🐾 Leopard

Leopard

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Panthera pardus
• Family & relatives: Several subspecies including African, Indian, Amur, Persian, and Javan leopards; closely related to the lion and jaguar within Panthera.
• How to spot it: Golden coat covered in rosette spots; smaller and stockier than a jaguar, whose rosettes have central dots.

Its body & abilities

• Size: Body 0.9-1.9 m long plus a long tail; about 60-70 cm at the shoulder.
• Weight: Males 30-90 kg, females 20-60 kg.
• Body & adaptations: Compact, immensely strong build with powerful shoulders and neck for hauling prey up trees; rosette coat gives superb camouflage.
• Top speed: Can run up to about 58 km/h.
• Strength: Pound for pound the strongest big cat, able to haul prey twice its weight up into trees.
• Senses: Superb night vision, sharp hearing, and a strong sense of smell for tracking prey.
• Growing up: Cubs are born blind, hidden for the first weeks, weaned by 3 months, and independent by about 18-24 months.

Where it lives

• Habitat: The most adaptable big cat, from rainforest and savanna to mountains, deserts, and city edges.
• Where in the world: Widest range of any wild cat, across much of Africa and parts of Asia.
• Territory: Solitary and territorial; ranges from 10 to over 100 km2, marked by scent and claw scratches.

What it eats

• Diet: Carnivore with a very broad menu; gets most of its water from prey.
• Favorite foods: Antelope, deer, monkeys, birds, rodents, and even insects when needed.
• How it hunts: A stealthy ambush hunter that stalks close, then hoists kills into trees away from lions and hyenas.

How it behaves

• How it moves: An agile climber, jumper, and swimmer that moves silently on padded paws.
• When it is active: Mostly nocturnal, hunting by night and resting draped over tree branches by day.
• Family life: Solitary, meeting only to mate; there is no common name for a leopard group.
• How it talks: A rasping saw-like call, plus growls, purrs, scent-marks, and claw-scratches on trees.
• Babies: After about 90-105 days gestation the female bears 2-3 cubs and raises them alone.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: A versatile apex predator; adults are near the top, though lions and hyenas kill cubs and steal kills.
• Conservation: IUCN Vulnerable; threatened by habitat loss, poaching, and conflict with farmers.
• Dangers: Poaching, road accidents, conflict with people, and being killed by lions are common causes.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: About 12-15 years in the wild, up to 20+ in captivity.
• In our culture: A symbol of stealth and cunning; the 'black panther' of legend is simply a leopard or jaguar with dark fur.
• Where to see it: On safari in South Africa's Sabi Sands and Kruger, and in accredited zoos worldwide.
• Fun fact: A leopard can carry prey twice its own weight straight up a tree to keep it safe from other predators.