Domínguez Rodrigo, ManuelOrganista, EliaBaquedano, EnriqueCifuentes Alcobendas, GabrielPizarro Monzo, MarcosVegara Riquelme, MarinaGidna, AgnesUribelarrea Del Val, DavidMartín Perea, David2023-06-222023-06-222022ESSN: 2054-5703org/10.1098/rsos.220252https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/72481Misiam 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.engAtribución 3.0 Españahttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/journal articlehttps://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220252open access56.012(678)leopardOlduvai Gorge (Tanzania)hyenataphonomyethologyPaleontología2416 Paleontología