The Leopard - 'Panthera Pardus'
The leopard is one of the most beautiful animals in the world. For this reason they are targeted in the fur trade industry. The fur industry is a great threat to all leopards, but an even greater danger is livestock owners who live close to the protected parks and reserves. They use widely available poisons and rifles to kill the leopards in an attempt to save their livestock. Leopards may also get killed if they wander too close to a human village. Many of the subspecies are especially in great danger of extinction.
The forests in which they live are being torn down. Human encroachment has a massive impact on leopard territories and survival. Some tribes believe that the bones and whiskers of leopards can heal sick people. Many leopards are killed each year for their fur and body parts and this is one reason why the leopard is an endangered animal.
Disease also plays a huge roll in leopard’s endangered status.
‘Natural selection’ has sealed the leopard’s fate. As only around 40% of all leopard cubs survive to adulthood. This is due to competition by other carnivores and scavengers.
While they were previously found in the wild in a number of areas around the world, their habitat is largely restricted to sub-Saharan Africa with small numbers also found in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China and Indonesia.
They are one of the hunters big five and eco-tourism big seven.
You can contribute to leopard conservation by joining us on a Leopard ID Project leopard ID safari and help raise much needed funds and awareness while being immersed into a completely unique experience.
General
Leopards are the most common large cats in Africa - so it is ironic that it is also the cat that is the most difficult to spot when you are in the African
bush. This is due to the fact that they are rather shy, secretive and mainly nocturnal.
Do not expect them to simply stroll across the road.
These animals are very agile climbers and pound for pound, the strongest climber of the large cats. To spot them you will usually need a pair of binoculars and scan the tree tops on the horizon.
As you look for them in trees, you may notice them often draped along thick tree limbs in an effort to escape the midday heat. You my also be lucky enough to see them feasting on a kill they dragged aloft into a tree. They do this to keep their prize safe from scavengers such as hyenas.
Are leopards territorial?
They are very solitary animals. They defend territories against other leopards of the same sex but the territories of males overlap those of females. They do seem to tolerate a certain level of overlap with their neighbors where rivals appear to avoid each other in some sort of "time-sharing system". They advertise occupation of a territory by marking it with urine and faeces, clawing the bark of trees and by vocal signals. These cats have astonishing powers of navigation and homing, a capacity that has hampered attempts to relocate them away from human settlement when they become stock raiders.
How fast can a leopard run?
This African animal can run at about 35 miles per hour.
What sounds do they make?
They have a distinctive contact call that sounds remarkably like a wood saw. This call allows territorial neighbors to keep away from each other, and males and females to find each other.
These animals growl when aggressive and spit and snarl when they feel threatened. Like your domestic house cat, they purr when the feel content.
What do leopards eat?
One reason behind their success lies in their diet, which spans a very wide range.
They eat almost any vertebrate, including reptiles, fish, and mammals ranging in size from dung beetles and porcupines to kudu. They prefer medium-sized antelope like impalas. It is well known they eat more predators than do other carnivores, particularly jackals. In the Kruger national park their diet consists of 29% impala, Burchells zebra 16%, wildebeest 14%, warthog 13% and porcupine 13%. In Savuti in the Chobe national park their diet consists of buffalo 41% and 29% zebra.
How do leopards hunt their prey?
The usual hunting technique is classically feline. When it sights a potential target it stalks forward with head low and legs bent making clever use of cover. This African animal will stalk a target over distances of a few hundred meters, or wait in ambush if the target moves towards it. Once it is within a range of about 10 meters, this cat dashes forward and uses the sharp, hooked claws of each forepaw to kill their prey. The killing bite is directed at the nape of the neck or at the throat. Small prey such as mice, rats and small birds are simply swatted to death with a single swipe of a paw.
Guts of large prey are pulled out and discarded before it begins consuming its meals. It uses its incisor teeth to pluck birds and furry mammals such as rabbits. Where there are many scavengers around the prey is carried up into a tree and wedged among the branches. Their strength is demonstrated by their ability to carry carcasses weighing more than 50 kg up vertical tree trunks. They readily eat rotten meat and will feed on a stored carcass for up to four days. They scavenge if they get the chance and can steal kills from cheetahs, lone hyenas and any of the smaller carnivores.
How do leopards breed?
A female on heat attracts males by the smell of her urine. The male and female may stay together for several days, even sharing kills, and they mate repeatedly over a few days. Cubs are born in heavy cover or in caves. They first accompany their mothers on hunts at four months and usually make their first kills at five months.
The leopard is one of the most beautiful animals in the world. For this reason they are targeted in the fur trade industry. The fur industry is a great threat to all leopards, but an even greater danger is livestock owners who live close to the protected parks and reserves. They use widely available poisons and rifles to kill the leopards in an attempt to save their livestock. Leopards may also get killed if they wander too close to a human village. Many of the subspecies are especially in great danger of extinction.
The forests in which they live are being torn down. Human encroachment has a massive impact on leopard territories and survival. Some tribes believe that the bones and whiskers of leopards can heal sick people. Many leopards are killed each year for their fur and body parts and this is one reason why the leopard is an endangered animal.
Disease also plays a huge roll in leopard’s endangered status.
‘Natural selection’ has sealed the leopard’s fate. As only around 40% of all leopard cubs survive to adulthood. This is due to competition by other carnivores and scavengers.
While they were previously found in the wild in a number of areas around the world, their habitat is largely restricted to sub-Saharan Africa with small numbers also found in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China and Indonesia.
They are one of the hunters big five and eco-tourism big seven.
You can contribute to leopard conservation by joining us on a Leopard ID Project leopard ID safari and help raise much needed funds and awareness while being immersed into a completely unique experience.
General
Leopards are the most common large cats in Africa - so it is ironic that it is also the cat that is the most difficult to spot when you are in the African
bush. This is due to the fact that they are rather shy, secretive and mainly nocturnal.
Do not expect them to simply stroll across the road.
These animals are very agile climbers and pound for pound, the strongest climber of the large cats. To spot them you will usually need a pair of binoculars and scan the tree tops on the horizon.
As you look for them in trees, you may notice them often draped along thick tree limbs in an effort to escape the midday heat. You my also be lucky enough to see them feasting on a kill they dragged aloft into a tree. They do this to keep their prize safe from scavengers such as hyenas.
Are leopards territorial?
They are very solitary animals. They defend territories against other leopards of the same sex but the territories of males overlap those of females. They do seem to tolerate a certain level of overlap with their neighbors where rivals appear to avoid each other in some sort of "time-sharing system". They advertise occupation of a territory by marking it with urine and faeces, clawing the bark of trees and by vocal signals. These cats have astonishing powers of navigation and homing, a capacity that has hampered attempts to relocate them away from human settlement when they become stock raiders.
How fast can a leopard run?
This African animal can run at about 35 miles per hour.
What sounds do they make?
They have a distinctive contact call that sounds remarkably like a wood saw. This call allows territorial neighbors to keep away from each other, and males and females to find each other.
These animals growl when aggressive and spit and snarl when they feel threatened. Like your domestic house cat, they purr when the feel content.
What do leopards eat?
One reason behind their success lies in their diet, which spans a very wide range.
They eat almost any vertebrate, including reptiles, fish, and mammals ranging in size from dung beetles and porcupines to kudu. They prefer medium-sized antelope like impalas. It is well known they eat more predators than do other carnivores, particularly jackals. In the Kruger national park their diet consists of 29% impala, Burchells zebra 16%, wildebeest 14%, warthog 13% and porcupine 13%. In Savuti in the Chobe national park their diet consists of buffalo 41% and 29% zebra.
How do leopards hunt their prey?
The usual hunting technique is classically feline. When it sights a potential target it stalks forward with head low and legs bent making clever use of cover. This African animal will stalk a target over distances of a few hundred meters, or wait in ambush if the target moves towards it. Once it is within a range of about 10 meters, this cat dashes forward and uses the sharp, hooked claws of each forepaw to kill their prey. The killing bite is directed at the nape of the neck or at the throat. Small prey such as mice, rats and small birds are simply swatted to death with a single swipe of a paw.
Guts of large prey are pulled out and discarded before it begins consuming its meals. It uses its incisor teeth to pluck birds and furry mammals such as rabbits. Where there are many scavengers around the prey is carried up into a tree and wedged among the branches. Their strength is demonstrated by their ability to carry carcasses weighing more than 50 kg up vertical tree trunks. They readily eat rotten meat and will feed on a stored carcass for up to four days. They scavenge if they get the chance and can steal kills from cheetahs, lone hyenas and any of the smaller carnivores.
How do leopards breed?
A female on heat attracts males by the smell of her urine. The male and female may stay together for several days, even sharing kills, and they mate repeatedly over a few days. Cubs are born in heavy cover or in caves. They first accompany their mothers on hunts at four months and usually make their first kills at five months.
