l e o p a r d s
I guess you have seen this coming
Mel making a page about
LEOPARDS !
I just love leopards. These mysterious, shy but oh so
dangerous cats
of Africa.
If I could have one wish,
then that would be to do
leopard research
because
You think you know it all,
but I can assure you,
you know only the basics.
I dedicate this page
to
SETIDEAS
my real live leopard
Setideas was named after me when she was found in the wild after her mother died. She and her brother were tiny cubs and only 7 weeks old.
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FACT FILE
Scientific Name - Panthera pardus
Size - About 28 inches at the shoulder
Weight - Up to 140 pounds
Lifespan - 21 years in captivity
Habitat - Bush and riverine forest
Diet - Carnivorous
Gestation - Approximately 21/2 months
Preditors - Humans
The elegant, powerfully built leopard has a long body, relatively short legs and a broad head. Its tawny coat is covered with dark, irregular circles called "rosettes."
Both lions and hyenas will take away a leopard's kill if they can. To prevent this leopards store their larger kills in trees where they can feed on them in relative safety.
The most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores, the leopard is also the shrewdest. Pound for pound, it is the strongest climber of the large cats and capable of killing prey larger than itself.
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PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
Leopards come in a wide variety of coat colours, from
a light buff or tawny in warmer, dryer areas to a dark shade in deep forests.
The spots, or rosettes, are circular in East African leopards but square in
southern African leopards.
HABITAT
Dense bush in rocky surroundings and riverine
forest are their favourite habitats, but leopards adapt to many places in both
warm and cold climates. Their adaptability, in fact, has helped them survive the
loss of habitat to increasing human settlement. Leopards are primarily
nocturnal, usually resting during the daytime in trees or thick bush. The
spotted coat provides almost perfect camouflage.
BEHAVIOUR
When a leopard stalks prey, it keeps a low
profile and slinks through the grass or bush until it is close enough to launch
an attack. When not hunting, it can move through herds of antelopes without
unduly disturbing them by flipping its tail over its back to reveal the white
underside, a sign that it is not seeking prey.
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Leopards are basically solitary and go out of their way to avoid one another. Each animal has a home range that overlaps with its neighbours; the male's range is much larger and generally overlaps with those of several females. A leopard usually does not tolerate intrusion into its own range except to mate. Unexpected encounters between leopards can lead to fights.
Leopards growl and spit with a screaming roar of fury when angry and they purr when content. They announce their presence to other leopards with a rasping or sawing cough. They have a good sense of smell and mark their ranges with urine; they also leave claw marks on trees to warn other leopards to stay away.
Leopards continually move about their home ranges, seldom staying in an area for more than two or three days at a time. With marking and calling, they usually know one another's whereabouts. A male will accompany a female in estrus for a week or so before they part and return to solitude.
DIET
As they grow, cubs learn to hunt small animals. The
leopard is a cunning, stealthy hunter, and its prey ranges from strong-scented
carrion, fish, reptiles and birds to mammals such as rodents, hares, hyraxes,
warthogs, antelopes, monkeys and baboons.
CARING FOR
THE YOUNG
A litter includes two or three cubs, whose coats appear to
be smoky grey as the rosettes are not yet clearly delineated. The female
abandons her nomadic wandering until the cubs are large enough to accompany her.
She keeps them hidden for about the first 8 weeks, giving them meat when they
are 6 or 7 weeks old and suckling them for 3 months or longer.
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PREDITORS
Leopards have long been preyed upon by man.
Their soft, dense, beautiful fur has been used for ceremonial robes and coats.
Different parts of the leopard the tail, claws and whiskers are popular as
fetishes. These cats have a reputation as wanton killers, but research does not
support the claim. In some areas farmers try to exterminate them, while in
others leopards are considered symbols of wisdom. Leopards do well in captivity,
and some have lived as long as 21 years.
Finally ... I cannot believe that there are still people in this world that mistake a Cheetah for a Leopard ! A Cheetah is much smaller than a leopard and when you look at a cheetah's face it has 2 long black "tear drops" .... something a leopard does not have !
This is a cheetah (also the
fastest land animal on planet earth) 
Look at the "tear drops"
This is a leopard
Look !! No tear drops ~
In fact, they don't
even look a like !
* I have browsed the web so many times and when I look up an article about leopards, I usually find a picture of a cheetah next to it. Big Big Mistake! *
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