Leopards are the least social - and perhaps the most beautiful - of the African big cats. They usually keep to themselves, lurking in dense riverine bush or around rocky koppies, emerging to hunt late in the afternoon or at night.
They are the most secretive and elusive big cats, and arguably one of the most beautiful members of the entire Panthera genus. Here are some facts about the beautiful leopard that you need to know:
1. Leopards are solitary animals
Unlike lions which are social animals, Leopards are solitary cats living a sole individual lifestyle. Leopards are usually seen taking a stroll in the grasslands of their habitants alone and the only time they are seen in a pair that is a male and a female is when they are in a mating season, when a female is ready for mating it signals her readiness to her mate by the scent of her territory markers such as her own urine. The mating period takes places for 4 -5 days and in these days they (male and female leopard) hunt together and mate for 70-100 times a day the mating period is followed by a gestation period of 3 months giving birth to cubs with only 2-3 having a chance of surviving. After the mating and gestation period to the birth of cubs, leopards go back to their solitary lifestyle.
2. Leopards are ambush predators
Leopards have been identified to be ambush predators in their hunting tactics, like other cats(lion, cheetah and jaguar) leopards get their prey by hunting Leopards are speedy animals with a possibility of running 35 miles per hour which acts an advantage for their hunting expeditions, in their hunting the leopards stalk their target from a few meters distance while they wait to ambush their target in case the prey moves towards their direction. Once the prey is close to the leopards it is killed in one swift yet ferocious move which involves grabbing of the prey’s neck and breaking it to death, leopard off springs start hunting at the age of 3-4 months and their hunting skills and tactics get polished over time.
3. Leopards are not picky eaters
Leopards have been noticed to be able to eat everything in their carnivorous diet in other words they are not picky eaters as other cats in the cat family. leopards diet consists of reptiles like snakes, fish, and medium sized animals such as warthogs, zebras, antelopes, wildebeests, rats, and many more. Leopards are capable of surviving without water because they get most of the waters from their prey which they need to survive.
4. Leopards are the smallest of the large cat family
In the cat family consisting of lions, jaguars, cheetah and leopards themselves in size leopards are the smallest in the family. Leopards habit mostly on trees as a way of escaping from the scotching midday heat and also enjoy their prey in peace, leopards use their small size to help them climb the trees and in the cat family they are known as the most agile climbers. A leopard’s body grows to an average length 92 to 190 centimeters (3 to 6.2 feet) and their tail grows for about 99 centimeters, the length and weight of leopards differ depending on the sex. Generally the males are larger and heavier than females, the males stand at 60-70 cm and females stand a length of 57-64 cm. male leopards weigh 37 -90 kgs and female weigh 28-60 kgs. Though are the smallest in cat family it has nothing to do with their strength as they can carry their prey weighing approximately 50 kilograms to the tree where they reside.
5. Leopards are adaptive cats
Leopards have been noticed to be adoptive cats which has helped them thrive in any habitant, leopards are found in many national parks in Africa which are found in different series of vegetation such as rainforest a woodland, savanna grassland, mountains, shrub lands and swampy areas. Leopards can easily adapt to any environment that is why they are found in many regions of Africa unlike other cats such as lions which live in conquered territories near water sources.
