Predation is widely believed to exert strong selective pressure on primate behavior and ecology but is difficult to study and rarely observed. In this study, we describe seven encounters between lone wild leopards (Panthera pardus) and herds of geladas (Theropithecus gelada) over a 6-year period in an intact Afroalpine grassland ecosystem at the Guassa Community Conservation Area, Ethiopia. Three encounters consisted of attempted predation on geladas by leopards, one of which was successful. All three attacks occurred in low-visibility microhabitats (dominated by tussock graminoids, mima mounds, or tall shrubs) that provided leopards with hidden viewsheds from which to ambush geladas. An additional four encounters did not result in an attempted attack but still document the consistently fearful responses of geladas to leopards. In encounters with leopards, geladas typically gave alarm calls (n = 7 of 7 encounters), reduced interindividual distances (n = 5), and collectively fled towards or remained at their sleeping cliffs (n = 7), the only significant refugia in the open-country habitat at Guassa. Geladas did not engage in mobbing behavior towards leopards. Encounters with leopards tended to occur on days when gelada herd sizes were small, raising the possibility that leopards, as ambush hunters, might stalk geladas on days when fewer eyes and ears make them less likely to be detected. We compare the behavioral responses of geladas to leopards at Guassa with those previously reported at Arsi and the Simien Mountains and discuss how gelada vulnerability and responses to leopards compare with those of other primate species living in habitats containing more refugia. Lastly, we briefly consider how living in multilevel societies may represent an adaptive response by geladas and other open-country primates to predation pressure from leopards and other large carnivores.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚瓜萨，豹子捕食狒狒。


人们普遍认为捕食对灵长类动物的行为和生态产生强大的选择压力，但很难研究且很少观察到。在这项研究中，我们描述了在埃塞俄比亚瓜萨社区保护区完整的非洲高山草原生态系统中，六年来，孤独的野生豹子 (Panthera pardus) 和狒狒群 (Theropithecus gelada) 之间的七次遭遇。豹子曾尝试捕食狒狒，其中有 3 次遭遇成功，其中一次成功。所有这三起袭击都发生在能见度较低的微生境中（主要是草丛禾本科植物、米马土丘或高灌木），这些微生境为豹子提供了伏击狒狒的隐蔽视野。另外四次遭遇并没有导致攻击企图，但仍然记录了狒狒对豹子一贯的恐惧反应。在与豹子的遭遇中，狒狒通常会发出警报（7次遭遇中的n = 7次），缩短个体间的距离（n = 5），并集体逃向或停留在它们沉睡的悬崖上（n = 7），这是这里唯一重要的避难所。瓜萨 (Guassa) 的开阔乡村栖息地。狒狒不会对豹子进行围攻行为。与花豹的遭遇往往发生在狒狒群规模较小的日子里，这增加了花豹作为伏击猎人可能在眼睛和耳朵较少而不太可能被发现的日子里跟踪狒狒的可能性。我们将瓜萨狒狒对豹子的行为反应与之前在阿尔西和塞门山报道的行为反应进行了比较，并讨论了狒狒的脆弱性和对豹子的反应与生活在含有更多保护区的栖息地的其他灵长类物种的比较。 最后，我们简要考虑生活在多层次社会中如何代表狒狒和其他野外灵长类动物对豹子和其他大型食肉动物的捕食压力的适应性反应。