The Cat Survival Trust

The Leopard

Panthera pardus Linnaeus

Photo: Terry Moore

Contents

 
 
  • Description
  • Distribution
  • Diet
  • Behaviour
  • Reproduction
  • Conservation Status
  • Captive Breeding and Leopards in Captivity
  • Further Reading

    • Other names

    		  
     English: Panther
     French: léopard, panthère
     German: Panther, Leopard
     Spanish: leopardo, pantera

    Description

    The Leopard is the most widely distributed of the ‘Big Cats’ and is one of several often referred to as a Panther. It has an elongate body and massive limbs of moderate length. The paws are broad and rounded and the ears are short. The tail is longer than that of the Tiger, assisting its movements along branches of trees.
    The fur of subspecies in colder climates is longer and thicker and is very soft. As with many species, the fur of the female is softer than that of the male.
    The ground colour is pale straw and grey buff to bright fulvous, deep ochre, almost chestnut. The throat, chest, belly and insides of the limbs are white. The backs of the ears are black with a white central spot. On the head, throat and chest there are small black spots and on the belly large black blotches. On the shoulders, upper limbs, back, flanks and haunches, there are rosette shaped spots, which usually enclose an area of a shade darker than the basic background colour. The rosettes are variable in size and shape, some large, some small and with thick or thin rims. They occasionally have a small spot in the centre as in the Jaguar. The rosettes continue along the tail, mixing with spots and transverse bands towards the tip. The underside of the end section of the tail is white or yellowish white.
    There is a strong tendency towards melanism, particularly in the humid rainforests of south east Asia, with black and spotted leopards common in the same litter throughout the entire range. The markings are still visible in the blackest of cats, particularly in certain light conditions.
    The skull is relatively elongate, but flat on the upper face unlike the arched shape of the tiger. The hyoid is partly ossified. The teeth are very robust and the upper canines are particularly well developed. The post canine spaces are wide and the first premolar is always present.
    Considerable variations in acknowledged subspecies currently exist; many subspecies may be the result of regional variations in coat pattern and spot or rosette size only. As many as 30 subspecies have been described but it is likely that the number will be reduced to the eight marked * below.
    P. p. amurensis*Amur Leopard, Amur region
    P. p. ciscaucasicaBotswana and East Cape Province
    P. p. delacouri*Indo-China
    P. p. fusca*Kashmir to Sri Lanka, Burma, South China
    P. p. japonensis*North China
    P. p. jarvisiSinai Leopard, Sinai
    P. p. kotiya*Sri Lanka Leopard, Sri Lanka
    P. p. leopardusWest Africa
    P. p. meas*Javan Leopard, Java
    P. p. melanoticaSouth Africa
    P. p. nimrArabian Leopard, Arabia
    P. p. orientalisAmur Leopard, Korea to Amur
    P. p. pardus*Sudan, Ethiopia, Congo & Kenya
    P. p. pantheraBarbary Leopard, Algeria and Egypt
    P. p. pernigraSikkim to Nepal & Kashmir
    P. p. saxicolor*Iran
    P. p. sindicaSind to Baluchistan
    P. p. tullianaAnatolian Leopard, Asia Minor

    Principal dimensions

     OverallMalesFemales
    Head and Body lengths (cm)91-243106-24391-136
    Height at shoulder (cm)45-7860-7845-64
    Tail lengths (cm)58-9765-9758-78
    Weight (Kg)34-7645-7634-62
    Considerable variations in measurements exist between subspecies. The smallest 'nanopardus' of Somalia has an average head and body length of 115cm (male) and 107cm (female).
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    Distribution and Habitats

    Originally widespread, leopards are still found in a very wide range of habitats. Unfortunately many populations are fragmented and isolated.
    Current ranges include the Sinai peninsula, Arabia, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Caucasus to south Turkmenistan, south east Uzbekistan, south west Tadzhikistan, Iran to Baluchistan, Sind and Kashmir, Nepal to Assam, south to Cape Comorin, Sri Lanka, south west through Burma (Myanmar) to the Malayan Peninsula, Java and Thailand, Indo-China to China, Tibet, Manchuria to Korea and above the 50° latitude in eastern Siberia. In Africa human pressures have reduced populations dramatically and in many areas, like Zanzibar, leopards are now extinct. In the Serengeti, presence of lions has a dramatic effect on the distribution of leopards. Leopards are not found in Sumatra or Borneo.
    The leopard is a very adaptable species, being found in every type of forest, savannah, grassland, thin bush and semi desert. They are quite at home on cliffs, swampy tropical forests and rugged mountainous areas, right up to the snow line of Mount Kenya. A frozen carcase has been found at 5638 metres on Kilimanjaro, yet in the Himalayas, they are not often found above 3000 metres.
    Leopards will follow the snow line in most countries, wintering in the lowlands when human activity is reduced. Indian leopards seem to be more tolerant of the sun than tigers, living in scrub jungles and broken rocky country. Unlike tigers, they are not found in the mangrove Sundarbans, indeed, leopards tend to avoid tiger strongholds.
    The map shows the present distribution of Leopards in grey. It is not possible to show accurate details for this most widely distributed of cats and it must be remembered that relative abundance varies enormously across the range. In particular, single dots may refer to a single observation in that area.
    The map is based on information in the Wild Cats Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan published by the IUCN/SSC Cat Speialist Group in 1996. See our Books page for more details.
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    Diet

    The leopard’s diet is extremely varied, including Thompson’s gazelle, baboons, jackals, wildebeest, aardvarks, pangolins, impala, snakes, birds and rats. Even cheetah are occasionally eaten. Leopards in the Ivory Coast feed on over 30 different mammal species.
    Leopards are opportunistic feeders. They have been known to take fish from eagles and have been observed stalking mountain gorillas. They will feed on carrion and sometimes steal from tigers, although they will give way to wild dogs, hyenas and lions. Chimpanzees can also be dangerous for the leopard as they can gang up on the cat if enough are present.
    The females hunt every 5 or 6 days and several carcasses may be stored in a tree at one time. Living in hot and dry places, the moisture needed to survive is derived from prey.
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    Behaviour

    Leopards may be seen at any time of the day. Where persecuted they tend to be nocturnal and secretive, but in protected areas they are more diurnal, even being seen hunting in the bright sunlight.
    The leopard hunts mostly on the ground, and is an excellent stalker, on average stalking 275m. before it seizes its prey by the throat and strangles it. It will also hunt by leaping down on its prey from a tree, grabbing it by the base of the neck.
    The leopard will then drag its kill, which can often be a gazelle even larger than itself, up into the branches of a tree.
    Tree-stored kills have been found to last on average at least four times longer than the same sized kills stored on the ground.
    Leopards are very good climbers, being able to descend head first, unlike most cats who climb down hindquarters first. They are good swimmers but will not lie in the water like a tiger. They avoid puddles carefully and seem to display the domestic cat’s dislike for getting wet!
    Two thirds of the leopard’s time is spent resting and surveying its pads, much of the time lying in a tree, on large boulders or in a vulture’s nest.
    Leopards are solitary, and the female’s range is usually exclusive, although this may be slightly flexible. The male’s range is 6 to 63 Km2, overlapping the female’s which varies considerably from 6-13 Km2 in high areas rich in ungulates to 400Km2 in the hot, dry Kalahari, but they all depend on the availability of food resources.
    The young are transient until home ranges become available because of adult mortality.
    Urine spraying and tree scratching are methods used by leopards for territory identification. They are more adaptable than lions and tigers and are able to still live in densely populated suburban areas; they are even sometimes heard in the city of Nairobi at night.
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    Reproduction

    Leopards in Africa and India will mate at any time of the year, while those living in Manchuria and Siberia mate most often in January and February. One female may be pursued by several males, the successful male grabbing her by the back of her neck with his teeth, the female swatting him off when copulation is completed. Copulation is very frequent, from 70 to 100 times a day. Oestrus lasts on average 7 days (4-14).
    The gestation period of the leopard is an average of 96 days (90-112) with up to six cubs being born. Early mortality is high though and it is rare to see a female with more than two cubs.
    The young weigh 0.5 Kg at birth and open their eyes after ten days. Their fur is longer and more woolly than the adults, a pale greyish fawn colour with small but poorly defined spots.
    The males are not involved in rearing the young and are probably kept away from the cubs by the female, but males have been observed bringing meat to their cubs. The female may be away from her cubs for long periods of time, sometimes leaving them for up to a day and a half alone.
    If the cubs have to be moved when young, the mother carries them by the scruff of the neck, and can even swim with them. They take their first walk at 13 days and at 3 months are weaned and start to follow their mother outside the den. At five months they are able to catch small animals and most can fend for themselves at a year old, although they tend to stay with their mother up to two years.
    The female leopards will reach sexual maturity at an average of 33 months (30-36) and can live up to 23 years in captivity.
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    Conservation Status

    As with many endangered animals, increasing human populations, loss of habitat and hunting have dramatically reduced the number of leopards. They are endangered through much of their range, with the Amur, Anatolian and Barbary leopards being almost extinct.
    Leopards are considered pests by villagers as they will take livestock and are considered to be more dangerous as “man-eaters” than lions or tigers. They will even enter a hut and drag out a victim which a tiger would not do. Half eaten bodies have been found wedged in trees.
    Because they eat carrion, leopards can be easily poisoned. They are occasionally killed by lions and crocodiles, although poaching and starvation are the biggest problems.
    The leopard is placed on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which prohibits trade in any part of the animal in those countries that are members, but smuggling still occurs.
    The IUCN Red List has the Arabian leopard (P. p. nimr), the Amur leopard (P. p. orientalis), North African leopard (P. p. panthera) and Anatolian leopard (P. p. tulliana) as Critically Endangered, the Caucasus leopard (P. p. ciscaucasia), Sri Lankan leopard P. p. kotiya), North Chinese leopard (P. p. japonensis) and Javan leopard (P. p. melas) as Endangered and all other leopards as Least Concern. (Cat News 23, 1995, p.21) The names given are those quoted in Cat News and differ slightly from those shown earlier on this page.
    Leopards are good breeders in captivity and are a lot more resilient in the face of growing pressures than either lions or tigers appear to be, making conservation programmes slightly easier.

    The Amur Leopard

    We have recently discovered a Web page about efforts to breed this subspecies in captivity. It seems to be provided by Augsburg Zoo and is in English.

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    Captive Breeding and Leopards in Captivity

    Studbook Keeper

    Alan H. Shoemaker
    Curator of Mammals
    Riverbanks Zoological Park
    500 Wildlife Parkway
    Columbia
    South Carolina 29202-1060, USA
    A captive breeding programme needs to have regard to keeping separate the various subspecies, while at the same time avoiding the dangers of inbreeding.
    This is achieved by the maintenance of a studbook which is used to select suitable breeding partners for captive animals. Such studbooks are maintained on a voluntary basis by dedicated individuals or teams at various zoos around the world.

    Zoos with Leopards


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    Latest update: 1st December, 1999

    © September 1996 The Cat Survival Trust, The Centre, Codicote Road, Welwyn, AL6 9TU, England.
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