Modelling and analysis of modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey with prey counter attacking

Abstract Although the phenomenon of adult prey attacking juvenile predators is well documented in several ecological systems, its influence on predator-prey dynamics remains poorly understood. Motivated by this ecological phenomenon, we propose and analyze a modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey model incorporating prey anti-predator behavior (role reversal) together with a Holling type IV functional response. The proposed model exhibits multiple coexistence equilibria and a variety of dynamical behaviors, including Transcritical, Hopf, saddle-node, and Bogdanov-Takens bifurcations, as well as homoclinic orbits. Sufficient conditions for the occurrence of these bifurcations are derived analytically and verified through numerical simulations. The results show that anti-predator behavior fundamentally changes the qualitative dynamics by promoting prey persistence, generating bistability, and including abrupt transitions between alternative coexistence states. Moreover, increasing the intensity of anti-predator behavior enlarges the parameter region in which prey populations dominate predator populations. These findings demonstrate that prey role reversal can substantially reshape predator-prey interactions and provide new theoretical insights into the ecological consequences of anti-predator behavior.