Editing Leopard (section)

=== Hunting and diet ===
{{multiple image |perrow=1 |image1=Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) stalking.jpg |caption1=Leopard stalking |image2=Leopard kill - KNP - 001.jpg|caption2=Leopard applying a throat bite to a [[Cape bushbuck|bushbuck]]|image3=Leopardo (Panthera pardus) devorando un antílope, parque nacional Kruger, Sudáfrica, 2018-07-26, DD 06.jpg |caption3=Leopard caches a kill in a tree}}

The leopard is a [[carnivore]] that prefers medium-sized prey with a body mass ranging from {{cvt|10|–|40|kg|lb}}. Prey species in this weight range tend to occur in dense habitat and to form small herds. Species that prefer open areas and have well-developed anti-predator strategies are less preferred. More than 100 prey species have been recorded. The most preferred species are [[ungulates]], such as [[impala]], [[Cape bushbuck|bushbuck]], [[common duiker]] and [[chital]]. [[Primate]]s preyed upon include [[white-eyelid mangabey]]s, [[guenon]]s and [[gray langur]]s. Leopards also kill smaller carnivores like [[black-backed jackal]], [[bat-eared fox]], [[genet (animal)|genet]] and cheetah.<ref name=Hayward2006>{{cite journal |last1=Hayward |first1=M.W. |last2=Henschel |first2=P. |last3=O'Brien |first3=J. |last4=Hofmeyr |first4=M. |last5=Balme |first5=G. |last6=Kerley |first6=G. I. H. |name-list-style=amp |title=Prey preferences of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |date=2006 |volume=270 |issue=4 |pages=298–313 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00139.x |url=http://www.ibs.bialowieza.pl/g2/pdf/1596.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105063845/http://www.ibs.bialowieza.pl/g2/pdf/1596.pdf |archive-date=2012-11-05 |url-status=live}}</ref> In urban environments, [[domestic dog]]s provide an important food source.<ref name=Powell2021/> The largest prey killed by a leopard was reportedly a male [[Taurotragus|eland]] weighing {{cvt|900|kg}}.<ref name=WCW/> A study in [[Wolong National Nature Reserve]] in southern China demonstrated variation in the leopard's diet over time; over the course of seven years, the vegetative cover receded, and leopards opportunistically shifted from primarily consuming [[tufted deer]] to pursuing [[Chinese bamboo rat|bamboo rat]]s and other smaller prey.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Johnson, K. G. |author2=Wei, W. |author3=Reid, D. G. |author4=Jinchu, H. |date=1993 |title=Food habits of Asiatic leopards (''Panthera pardus fusca'') in Wolong Reserve, Sichuan, China |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=646–650 |jstor=1382285 |doi=10.2307/1382285}}</ref>

The leopard depends mainly on its acute senses of hearing and vision for hunting.<ref name=Mills>{{cite book |last1=Mills |first1=M. G. L. |last2=Hes |first2=L. |name-list-style=amp |isbn=978-0-947430-55-9|pages=178–180 |publisher=Struik Publishers|location=Cape Town, South Africa |title=The Complete Book of Southern African Mammals |year=1997}}</ref> It primarily hunts at night in most areas.<ref name=estes/> In western African forests and Tsavo National Park, they have also been observed hunting by day.<ref name=hamilton76>{{cite thesis |last=Hamilton |first=P. H. |year=1976 |title=The movements of leopards in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, as determined by radio-tracking |degree= M.Sc. |publisher=University of Nairobi |location=Nairobi}}</ref> They usually hunt on the ground. In the Serengeti, they have been seen to ambush prey by descending on it from trees.<ref name= Kruuk>{{cite journal |last1=Kruuk |first1=H. |last2=Turner |first2=M. |name-list-style=amp |date=1967 |title=Comparative notes on predation by lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog in the Serengeti area, East Africa |journal=Mammalia |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.1515/mamm.1967.31.1.1 |s2cid=84619500}}</ref> It stalks its prey and tries to approach as closely as possible, typically within {{cvt|5|m}} of the target, and, finally, pounces on it and kills it by suffocation. It kills small prey with a bite to the back of the neck, but holds larger animals [[Throat clamp|by the throat and strangles them]].<ref name=estes/> It [[Cache (biology)|caches]] kills up to {{cvt|2|km|mi}} apart.<ref name=Kingdon/> It is able to take large prey due to its powerful jaw muscles, and is therefore strong enough to drag carcasses heavier than itself up into trees; an individual was seen to haul a young giraffe weighing nearly {{cvt|125|kg}} up {{cvt|5.7|m|ftin}} into a tree.<ref name=hamilton76/> It eats small prey immediately, but drags larger carcasses over several hundred metres and caches it safely in trees, bushes or even caves; this behaviour allows the leopard to store its prey away from rivals, and offers it an advantage over them. The way it stores the kill depends on local topography and individual preferences, varying from trees in Kruger National Park to bushes in the plain terrain of the Kalahari.<ref name=mammal/><ref name=Schaller72>{{cite book |last=Schaller |first=G. |year=1972 |title=Serengeti: a kingdom of predators |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=978-0-394-47242-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJ_wAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2020-09-18 |archive-date=2024-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505150524/https://books.google.com/books?id=wJ_wAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Average daily consumption rates of {{cvt|3.5|kg|lboz}} were estimated for males and of {{cvt|2.8|kg|lboz}} for females.<ref name=bailey93/> In the southern [[Kalahari Desert]], leopards meet their water requirements by the bodily fluids of prey and [[succulent plant]]s; they drink water every two to three days and feed infrequently on moisture-rich plants such as [[gemsbok cucumber]]s, [[watermelon]] and Kalahari [[Schmidtia|sour grass]].<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Bothma |first1=J. du P. |title=Water-use by southern Kalahari leopards |journal=South African Journal of Wildlife Research |date=2005 |volume=35 |pages=131–137 |url=http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/journal_archive/03794369/2353.pdf}} {{open access}}</ref>