- The leopard is capable of running just under 40 miles per hour for
brief periods. It can leap more than 20 feet horizontally, and 10 feet
vertically. It is also a very adept swimmer.
- The leopard is the smallest member of the 4 "great cats"
and most closely resembles its cousin the Jaguar.
- Leopards vary in length from 3 - 6.25 ft with a tail length of 22.5
- 43 inches, and stand 17.5 - 30.5 inches high at the shoulder.
- Males weigh between 80 - 150 pounds and females between 62.5 - 100
pounds.
- This spotted cat has short powerful limbs, heavy torso, thick neck,
and long tail. Its short sleek coat varies greatly from pale straw and
gray buff to bright, deep ochre and chestnut, and sometimes black (found
mostly in wetter, dense forests).
- Large black spots grouped into rosettes on the shoulders, upper arms,
back, flanks and haunches, and smaller scattered spots on the lower
limbs, head, throat and chest, and the belly has large black blotches.
.
- The leopard can adapt to almost any type of habitat that provides
it with sufficient food and cover, which excludes only the interior
of large deserts. In its range, it is the only large predator in the
rain forests.
- Leopards are capable of breeding between 2 and 3 years, and produce
1 - 3 cubs after a 90-100 day gestation.
- The cubs become independent between 13 - 18 months, and siblings
may remain together for several months before separating.
- Females in captivity have produced offspring as old as 19 years, but
the average age of last reproduction is 8.5 years.
- In captivity, leopards have lived over 23 years, as compared to 10
- 11 in the wild.
- Leopards are very opportunistic animals and have an extremely flexible
diet.
- They will consume protein in almost any form, from beetles up to
antelopes twice its own weight.
- It readily eats carrion, and caches sizeable kills in trees, returning
nightly to feed on them
- Their main diet consists of over 30 different species including: medium
sized antelopes (reedbuck, impala, Tommy's gazelles) and the young of
larger species (topi, hartebeest, wildebeest, zebra) as the primary
food sources, with hares, birds and small carnivores rounding out the
list. They have even been known to include the occasional baboon in
their diet.
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