Facts About Leopards

FACTS ABOUT LEOPARDS
Leopards are big cats known for their golden, spotted bodies and
graceful, yet ferocious hunting techniques. They are often thought of as
an African animal, but leopards live all over the world. Though their
reach is vast, their numbers are declining.
Size
Leopards are larger than a house cat, but leopards are the smallest
members of the large cat category. They grow to only 3 to 6.2 feet (92 to
190 centimeters) long. Their tail adds another 25 to 39 inches (64 to 99
cm) to their length. Males and females vary in weight. Females typically
weigh 46 to 132 pounds (21 to 60 kilograms) and males usually weigh
around 80 to 165 lbs. (36 to 75 kg), according to the San Diego Zoo.
Habitat
The leopard is very adaptable and can live in many different places
across the globe. Leopards are found in sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian
Peninsula, southwestern and eastern Turkey, in the Sinai/Judean Desert
of Southwest Asia, the Himalayan foothills, India, Russia, China and the
islands of Java and Sri Lanka, according to the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These large cats can live in almost any
type of habitat, including rainforests, deserts, woodlands, grassland
savannas, forests, mountain habitats, coastal scrubs, shrub lands and
swampy areas. In fact, leopards live in more places than any other large
cat.
Habits
Leopards are solitary creatures that only spend time with others when
they are mating or raising young. They are also nocturnal and spend
their nights hunting instead of sleeping.
Leopards spend a lot of their time in trees. Their spotted coat
camouflages them, making them blend in with the leaves of the tree.
They will often drag their prey into trees to keep it from being taken by
other animals, according to National Geographic.
Diet
Leopards are carnivores, but they aren't picky eaters. They will prey on
any animal that comes across their path, such as Thomson's gazelles,
cheetah cubs, baboons, rodents, monkeys, snakes, large birds,
amphibians, fish, antelopes, warthogs and porcupines.
Leopards are ambush predators; they crouch low to sneak up to their
prey and pounce before it has a chance to react, according to the Animal
Diversity Web, a database maintained by the Museum of Zoology at the
University of Michigan. A leopard will kill its prey with one swift bite to
the neck, breaking it.
Offspring
Leopards have a gestation period of approximately three months and
typically give birth to a litter of two to three cubs in a den, according
to PBS Nature. Each cub weighs just 17 to 21 ounces (500 to 600 grams)
at birth, is blind and almost hairless. They depend on their mother for
food and do not leave the den until they are 3 months old. At 12 to18
months, the cubs are ready to live on their own and at 2 or 3 years old
will create their own offspring. Leopards live 12 to 15 years in the wild
and up to 23 years in zoos.
Classification/taxonomy
Leopard characteristics are recognized in their classification as catlike
carnivores (suborder Feliformia) and as roaring cats (genusPanthera).
Their complete taxonomy, according to the Integrated Taxonomic
Information System (ITIS), is:
 Kingdom: Animalia
 Subkingdom: Bilateria
 Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia
 Phylum: Chordata
 Subphylum: Vertebrata
 Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
 Superclass: Tetrapoda
 Class: Mammalia
 Subclass: Theria
 Infraclass: Eutheria
 Order: Carnivora
 Suborder: Feliformia
 Family: Felidae
 Subfamily: Pantherinae
 Genus & species: Panthera pardus
 Subspecies:
Panthera pardus delacouri (Indochinese leopard) Panthera pardus
fusca (Indian leopard) Panthera pardus japonensis (North China
leopard) Panthera pardus kotiya (Sri Lankan leopard) Panthera pardus
melas (Javan leopard) Panthera pardus nimr (Arabian
leopard) Panthera pardus orientalis (Amur leopard) Panthera pardus
pardus (African leopard) Panthera pardus saxicolor (Caucasian leopard,
Central Asian leopard, Persian leopard)
Conservation status
Leopards are classified as near threatened by the IUCN's Red List of
Threatened Species. This listing is due to their declining population,
which is caused by habitat loss and hunting. According to PBS Nature,
one of the rarest leopards is the Amur leopard, which is found in far-east
Russia, Korea and northeast China. It is estimated that there are only 30
currently living in the wild.
Other facts
The name "leopard" comes from the Greek word leopardus, which is a
combination of leon (lion) and pardus (panther), according to PBS
Nature.
Leopards don't need much water. They survive from the moisture they
get from eating their prey.
It is no wonder that leopards are such great hunters. They can run up to
36 mph (58 kph), jump forward 20 feet (6 meters) and leap 10 feet (3 m)
straight up, according to the San Diego Zoo.
Though classified as a roaring cat, leopards usually bark when they have
something to say.
Leopards' ears can hear five times more sounds that the human ear.
The leopard's spots are called rosettes because they look like roses.
The genus Leopardus does not include leopards. Members of that genus
include cats of Central and South America, such as ocelots, oncillas,
margays, Pampas cats, Geoffrey's cat, guiñas and Andean cats.

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