Leopard

A **leopard** (_Panthera pardus_) is a big cat of the genus _Panthera_. It lives in Africa and Asia.

## Appearance

Leopards are known for their unique appearance. They have well-camouflaged fur, which is usually tan, and spots (called rosettes). They usually have a lighter-coloured underside.

However, there can be a lot of differences within the different leopard subspecies. There are also leopards who are completely black; these are also called black panthers.

Male leopards are about 30% larger than female leopards.

## Habitat

Originally the leopard lived in all of Africa (except for the Sahara Desert) and in southern Asia. However, today many leopard subspecies, especially in Asia, are endangered.

Leopards adapt to many habitats, including rainforests, steppes, mountains, savannas, and montane areas. Usually, they live in habitats where there are some trees.

## Lifestyle

The leopard is a secretive big cat. Unlike lions, leopards are usually solitary and do not live in groups, though it is not uncommon for young leopards to seek out the company of other leopards. Some territorial males even establish relatively tolerant relationships with the females in their immediate vicinity.

They climb trees very well, and they spend a lot of time in trees. They can carry prey up a tree and keep it safe from hyenas and lions. Trees are its main escape from attacks by lions or packs of dogs.

Young leopards leave their mothers after 13 – 18 months.

The most similar cat in its lifestyle is the jaguar, which lives in Central and South America.

### Hunting behavior

Leopards are versatile, opportunistic hunters. They hunt at different times, usually in the afternoon or late at night, and use different methods for hunting.

Most references to leopards describe them as nocturnal. They are often active at night. Still, it is not uncommon to encounter a leopard moving or even hunting during the day, even in extreme temperatures.

Leopards are ambush predators. They operate best when they have some cover to hide behind. Usually, they secretly move towards their prey and attack it when they are close, or hide and wait for it to come close.

Leopards are unpredictable animals. The leopard's ability to surprise its prey is one of the factors that makes it such a lethal predator.

### Diet

Leopards are carnivores with a very wide diet. They prey on Thomson's gazelle, impala, duikers, reedbucks, steenboks, and topi calves, zebras, young warthogs, blue wildebeest, and guineafowl. They also prey on rodents, hyraxs, rats, hares, storks, and monitor lizards.

Leopards can take down baboons and even jackals. They are the only natural predators of adult chimpanzees and mountain gorillas, though probably not the large male silverback gorillas.

Leopards do not usually eat humans, but sometimes leopards that are hurt or sick attack and eat people when they do not have enough to eat. A leopard in India is believed to have eaten more than 125 people.

## Subspecies

There are nine subspecies of leopards recognized today, one in Africa and eight in Asia. They are:

- African leopard _P.p pardus_, which includes the Barbary leopard
- Amur leopard _P.p orientalis_
- Arabian leopard _P.p nimr_
- Indian leopard _P.p fusca_
- Indo Chinese leopard _P.p delacouri_
- Javan leopard _P.p melas_
- North Chinese leopard _P.p japonensis_
- Persian leopard _P.p saxicolor_
- Sri Lankan leopard _P.p kotiya_