tanzania. We compare rates of evidence of leopard presence between Issa and other primate study sites in sub-Saharan Africa. An increase in direct observations of leopards at Issa in recent years suggests that leopards may be habituating to researcher presence.
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