Appearance

The leopard is the smallest member of the 4 "great cats" and most closely resembles its cousin the Jaguar. Leopards vary in length from 3 - 6.25 ft with a tail length of 22.5 - 43 inches, and stand 17.5 - 30.5 inches high at the shoulder. Males weigh between 80 - 150 pounds and females between 62.5 - 100 pounds. This spotted cat has short powerful limbs, heavy torso, thick neck, and long tail. Its short sleek coat varies greatly from pale straw and gray buff to bright, deep ochre and chestnut, and sometimes black (found mostly in wetter, dense forests). Large black spots grouped into rosettes on the shoulders, upper arms, back, flanks and haunches, and smaller scattered spots on the lower limbs, head, throat and chest, and the belly has large black blotches.

 

Habitat

The leopard can adapt to almost any type of habitat that provides it with sufficient food and cover, which excludes only the interior of large deserts. In its range, it is the only large predator in the rain forests.

Hunting and Diet

Leopards are very opportunistic animals and have an extremely flexible diet. They will consume protein in almost any form, from beetles up to antelopes twice its own weight. It readily eats carrion, and caches sizeable kills in trees, returning nightly to feed on them. Their main diet consists of over 30 different species including: medium sized antelopes (reedbuck, impala, Tommy's gazelles) and the young of larger species (topi, hartebeest, wildebeest, zebra) as the primary food sources, with hares, birds and small carnivores rounding out the list. They have even been known to include the occasional baboon in their diet.

Behavior

Leopards are solitary cats, and use the same methods as the other cats for defining their territory: scent marking, feces, and scratch marks. It has a variety of vocalizations including grunting, growling, hissing and meowing. One of their most recognized sounds is their distance call which sounds something like someone sawing wood.

Threats

Leopard can adapt to both warm and cold climates has helped it survive the loss of habitat caused by increasing human settlement. However, leopards have long been preyed upon by man. Their soft, beautiful fur has been used for clothing. The tail, claws and whiskers of the leopard are popular as fetishes. In some areas farmers try to exterminate them, while in others leopards are considered symbols of wisdom.