Domínguez-Rodrigo, ManuelOrganista, EliaBaquedano, EnriqueCifuentes-Alcobendas, GabrielPizarro-Monzo, MarcosVegara-Riquelme, MarinaGidna, AgnessUribelarrea, DavidMartín-Perea, David2022-09-012022-09-012022Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel, Organista, Elia, Baquedano, Enrique, et al.. "Neo-taphonomic analysis of the Misiam leopard lair from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania): understanding leopard–hyena interactions in open settings." <i>Royal Society Open Science,</i> 9, no. 7 (2022) The Royal Society: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220252.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113172Misiam is a modern wildebeest-dominated accumulation situated in a steep ravine covered with dense vegetation at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). It is interpreted here as a leopard lair to which carcasses have been transported for several years. Felid-specific bone damage patterns, felid-typical skeletal part profiles, taxonomic specialization and the physical presence of leopards observed by the authors show that leopards at Misiam can be specialized medium-sized carcass accumulators. Hyenas also intervened at intervals in the modification of the retrieved faunal assemblage. This makes Misiam a carnivore palimpsest. Here, we additionally show that leopards only transport and accumulate carcasses on occasions, that they can seem highly specialized despite being dietary generalists, and that such a behaviour may be prompted by seasonal competition or during the breeding season or both. Misiam is the first open-air leopard lair with a dense bone accumulation reported. There, leopards engaged in intensive accumulation of carcasses during the wet season, when the southern Serengeti short-grass plains undergo the effect of the famous wildebeest migration and this migratory species reaches the gorge. The ecological importance of this behaviour and its relevance as a proxy for reconstructing prehistoric carnivore behaviours are discussed.engPublished by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.Journal articlersos-220252https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220252