The Leopard
This fierce animal is elusive and likes to live in areas with trees for hiding in. Male leopards are larger than the females, standing up to around 70 cm shoulder height, growing to 190 cm long excluding their 99 cm tail and can weight up to 75 kg with females weighing-in less at around 60 kg. Leopards are famous for their agility, with speeds of up to 58 km per hour and their leap is also impressive at around 6 m horizontally and 3 m vertically making them very good hunters.
- Interesting Aspects -
Aspect One
Leopard cubs are the cutest sight in the wild but they are very rare to spot especially in their early days because they are born blind, helpless and extremely vulnerable so their mothers hide them for about 8 weeks.
Aspect Two
They are astoundingly strong and impressive predators who can hunt prey larger than themselves (they have been recorded to kill prey of even up to 500 kg) and haul their catch up into trees to protect it from lions and hyenas.
Aspect Three
Female leopards are quite the masterminds! To protect their cubs from being killed by rival dominant males the female mates with many of the dominant males in her territory so that when the cubs are born each males thinks they are his.
stalk along
Get To Know Them
Leopards have meticulous hunting skills, approaching prey with legs bent and head low to avoid being seen, then stalking the prey silently up to five to ten metres within range and finally pounce on the unsuspecting Wildebeest,Thomson’s gazelle and any other of their prey.
Leopard in Action
Armed with a superb camouflage and superlative stealth, a leopard is a great threat to unsuspecting prey. Have a look at this amazing video from BBC Earth.
Enjoy!
Best Places to See Leopards
Crazy about leopards? Here's where in Africa you're most likely to see this beloved cat.
Get Up Close & Personal
Leopards are nocturnal animals that spend most of their daytime sleeping in tree tops. These stealthy hunters sometimes even hunt from trees, their spotted coats provide an incredible camouflage giving them the ability to blend in with the leaves and suddenly pounce on their prey.
