Mammals · Felids

Leopard

Panthera pardus

Vulnerable

The leopard is the most widely distributed of the big cats, ranging from sub-Saharan Africa across the Middle East and into South and East Asia. Solitary, powerfully built and famously adaptable, it survives closer to farmland and cities than any other big cat by relying on stealth, a spotted coat that vanishes into dappled cover, and the strength to haul a kill twice its own weight into a tree, safely out of reach of lions and hyenas.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae

Subfamily: Pantherinae

Genus: Panthera

Species: pardus

Subspecies: 8 recognized, incl. the African, Amur & Indian leopard

Size

4.25–6.25 ft body length plus a 2–3.5 ft tail; 17.5–28 in. at the shoulder. Males run roughly 30% larger than females.

Habitat

The broadest range of any big cat — rainforest, savanna, desert edge, mountain and even farmland fringe across sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South and East Asia.

Description

A powerfully built cat with a long body, short legs and a coat of dark rosettes (not solid spots) on a golden background. Melanistic ("black panther") leopards occur, especially in dense forest.

Diet

Carnivore — an unusually broad diet for a big cat, from antelope and warthog to monkeys, rodents, birds, reptiles and carrion, taken by whatever is locally available.

Strength

Can haul a kill up to twice its own body weight into a tree, keeping it safe from lions, hyenas and other scavengers.

Speed

Up to 36 mph in short bursts, and an exceptional climber and swimmer among cats.

Communication

A rasping cough-like call, growls, grunts and purring; scent marking and claw-raking on trees mark territory.

Gestation

About 90–105 days.

Birth & Litter Size

1–4 cubs, usually 2–3, hidden in a den among rocks or dense brush for the first weeks of life.

Sexually Mature

Around 2–3 years for both sexes.

Life Span

12–17 years in the wild, up to 23 in captivity.

Social Structure

Solitary and largely nocturnal, apart from mating pairs and mothers with cubs. Adults defend overlapping but distinct territories marked by scent and claw marks.

Did You Know?

A leopard can carry a kill weighing twice its own body weight up a tree — an antelope carcass hauled thirty feet or more off the ground, safe from lions and hyenas.

Did You Know?

The so-called "black panther" is not a separate species. It is simply a leopard (or in the Americas, a jaguar) with melanism — an excess of dark pigment that hides its rosettes under most lighting.

Did You Know?

The leopard has the widest geographic range of any wild cat, from the rainforests of West Africa to the snowy Amur region of the Russian Far East.