Mountain Lion

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

Cougar kittens can be very savage. This is savagery in this cat being exhibited even at a tender age:

Three puma kitten siblings at about 3 months of age were fighting over a piece of meat, when accidentally, blood was drawn from one of them. The unfortunate cub's siblings pounced on it and tore it to pieces.

This happened at the Higbee Ranche belonging to Charles and Elmer Higbee around October 1895 (the cubs were found in July 1895 at 8 or 9 days old) 







Taken From: Sports Afield 1896-12: Vol 17 Iss 6 (CALIFORNIA LION PETS, Pages 400-402): archive.org/details/sim_sports-afield_1896-12_17_6

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

Some more information on mountain lions, their way of life, prey animals, hunting experiences with them, etc 
















Taken From: Wildlife of Mexico : the game birds and mammals (Puma. Felis concolor. Pages 476-482): archive.org/details/wildlifeofmexic00leop

[s]

Jun 13, 2023 15:03:49 GMT PumAcinonyx SuperCat said:

Predation 


Now let’s move to what I like best about cougars aside their remarkable beauty, which is their remarkable hunting prowess. Here, we’ll talk about the cougar’s prey animals.
You all know the prey animals that cougars kill, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer and so on, but let’s make a list. 


This is a list of the top 5 most dangerous prey items IN HEALTHY CONDITION that cougars have the power to kill in their natural habitat, ranked from strongest to weakest:


1) American bison (Bison bison): 




First answer: www.quora.com/Can-an-adult-Cougar-kill-a-full-grown-American-Bison/answer/The-SuperCat?ch=10&oid=408389857&share=6d456863&srid=hJo9JQ&target_type=answer :

This answer was quite simplistic and I would say is the most amateurish of my 3 answers. Here, I just make reference to the summary of the 2 accounts, give a somewhat flawed reference for adult bison weight, make a wrong comparison between bobcats and cougars and between elands and bison. I admit that I got a number of things wrong here, but the “Tiger vs Gaur” thingy was actually right and was what kept me going. 



Second answer: www.quora.com/Are-there-any-cases-of-cougars-attacking-American-bison/answer/The-SuperCat?ch=10&oid=1477743663569532&share=54d90dc4&srid=hJo9JQ&target_type=answer : 

Here, I make reference to the pages where the 2 accounts were ORIGINALLY written and I add one other account of an interaction between a female cougar and a female bison. I very thoroughly dissected the 3 accounts and debunked some common misconceptions. Even more, I brought in views from scientists on “Cougar vs Bison” and showed 3 different experts testifying to the possibility of cougars having the power to kill bison. At the end, I gave a brief explanation for why the known number of attacks by cougars on bison is very low. 



Third answer: www.quora.com/Can-a-mountain-lion-kill-an-adult-American-bison/answer/The-SuperCat?ch=10&oid=1477743666839665&share=d5b155ff&srid=hJo9JQ&target_type=answer : 

The most legendary of the three answers, and the longest of them all. Here, I atone for the errors that I made in the first answer. I dissected a comment given to me on the second day of the year by Dino King. This is the most thorough answer on the “Cougar vs Bison” topic IN ALL OF EXISTENCE. Here, I thoroughly debunk widely accepted but wrong ideas and also talked about the reason for the comparison of cougars to other cats. The most important section is Section 12 where I VERY THOROUGHLY explained the reason why cougars don’t prey on American bison even though they coexist. For this reason, things like “why can’t you show me any case of cougars killing bison when they coexist” become completely stupid. I also debunked other common arguments in Section 13 like “Even grizzly bears don’t prey on bison” and “Even wolf packs don’t prey on healthy adult bison” and showed why they have ZERO effect on the cougar’s capabilities. I very heavily suggest that you go through this answer even if you ignore the other 2. Until you do, you CANNOT understand the reason why cougars can kill bison and the reason why they do not, you will FOREVER be asking stupid questions. Let me also add that in this answer I very well specified that I was ONLY talking about 80-100 kg cougars and 500-700 kg bison. I properly established that at the beginning of the answer, so nobody can ask any silly questions. 



2) Moose (Alces alces): 




The moose is the largest species of deer in the world and the second largest terrestrial animal in North America after the bison. The males can weigh between 542 to 725 kg and the females between 364 and 591 kg: web.archive.org/web/20091130022010/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/moose.php



They posses powerful antlers and powerful legs capable of delivering deadly blows to predators like wolves and bears. On rare occasions, cougars can kill adults, even the bulls: 



• A cougar killed 18 moose in less than a year: billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/recreation/ferocious-appetites-study-finds-mountain-lions-may-be-eating-more-than-previously-believed/article_d9cf046b-2c47-539f-a267-972e72e570b6.html



• According to this study, adult moose of over 400 kg were taken by male cougars, though very rarely, adult moose made and feral horses (biggest prey in the study area) made up less than 2% of cougar diet: www.researchgate.net/publication/229939293_Cougar_Kill_Rate_and_Prey_Composition_in_a_Multiprey_System



• In the state of Utah, adult moose are preyed on by mountain lions. 4 moose out of seven that were radio collared were killed by cougars: www.scribd.com/document/60251228/Utah-Moose-Statewide-Management-Plan



• A YOUNG FEMALE cougar killed an adult bull moose: archive.org/details/wondrouswildlife0000ostr (Page where it reads 2 of 113 on the scroll)



“An old-time trapper told us of finding a LARGE BULL killed by a desperately hungry YOUNG FEMALE mountain lion that managed to leap unto the bull’s back from a rock ledge and bite through the vertebrate behind the head.”



That same page later goes on to say that in good health, cougars are AMAZING beasts and are COMPLETELY DESIGNED FOR SUCCESSFUL HUNTING, being able to kill prey five times their own size:



“In good health, the cougar, puma or mountain lion is an amazing beast completely designed for successful hunting, and can bring down animals FIVE TIMES ITS OWN WEIGHT.” 



3) Wild boar (Sus scrofa): 




The wild boar is one of the most dangerous animals in existence, and proves to be very troublesome for predators. With their size and their powerful tusks, they are a formidable foe and only predators like tigers can kill them with little to no consideration for their own safety. 



Cougars in some parts of their range like the Everglades in Florida do prey on feral hogs also called wild boar. They are said to be able to take a decent-sized sow or even boar when the opportunity presents itself: feralhogs.extension.org/natural-predators-of-feral-hogs/



Mountain Lion or Cougar – The large cat is found to overlap the range of feral hogs in several western states and in Florida. In both general regions mountain lions HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED TO PREY ON INTRODUCED FERAL HOGS. The TARGET ANIMALS include BOTH SEXES and POTENTIALLY ANY AGE CLASS. Given the right situation, a mountain lion could catch and kill a FAIRLY LARGE SOW or BOAR. Although variable from area to area, feral hogs can CONSTITUTE A SIGNIFICANT VOLUME OF PREY in the diet of this large predator.”



Later on, that page goes on to say: 



“Mountain lions are reported to be the ONLY PREDATOR THAT USES FERAL HOGS AS PREY ON A REGULAR BASIS; however, the percentage of hogs in a lion’s diet appears to be PREY DENSITY DEPENDENT IN ANY ONE GIVEN AREA.”



Then there’s also this: archive.org/details/floridapanther00silv



• Florida Panthers are said to prey on hogs with a very good amount of frequency: 



“The Florida panther is a large carnivore that requires SUBSTANTIAL amounts of food. It OFTEN catches prey that is bigger than itself . White-tailed deer and WILD HOGS typically make up 75 percent of the panther’s diet.” (Page 13)



• Florida panthers love hogs so much that their survival can be threatened by hog scarcity: 



“Hunters have also threatened the panther’s survival by killing deer and HOGS, reducing the amount of prey available to the native predators.” (Page 26)



• Florida panthers control the feral hog population so well that when the panther is absent, the feral hog population blossoms:



“Although panthers tend to be scarce in areas where wild hogs are plentiful, the reason may be that people hunt in these areas and disturb the habitat.” (Page 27) 



So, we can see that cougars truly can kill adult boars. Sure, they still prefer piglets, but saying that piglets are ALL that they prey on is blatantly false because they prey on the species so much that they literally CONTROL THE POPULATION. They couldn’t possibly be controlling the population if EVERY LAST boar they killed was a piglet. Secondly, wild boar piglets are actually pretty small, so the amount of consumable biomass they can provide to a panther at any one given meal is veeeeery small. So small that the panther can’t properly refer to that as a meal.



Suggesting that the cougar would compensate for the small size by catching many per day shows a great lack of understanding of the puma. It’s not economical to be chasing multiple piglets in one day when you can simply take out an adult that can last you for days, it makes no sense even from a common sense point of view. Besides, running around multiple times in a day doesn’t seem realistic for an animal with tiny lungs and a tiny heart that has no stamina, does it? Or where does the cougar magically get the stamina to be running great distances many times in a day? 



4) Wild horse (Equus ferus): 




The wild or feral horse is a large equine which freely roams in the wilderness. They are powerful beasts capable of holding their own against predators. For the most part, foals are taken, but adults are also taken occasionally:



• Cougars prey on feral horses and control the population. In fact, in several regions of Nevada, horses made up the majority of their diet. Cougars are however being killed for predating on domestic livestock which reduces the number of cougars available to kill horses: www.nytimes.com/2018/05/12/sunday-review/let-mountain-lions-eat-horses.html



• Cougar predation on horses is well documented. Foals when available are the main prey, but adults are also taken occasionally. Some cougars bear the scars of unsuccessful attempts on adults: www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0274.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjSqJ7BtMD_AhXNSsAKHVRyCnsQFnoECA8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2U3ToYkyur7HlVgd5Sh-pj (Page 22 on the scroll)



“Lion predation on horses has been well documented through the years. Foals, young colts and fillies are the primary prey when available. Their long necks and deer-like size seem to make them very attractive and relatively easy prey for lions. Adult horses are occasionally taken by lions and some may show the scars of an unsuccessful attempt. However, lion predation on horses is not as common as it was years ago. The mechanization of ranching operations has decreased the need for horses instead of raising brood stock.”



• Cougars VERY REGULARLY take on horses in the Great Basin in Nevada and in actual fact prefer them to deer which are much less dangerous: wildlife.org/jwm-cougars-prey-on-feral-horses-in-the-great-basin/



“We found that BOTH male and FEMALE [cougars] were taking horses, up to ADULT SIZE horses,” said Jon Beckmann, a wildlife supervisor at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.” 



“Most of the time, cougars are kind of considered a specialist on mule deer,” Beckmann said. 


But the cats in the Great Basin SHOWED A VASTLY DIFFERENT TYPE OF SPECIALIZATION. Only 29% of the 770 possible kill sites in the Great Basin were mule deer. 

The MAJORITY of kill sites in the Great Basin—60%—were feral horses. Ten of the 13 cats they tracked in this area were PREDOMINANTLY taking down horses.”



• FEMALE cougars actually preyed on horses ALL YEAR LONG to the surprise of the researchers while the stronger males focused their predation during foaling season which is spring and early summer: 



“Beckmann said the researchers were also surprised to find that both FEMALES and males were going after horses—the FORMER MORE THAN the LATTER, IN FACT.

Males tended to prey on horses more in foaling season in spring and early summer. By late summer and through the winter, the males had switched their preferred meals to mule deer. While males also preyed on foals, females, on the other hand, preyed on horses all year long. The researchers aren’t sure why—large prey can be dangerous.” 



• Cougars are remarkably durable animals evidenced that they CONSISTENTLY try to take down 800 to 1000 lbs horses and get brutally punished: 



“It’s a risky prey item. We’ve seen over the years some cougars that are pretty beat up—you can tell the horse eaters,” Beckmann said. “It’s a rough life trying to take down 800-1,000 pound animals CONSISTENTLY.” 



5) Elk (Cervus canadensis): 




The elk or wapiti is the second largest deer in the world after the moose. The largest bulls in Alaska can weigh up to 591 kg: web.archive.org/web/20070605111526/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/elk.php



They fight with their antlers and their hooves, weapons which can prove and have proved fatal for cougars, wolves and bears. Cougars are unquestionably the best predators at hunting elk. 



• Cougars can kill bull elk 7 times their size: books.google.com/books/about/The_Cougar.html?id=sSr8AAAAQBAJ (Page 12) 



“Cougars can run up to 72 kilometres (45 miles) per hour for a short distance, and even a smaller 45-kilogram (100-pound) cougar is capable of taking down a 318-kilogram (700-pound) elk.” 



• While bull elk are formidable animals, to say that cougars in general stay away from them is a very foolish statement, one that is thoroughly debunked by cougar researchers. Both male and FEMALE cougars kill bull elk with a good amount of frequency in Idaho. It should be noted that it’s a risky business, one in which cougars have died while embarking on. They have broken their backs while slammed against trees with tremendous force, been trampled on hooves, and even impaled on antlers and powerful branches. It really is no mean feat: mountainlion.org/about-mountain-lions/ (Chapter 2) 



“Even in the absence of humans, cougars practice a high-risk lifestyle; they are continuously exposed to injury or death because they prey on animals larger than they are. In Idaho, both male and FEMALE pumas kill MALE elk, an animal SEVEN TIMES THE SIZE OF A FEMALE PUMA. While deer, more manageable in size, are the cougar’s prey of choice, some do not submit without a struggle. During attacks on deer or elk cougars have been thrown against trees so hard that their backs have been broken or they sustained massive internal injuries. They have been trampled by the hooves of deer and elk they were attacking, and even impaled on branches or antlers. A debilitating injury like a broken bone can lead to starvation.”



• Cougars, both male and FEMALE kill bull elk. It was interesting that female cougars had a higher prey size to cat size ratio than females of ALL other large cats. Their prey size to cat size ratio was 2.4:1, almost twice as much as that of snow leopards that had 1.4:1. It was definitely much higher than those of lionesses and leopardesses which had a 1:1 prey size ratio. It’s really amazing that cougars actually scored higher than the true big cats, something else that nullifies the myth that the big cats are pound for pound much stronger: archive.org/details/greatcats0000unse (Page 134) 



“What I found absolutely astounding is that pumas, both males and FEMALES, killed ADULT MALE elk. A bull elk is SEVEN TIMES THE SIZE OF A FEMALE PUMA. In a study comparing the ratio of prey size amongst the cats (using modal [most frequently taken] prey weight divided by adult female cat weight) the puma, with a ratio 2.4 to 1, was far above all the other cats: the ratio of prey size of the puma is twice that of the snow leopard (1.4 to 1); and modal prey size for a female leopard and lion is about one to one.”

I agree with the rest of the ranking, but i think you are overhyping Boar, don't get me wrong, the tusks can be eviscerating if the Puma is not careful and since they average 75 to 100kg the vast majority of Pumas will be outweighted by them. They are indeed formidable opponents, but above Wild Horse?



Here is a single Wolf dragging his Boar kill.

[s]

I think a Wild Boar would beat up even a MacKenzie Wolf 1v1 btw, the number of Wolves and Hunting Dogs usually required is 2. But a smallish Iberian Wolf doing it, while i seriously doubt it would be able to kill a Wild Horse alone makes me think the Boar is ranked too high

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

s 

Yes, I too have been thinking about it for a while now. I used to somewhat go back and forth on whether the boar should be ranked higher than the horse on the list. 

One thing I will say though: I think the horse could or, perhaps, even would beat the boar in a "Boar vs Horse" fight, but the boar is more difficult for the cougar to bring down. Of course, I'm talking within the limit of the horses and boars that cougars encounter in their native environment. 

There's a video out there, of a donkey bullying a domestic pig (not a wild boar, but still a pretty strong suine) while being surrounded by dogs, I think.

A cougar would probably have an easier time killing that donkey than it would that pig, despite the fact that the donkey had the upper hand in the "Donkey vs Pig" fight. In fact, in a part of their range (Arizona, I think), cougars have a fondness for burro meat. 

In the end, if the ranking is about how hard it is for the cougar to kill the prey animals, then I think the list stays the same. But if it's about the prey animals being ranked in power among one another, then I am open to the possibility of the horse being ranked higher than the boar. Again, I'm only referring to the horses and boars that cougars encounter, and not "Wild horse vs Wild boar" in general. 

[Hardcastle]

It's an interesting point. It seems to the puma boars are more difficult. But to the leopard horses are more difficult than boars.

From a dog perspective... I think boars have a spectrum that spans over horses. What I mean by that is the easiest boars are easier than the easiest horses, but the most difficult boars are more difficult than the most difficult horses.

[s]

Sept 21, 2023 19:10:35 GMT Hardcastle said:

It's an interesting point. It seems to the puma boars are more difficult. But to the leopard horses are more difficult than boars.

From a dog perspective... I think boars have a spectrum that spans over horses. What I mean by that is the easiest boars are easier than the easiest horses, but the most difficult boars are more difficult than the most difficult horses.

Not Dogs but at the end of the day Dogs are a Wolf sub-species (Canis LUPUS Familiaris) but close enough.

[s]

You can see that Boars, especially large males get really troublesome when they decide to hold their ground and engage in chase rather than fall back

[Bolushi]

Sept 22, 2023 14:45:16 GMT s said:

Sept 21, 2023 19:10:35 GMT Hardcastle said:

It's an interesting point. It seems to the puma boars are more difficult. But to the leopard horses are more difficult than boars.

From a dog perspective... I think boars have a spectrum that spans over horses. What I mean by that is the easiest boars are easier than the easiest horses, but the most difficult boars are more difficult than the most difficult horses.

Not Dogs but at the end of the day Dogs are a Wolf sub-species (Canis LUPUS Familiaris) but close enough.

No absolutely not close enough. A cougar and a polar bear have more in common with each other, or a wolverine and a coyote, or fox and honey badger... than wolves have in common with many kinds of dogs. Yes boars are disastrous to wolves because wolves are not dogs and wolves are definitely far far far from dogos or bull arabs or pitbull or whatever.

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

Three cougar stories coming up soon.

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

These are three interesting cougar/panther tales. The characters involved are Jonathan Wheaton, George Sox, and Arnold. 


Little Summary: 


1) One of the dangers of falling asleep in cougar country is that a cougar might approach you, and thinking you to be prey/something edible, cover you up with leaves and sticks, just as they do their regular prey animals, with the intention of coming back to feast on you.


A man who lived in the 18th century learnt this lesson the hard way, and narrowly escaped death. Jonathan Wheaton, circa 1790, decided to move into the woods, possibly to avoid the increasing noise or overload in Wyoming, which was where he had been living.


On his way to the valley, one fateful day, he decided to take a short rest on the Capouse Mountain. Needless to say, his journey had left him exhausted, and he was unable to resist the urge to fall asleep. 


When he awoke, he found himself covered with sticks and leaves, and even though he knew this could have been the work of the wind, from a knowledge of cougar behaviour, he thought it more likely to have been the work of said cat.


Apparently, the cougar was still in the vicinity when he awoke, and he began to hear fluctuating footsteps retreating from his location. Valuing his life, he knew better than to not cease all motion. He remained still until he felt safe.


Anticipating the return of the cougar, he got to work by gathering old sticks and wood, placing them where he had slept, and covering them with leaves. All this, he did, in order to fool his would-have-been eater.


He climbed into a tree, pointed his gun at the spot where he had lain, and calmly waited for the cougar to return. He had barely finished with his preparations when he detected afar off, a cougar, which turned out to be a female, in company with 2 of her whelps.


She left her babies a few paces behind, and moved on to examine the place where she had hidden her quarry to see if there had been any changes. To her disappointment, her treasure was gone, and in anger, she leaped into the air, and back to the ground, on the spot where she had kept her prize. 


Suspecting that what she had hidden might still have been close by, she began looking all around her, in hopes of setting her eyes on it. She suddenly cast her eye on Jonathan, and aimed to spring towards him.


Wheaton, knowing that he only had one shot that had better not simply injure, but actually put the cat to eternal sleep, took fire, and fortunately, sent two shots into the cougar’s brain, sending her crashing down to "the spot where Wheaton had enjoyed his mountain dream."


As for the two kittens of the recently deceased cougar, their fate remains unknown till tomorrow.

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

2) It can be costly to leave whatever quarry you snared in a trap, unattended to for too long, because there is the possibility of it getting hijacked by predators, like, in this case, 3 cougars who paid with their lives, for their attempt to steal a hunter's catch.


George Sox was a seasoned and well respected hunter who was famed for being able to land a hit on any denizen of the woods. Once, he killed a deer that was described as being "perfectly white."


This deer that was claimed to have been a "witch deer", is said to have been seen and shot at by other hunters, on multiple occasions, but no bullet had ever touched it. That was until George brought an end to it with what was rumoured to have been a "silver bullet." 


One morning, in the year 1819, he returned to a trap to retrieve an ensnared bear which weighed in excess of 400 pounds, only to find it battling against 3 cougars that ran away upon seeing him. 


He took the bear home on a sled, filled his knapsack, and set out with his dog and trusted rifle, in pursuit of the 3 thieving cougars. Fortunately for him, through a great deal of trouble he was able to execute vengeance on all 3 cougars.

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

3) Cougar hunting can be very risky, and it can be regrettable to take along an inexperienced individual on a cougar hunt, without giving them weapons to defend themselves, lest they get attacked.


This last story is a very tragic one, because the hunter in question not only lost his beloved dog, but also saw his even more beloved wife get brutally mauled by an enraged cougar, so badly that after weeks of painful recovery, she was "dreadfully disfigured."


One evening, on his way home from work, Arnold saw a large cougar atop a tree branch close to the path he was following. He rushed to his house, got his rifle ready, and took along his wife, and his dog, named Jack to the place where he had seen the big cat.


His wife aimed a torch at the cougar, while Arnold aimed his rifle at it. He shot at the cat, but, sadly, was only able to wound it. Needless to say, this act maddened the cougar, and it proceeded to jump on to Arnold's wife and start mauling her.


Jack, the hunter's dog, grabbed the cougar by one of the hind limbs, in an effort to distract or dissuade it from its attack on Mrs. Arnold. Arnold, having no time to reload his rifle, and being terrified by his wife's screams of agony, started using his rifle's butt to land severe blows on the cougar’s head. 


Fortunately for Mrs. Arnold, but sadly for Jack, the cougar turned its attention toward the dog, grabbed it in its jaws and dashed into the darkness. 


Arnold, through a lot of trouble, was able to get his wife home. She slowly recovered, but bore very strong proof of her encounter with the cougar.

[PumAcinonyx SuperCat]

Here are the pages in which these hunting adventures with cougars were written: 













Taken From: Annals of Luzerne County; a record of interesting events, traditions, and anecdotes (Pages 490-495)

[CoolJohnson]

Sept 21, 2023 19:10:35 GMT Hardcastle said:

It's an interesting point. It seems to the puma boars are more difficult. But to the leopard horses are more difficult than boars.

From a dog perspective... I think boars have a spectrum that spans over horses. What I mean by that is the easiest boars are easier than the easiest horses, but the most difficult boars are more difficult than the most difficult horses.

The horse predation is not so much on avoidance as it is on abundance.


For example, there are not many feral or free ranging horses in most leopard habitats.


In a handful of the areas where leopards encounter horses, which are Iran and some parts of Central Asia, there is some documentation of predation.




Here is a confirmation of a Leopard killing an adult feral or free-ranging Horse.



"On 20 October 2005, an adult horse was killed by a large male. Fresh tracks of an adult female accompanied by a young cub were regularly seen near the kill, but we are not sure if they have fed on the kill."



source: Farhadinia, Mohammad S., Alireza Mahdavi, and Fatemeh Hosseini-Zavarei. "Reproductive ecology of the Persian Leopard, Panthera pardus saxicolor, in Sarigol National Park, northeastern Iran: (Mammalia: Felidae)." Zoology in the Middle East 48.1 (2009): 13-16.





Here are other cases of Leopards killing feral/free-ranging Horses in the former Soviet Union











i.imgur.com/h1gSxPs.png


Source: Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume 2 Part 2 Carnivora (Hyenas and Cats)










i.imgur.com/rgSYyzm.png





source: dfzljdn9uc3pi.cloudfront.net/201...ofiles.pdf




Cougars encounter horses more often in America. In fact, the Great Basin has the largest population of horses in the United States. So obviously there is going to be better documentation of cougars interacting with horses.




By the way, I am not disputing that mountain lions have killed adult horses, but even these are on rare occasions.





"Pumas attacking horses are seldom reported in the literature; they usually attack foals and young horses but rarely adult horses"



source: Livestock Predation by Puma (Puma concolor) in the Highlands of a Southeastern Brazilian Atlantic Forest




In fact, some of the studies note that they avoid adult horses.




"over 77% of the carcasses found were feral horses, and all were determined to be under the age of 9 months. The only other species consumed were mule deer and coyotes. "

"we found every horse kill to be a foal or a juvenile (<9 months), as has been reported in other feral horse populations"



source: Live Trapping and Monitoring Mountain Lion Movements within a Feral Horse Population in Storey County, Nevada, 2005 - 2007





"The horses M166 killed were younger than 14 months. The largest horse he is documented to have killed was about 350 (158 kg) pounds. Mustangs are generally on the smaller side of horses, usually weighing between 700 and 900 pounds. Larger wild horses might weigh 1,000 pounds. Their foals are much smaller, about 100 pounds or less."



americanwildhorsecampaign.org/media/northern-california-mountain-lion-serial-killer-horses




"The horses suffer predation by cougars and jaguars in almost natural levels.....with some 70 kgs, the cougar is too small to kill an adult horse, unless the horse is in decaying state, but it does feed on foals."




Translations from the book "Caballos en Compania" where the relations between cougars and wild horses





"We note that feral horses were absent from the prey killed by cougars during this study. While there was some evidence cougars have preyed on foals before in the area, our study showed cougar predation cannot be consistently counted on to limit this horse population and continued management will be necessary to maintain this population within herd objectives."



Blake, Linsey W., and Eric M. Gese. "Cougar predation rates and prey composition in the Pryor Mountains of Wyoming and Montana." Northwest Science 90.4 (2016): 394-410.




Here is another study which mentions that the mountain lion killed one adult horse but focused mainly on juveniles.







"I was able to age 25 of the 29 feral horses (86.2%), of which 96% were juveniles and only one was an adult."







source: Habitat use and prey selection by mountain lions in an altered sagebrush steppe environment J Ewanyk



I think a leopard could go for a huge amount of juveniles with the occasion of an adult horse in a possible area where they both coexist.


Don't know if this counts, but there is one study where the main killers of horses in a Namibian farm were leopards. 


"What are the perceived problem predators? Hyenas were thought to prey mostly on cattle (33% of reported kills presumed to be due to hyenas) and donkeys (40%), jackals were implicated most often for goat (69%) and sheep (68%)kills, leopards for horses (50%)"


Source: "Cost of carnivore coexistence on communal and resettled land in Namibia" by Niki Rust and Laurie Marker



www.researchgate.net/publication/247668488_Cost_of_carnivore_coexistence_on_communal_and_resettled_land_in_Namibia



Of course, there is no other interaction of leopards and feral horses outside of Iran and Central Asia.


The snow leopard does prey on free-range horses in the Himalayas.