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The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant cat species in the genus Panthera. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of Template:Cvt with a Template:Cvt long tail and a shoulder height of Template:Cvt. Males typically weigh Template:Cvt, and females Template:Cvt.
The leopard was first described in 1758, and several subspecies were proposed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, eight subspecies are recognised in its wide range in Africa and Asia. It initially evolved in Africa during the Early Pleistocene, before migrating into Eurasia around the Early–Middle Pleistocene transition. Leopards were formerly present across Europe, but became extinct in the region at around the end of the Late Pleistocene-early Holocene.
The leopard is adapted to a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to steppe, including arid and montane areas. It is an opportunistic predator, hunting mostly ungulates and primates. It relies on its spotted pattern for camouflage as it stalks and ambushes its prey, which it sometimes drags up a tree. It is a solitary animal outside the mating season and when raising cubs. Females usually give birth to a litter of 2–4 cubs once in 15–24 months. Both male and female leopards typically reach sexual maturity at the age 2–2.5 years.
Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, leopard populations are currently threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and are declining in large parts of the global range. Leopards have had cultural roles in Ancient Greece, West Africa and modern Western culture. Leopard skins are popular in fashion.
EtymologyEdit
The English name "leopard" comes from Old French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Middle French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, that derives from Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and ancient Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Transliteration). Template:Transliteration could be a compound of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Transliteration), meaning Template:Gloss, and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Transliteration), meaning Template:Gloss.<ref name=lewis>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=liddell>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} originally referred to a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
"Panther" is another common name, derived from Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and ancient Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Transliteration);<ref name=lewis/> The generic name Panthera originates in Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a hunting net for catching wild beasts to be used by the Romans in combats.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is the masculine singular form.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
TaxonomyEdit
Felis pardus was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.<ref name="linnaeus">Template:Cite book Template:In lang</ref> The generic name Panthera was first used by Lorenz Oken in 1816, who included all the known spotted cats into this group.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Oken's classification was not widely accepted, and Felis or Leopardus was used as the generic name until the early 20th century.<ref name=Ellerman1966>Template:Cite book</ref>
The leopard was designated as the type species of Panthera by Joel Asaph Allen in 1902.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock also subordinated the tiger (P. tigris), lion (P. leo), and jaguar (P. onca) to Panthera.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Living subspeciesEdit
Following Linnaeus' first description, 27 leopard subspecies were proposed by naturalists between 1794 and 1956. Since 1996, only eight subspecies have been considered valid on the basis of mitochondrial analysis.<ref name=Miththapala1996>Template:Cite journal</ref> Later analysis revealed a ninth valid subspecies, the Arabian leopard.<ref name="Uphyrkina">Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group recognized the following eight subspecies as valid taxa:<ref name=CatSG2017>Template:Cite journal</ref>
| Subspecies | Distribution | Image |
|---|---|---|
| African leopard (P. p. pardus) Template:Small<ref name=msw3/> | It is the most widespread leopard subspecies and is native to most of Sub-Saharan Africa, but likely locally extinct in Mauritania, Togo, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and most likely also in Gambia and Lesotho.<ref name=IUCN/> | File:Leopard (Panthera pardus) male ... (51890626416).jpg |
| Indian leopard (P. p. fusca) Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | It occurs in the Indian subcontinent, Myanmar and southern Tibet.<ref name=CatSG2017/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is listed as Near Threatened.<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref> | File:Indian male leopard (cropped).jpg |
| Javan leopard (P. p. melas) Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | It is native to Java in Indonesia and has been assessed as Endangered in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref> | File:IG KusumoKintokoEko WA 082140100111 foto macan tutul jawa lokasi TN Baluran, Situbondo, Indonesia.jpg |
| Arabian leopard (P. p. nimr) Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | It is the smallest leopard subspecies and considered endemic to the Arabian Peninsula.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> As of 2023, the population was estimated to comprise 100–120 individuals in Oman and Yemen; it was therefore assessed as Critically Endangered in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref> It is locally extinct in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.<ref name=IUCN/> | File:Arabian Leopard Panthera pardus nimr in Sharjah Photo Prof Dr Norman Ali Khalaf.jpg |
| P. p. tulliana Template:Small<ref name=Valenciennes>Template:Cite journal</ref> | It occurs from eastern Turkey and the Caucasus to the Iranian Plateau and the Hindu Kush into the western Himalayas. It is listed as Endangered.<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref> It is locally extinct in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.<ref name=IUCN/>
The Balochistan leopard population in the south of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan is separated from the northern population by the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts.<ref name=Khorozyan2006>Template:Cite journal</ref> |
File:Nordpersischen Leoparden.jpg |
| Amur leopard (P. p. orientalis) Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | It is native to the Russian Far East and northern China, but is locally extinct in the Korean peninsula.<ref name=IUCN/> | File:Amur leopard. Frame from a camera trap (cropped).jpg |
| Indochinese leopard (P. p. delacouri) Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | It occurs in mainland Southeast Asia and southern China, and is listed as Critically Endangered.<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref> It is locally extinct in Hong Kong, Singapore, Laos and Vietnam.<ref name=IUCN/> | File:Indochinese leopard.jpg |
| Sri Lankan leopard (P. p. kotiya) Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | It is native to Sri Lanka and listed as Vulnerable.<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref> | File:Srilankan leopard (srilankan kotiya) 02 (cropped).jpg |
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Results of an analysis of molecular variance and pairwise fixation index of 182 African leopard museum specimens showed that some African leopards exhibit higher genetic differences than Asian leopard subspecies.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
EvolutionEdit
Results of phylogenetic studies based on nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that the last common ancestor of the Panthera and Neofelis genera is thought to have lived about Template:Ma. Neofelis diverged about Template:Ma from the Panthera lineage. The tiger diverged about Template:Ma, followed by the snow leopard about Template:Ma and the leopard about Template:Ma. The leopard is a sister taxon to a clade within Panthera, consisting of the lion and the jaguar.<ref name=johnson2006>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=werdelin2009>Template:Cite book</ref>
Results of a phylogenetic analysis of chemical secretions amongst cats indicated that the leopard is closely related to the lion.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The geographic origin of the Panthera is most likely northern Central Asia. The leopard-lion clade was distributed in the Asian and African Palearctic since at least the early Pliocene.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The leopard-lion clade diverged 3.1–1.95 million years ago.<ref name=davis2010>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=mazak2011>Template:Cite journal</ref> Additionally, a 2016 study revealed that the mitochondrial genomes of the leopard, lion and snow leopard are more similar to each other than their nuclear genomes, indicating that their ancestors hybridized with the snow leopard at some point in their evolution.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The oldest unambiguous fossils of the leopard are from Eastern Africa, dating to around 2 million years ago.<ref name=Paijmans>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Leopard-like fossil bones and teeth possibly dating to the Pliocene were excavated in Perrier in France, northeast of London, and in Valdarno, Italy. Until 1940, similar fossils dating back to the Pleistocene were excavated mostly in loess and caves at 40 sites in Europe, including Furninha Cave near Lisbon, Genista Caves in Gibraltar, and Santander Province in northern Spain to several sites across France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, in the north up to Derby in England, in the east to Přerov in the Czech Republic and the Baranya in southern Hungary.<ref name=Schmid1940>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leopards arrived in Eurasia during the late Early to Middle Pleistocene around 1.2<ref name=Marciszak>Template:Cite journal</ref> to 0.6 million years ago.<ref name=Paijmans /> Four European Pleistocene leopard subspecies were proposed. P. p. begoueni from the beginning of the Early Pleistocene was replaced about Template:Ma by P. p. sickenbergi, which in turn was replaced by P. p. antiqua around 0.3 million years ago.<ref name=Diedrich2013/> P. p. spelaea is the most recent subspecies that appeared at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene and survived until about 11,000 years ago and possibly into the early Holocene in the Iberian Peninsula.<ref name=Diedrich2013>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Leopards depicted in cave paintings in Chauvet Cave provide indirect evidence of leopard presence in Europe.<ref name=Diedrich2013/> Leopard fossils dating to the Late Pleistocene were found in Biśnik Cave in south-central Poland.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Marciszak/> Fossil remains were also excavated in the Iberian<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Italian Peninsula,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and in the Balkans.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leopard fossils dating to the Pleistocene were also excavated in the Japanese archipelago.<ref name=JapanMammals>Template:Cite book</ref> Leopard fossils were also found in Taiwan.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
HybridsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In 1953, a male leopard and a female lion were crossbred in Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya, Japan. Their offspring known as a leopon was born in 1959 and 1961, all cubs were spotted and bigger than a juvenile leopard. Attempts to mate a leopon with a tigress proved unsuccessful.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
CharacteristicsEdit
Template:Multiple image The leopard's fur is generally soft and thick, notably softer on the belly than on the back.<ref name=Skinner>Template:Cite book</ref> Its skin colour varies between individuals from pale yellowish to dark golden with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its underbelly is white and its ringed tail is shorter than its body. Its pupils are round.<ref name=Mivart1900>Template:Cite book</ref> Leopards living in arid regions are pale cream, yellowish to ochraceous and rufous in colour; those living in forests and mountains are much darker and deep golden. Spots fade toward the white underbelly and the insides and lower parts of the legs.<ref name=Pocock1932>Template:Cite journal</ref> Rosettes are circular in East African leopard populations, and tend to be squarish in Southern African and larger in Asian leopard populations. The fur tends to be grayish in colder climates, and dark golden in rainforest habitats.<ref name=CAP>Template:Cite book</ref> Rosette patterns are unique in each individual.<ref name=Schutze>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This pattern is thought to be an adaptation to dense vegetation with patchy shadows, where it serves as camouflage.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Its white-tipped tail is about Template:Cvt long, white underneath and with spots that form incomplete bands toward the end of the tail.<ref name=Hoath>Template:Cite book</ref> The guard hairs protecting the basal hairs are short, Template:Cvt in face and head, and increase in length toward the flanks and the belly to about Template:Cvt. Juveniles have woolly fur that appear to be dark-coloured due to the densely arranged spots.<ref name=Schutze/><ref name=estes>Template:Cite book</ref> Its fur tends to grow longer in colder climates.<ref name=mammal>Template:Cite journal</ref> The leopard's rosettes differ from those of the jaguar, which are darker and with smaller spots inside.<ref name=Mivart1900/> The leopard has a diploid chromosome number of 38.<ref name=HeptnerSludskiy1972>Template:Cite book</ref>
Melanistic leopards are also known as black panthers. Melanism in leopards is caused by a recessive allele and is inherited as a recessive trait.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Eizirik>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=daSilva17>Template:Cite journal</ref> In India, nine pale and white leopards were reported between 1905 and 1967.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leopards exhibiting erythrism were recorded between 1990 and 2015 in South Africa's Madikwe Game Reserve and in Mpumalanga. The cause of this morph known as a "strawberry leopard" or "pink panther" is not well understood.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
SizeEdit
The leopard is a slender and muscular cat, with relatively short limbs and a broad head. It is sexually dimorphic with males larger and heavier than females.<ref name=Hoath/> Males stand Template:Cvt at the shoulder, while females are Template:Cvt tall. The head-and-body length ranges between Template:Cvt with a Template:Cvt long tail. Sizes vary geographically. Males typically weigh Template:Cvt, and females Template:Cvt.<ref name="Kingdon">Template:Cite book</ref> Occasionally, large males can grow up to Template:Cvt. Leopards from the Cape Province in South Africa are generally smaller, reaching only Template:Cvt in males.<ref name=estes/><ref name=mammal /><ref name=nowak>Template:Cite book</ref> The heaviest wild leopard in Southern Africa weighed around Template:Cvt, and it measured Template:Cvt.<ref name=Burnie>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2016, an Indian leopard killed in Himachal Pradesh measured Template:Cvt with an estimated weight of Template:Cvt; it was perhaps the largest known wild leopard in India.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The largest recorded skull of a leopard was found in India in 1920 and measured Template:Cvt in basal length, Template:Cvt in breadth, and weighed Template:Cvt. The skull of an African leopard measured Template:Cvt in basal length, and Template:Cvt in breadth, and weighed Template:Cvt.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Distribution and habitatEdit
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The leopard has the largest distribution of all wild cats, occurring widely in Africa and Asia, although populations are fragmented and declining.<ref name=IUCN/> It inhabits foremost savanna and rainforest, and areas where grasslands, woodlands and riparian forests remain largely undisturbed.<ref name=CAP/> It also persists in urban environments, if it is not persecuted, has sufficient prey and patches of vegetation for shelter during the day.<ref name=Powell2021>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The leopard's range in West Africa is estimated to have drastically declined by 95%, and in the Sahara desert by 97%.<ref name=Jacobson2016>Template:Cite journal</ref> In sub-Saharan Africa, it is still numerous and surviving in marginal habitats where other large cats have disappeared.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In southeastern Egypt, an individual found killed in 2017 was the first sighting of the leopard in this area in 65 years.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In West Asia, the leopard inhabits the areas of southern and southeastern Anatolia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Leopard populations in the Arabian Peninsula are small and fragmented.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=AlJ06>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In the Indian subcontinent, the leopard is still relatively abundant, with greater numbers than those of other Panthera species.<ref name=IUCN/> Some leopard populations in India live quite close to human settlements and even in semi-developed areas. Although adaptable to human disturbances, leopards require healthy prey populations and appropriate vegetative cover for hunting for prolonged survival and thus rarely linger in heavily developed areas. Due to the leopard's stealth, people often remain unaware that it lives in nearby areas.<ref name=Arthreya>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2020, the leopard population within forested habitats in India's tiger range landscapes was estimated at 12,172 to 13,535 individuals. Surveyed landscapes included elevations below Template:Cvt in the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains, Central India and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, the Brahmaputra River basin and hills in Northeast India.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> In Nepal's Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, a melanistic leopard was photographed at an elevation of Template:Cvt by a camera trap in May 2012.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In Sri Lanka, leopards were recorded in Yala National Park and in unprotected forest patches, tea estates, grasslands, home gardens, pine and eucalyptus plantations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Kittle_al2014>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In Myanmar, leopards were recorded for the first time by camera traps in the hill forests of Myanmar's Karen State.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Northern Tenasserim Forest Complex in southern Myanmar is considered a leopard stronghold. In Thailand, leopards are present in the Western Forest Complex, Kaeng Krachan-Kui Buri, Khlong Saeng-Khao Sok protected area complexes and in Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary bordering Malaysia. In Peninsular Malaysia, leopards are present in Belum-Temengor, Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin National Parks.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In Laos, leopards were recorded in Nam Et-Phou Louey National Biodiversity Conservation Area and Nam Kan National Protected Area.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Cambodia, leopards inhabit deciduous dipterocarp forest in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and Mondulkiri Protected Forest.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In southern China, leopards were recorded only in the Qinling Mountains during surveys in 11 nature reserves between 2002 and 2009.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In Java, leopards inhabit dense tropical rainforests and dry deciduous forests at elevations from sea level to Template:Cvt. Outside protected areas, leopards were recorded in mixed agricultural land, secondary forest and production forest between 2008 and 2014.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In the Russian Far East, it inhabits temperate coniferous forests where winter temperatures reach a low of Template:Cvt.<ref name=Uphyrkina/>
Behaviour and ecologyEdit
The leopard is a solitary and territorial animal. It is typically shy and alert when crossing roadways and encountering oncoming vehicles, but may be emboldened to attack people or other animals when threatened. Adults associate only in the mating season. Females continue to interact with their offspring even after weaning and have been observed sharing kills with their offspring when they can not obtain any prey. They produce a number of vocalizations, including growls, snarls, meows, and purrs. Cubs call their mother with an urr-urr sound.<ref name=estes/> The most notable vocalization is the 'sawing' roar, which consists of deep, repeated strokes. This likely functions in establishing territories and attracting mates.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The whitish spots on the back of its ears are thought to play a role in communication.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It has been hypothesized that the white tips of their tails may function as a 'follow-me' signal in intraspecific communication. However, no significant association were found between a conspicuous colour of tail patches and behavioural variables in carnivores.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Leopards are mainly active from dusk till dawn and will rest for most of the day and some hours at night in thickets, among rocks or over tree branches. Leopards have been observed walking Template:Cvt across their range at night; wandering up to Template:Cvt if disturbed.<ref name=estes/><ref name=nowak/> In some regions, they are nocturnal.<ref name=Hunter_al2003>Template:Cite journal Template:Open access</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In western African forests, they have been observed to be largely diurnal and hunting during twilight, when their prey animals are active; activity patterns vary between seasons.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Leopards can climb trees quite skillfully, often resting on tree branches and descending headfirst.<ref name=CAP/> They can run at over Template:Cvt, leap over Template:Cvt horizontally, and jump up to Template:Cvt vertically.<ref name="WCW">Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Image frame
Social spacingEdit
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In Kruger National Park, most leopards tend to keep Template:Cvt apart.<ref name=bailey93>Template:Cite book</ref> Males occasionally interact with their partners and cubs, and exceptionally this can extend beyond to two generations.<ref name="Kingdon"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Aggressive encounters are rare, typically limited to defending territories from intruders.<ref name=mammal/> In a South African reserve, a male was wounded in a male–male territorial battle over a carcass.<ref name=Hunter_al2003/>
Males occupy home ranges that often overlap with a few smaller female home ranges, probably as a strategy to enhance access to females. In the Ivory Coast, the home range of a female was completely enclosed within a male's.<ref name=Ivory>Template:Cite journal</ref> Females live with their cubs in home ranges that overlap extensively, probably due to the association between mothers and their offspring. There may be a few other fluctuating home ranges belonging to young individuals. It is not clear if male home ranges overlap as much as those of females do. Individuals try to drive away intruders of the same sex.<ref name=estes/><ref name=nowak/>
A study of leopards in the Namibian farmlands showed that the size of home ranges was not significantly affected by sex, rainfall patterns or season; the higher the prey availability in an area, the greater the leopard population density and the smaller the size of home ranges, but they tend to expand if there is human interference.<ref>Template:Cite journal Template:Open access</ref> Sizes of home ranges vary geographically and depending on habitat and availability of prey. In the Serengeti, males have home ranges of Template:Cvt and females of Template:Cvt;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but males in northeastern Namibia of Template:Cvt and females of Template:Cvt.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They are even larger in arid and montane areas.<ref name=mammal/> In Nepal's Bardia National Park, male home ranges of Template:Cvt and female ones of Template:Cvt are smaller than those generally observed in Africa.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Hunting and dietEdit
The leopard is a carnivore that prefers medium-sized prey with a body mass ranging from Template:Cvt. 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, bushbuck, common duiker and chital. Primates preyed upon include white-eyelid mangabeys, guenons and gray langurs. Leopards also kill smaller carnivores like black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, genet and cheetah.<ref name=Hayward2006>Template:Cite journal</ref> In urban environments, domestic dogs provide an important food source.<ref name=Powell2021/> The largest prey killed by a leopard was reportedly a male eland weighing Template:Cvt.<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 bamboo rats and other smaller prey.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The leopard depends mainly on its acute senses of hearing and vision for hunting.<ref name=Mills>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite thesis</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>Template:Cite journal</ref> It stalks its prey and tries to approach as closely as possible, typically within Template:Cvt 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 by the throat and strangles them.<ref name=estes/> It caches kills up to Template:Cvt 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 Template:Cvt up Template:Cvt 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>Template:Cite book</ref>
Average daily consumption rates of Template:Cvt were estimated for males and of Template:Cvt for females.<ref name=bailey93/> In the southern Kalahari Desert, leopards meet their water requirements by the bodily fluids of prey and succulent plants; they drink water every two to three days and feed infrequently on moisture-rich plants such as gemsbok cucumbers, watermelon and Kalahari sour grass.<ref>Template:Cite journal Template:Open access</ref>
Enemies and competitorsEdit
Across its range, the leopard coexists with a number of other large predators. In Africa, it is part of a large predator guild with lions, cheetahs, spotted and brown hyenas, and African wild dogs.<ref name=Rafiaq2020>Template:Cite journal</ref> The leopard is dominant only over the cheetah while the others have the advantage of size, pack numbers or both.<ref name=estes/> Lions pose a great mortal threat and can be responsible for 22% of leopard deaths in Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Spotted hyenas are less threatening but are more likely to steal kills, being the culprits of up to 50% of stolen leopard kills in the same area.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Balme2017>Template:Cite journal</ref> To counter this, leopards store their kills in the trees and out of reach.<ref name=Balme2017/><ref name=Vissia2022>Template:Cite journal</ref> Lions have a high success rate in fetching leopard kills from trees.<ref name=Balme2017/> Leopards do not seem to actively avoid their competitors but rather difference in prey and habitat preferences appear to limit their spatial overlap.<ref name=Rafiaq2020/> In particular, leopards use heavy vegetation regardless of whether lions are present in an area and both cats are active at the same time of day.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In Asia, the leopard's main competitors are tigers and dholes. Both the larger tiger and pack-living dhole dominate leopards during encounters. Interactions between the three predators involve chasing, stealing kills and direct killing.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Tigers appear to inhabit the deep parts of the forest while leopards and dholes are pushed closer to the fringes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The three predators coexist by hunting different sized prey.<ref name=Karanth>Template:Cite journal</ref> In Nagarhole National Park, the average size for a leopard kill was Template:Cvt compared to Template:Cvt for tigers and Template:Cvt for dholes.<ref name=KaranthSunquist1995>Template:Cite journal</ref> At Kui Buri National Park, following a reduction in prey numbers, tigers continued to feed on favoured prey while leopards and dholes had to increase their consumption of small prey.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leopards can live successfully in tiger habitat when there is abundant food and vegetation cover.<ref name=Karanth/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Otherwise, they appear to be less common where tigers are numerous. The recovery of the tiger population in Rajaji National Park during the 2000s led to a reduction in leopard population densities.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Reproduction and life cycleEdit
In some areas, leopards mate all year round. In Manchuria and Siberia, they mate during January and February. On average, females begin to breed between the ages of 2½ and three, and males between the ages of two and three.<ref name=CAP/> The female's estrous cycle lasts about 46 days, and she is usually in heat for 6–7 days.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Gestation lasts for 90 to 105 days.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2–4 cubs.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The mortality rate of cubs is estimated at 41–50% during the first year.<ref name="bailey93" /> Predators are the biggest cause for leopard cub mortality during their first year. Male leopards are known to cause infanticide, in order to bring the female back into heat.<ref name=Kingdon/> Intervals between births average 15 to 24 months, but can be shorter, depending on the survival of the cubs.<ref name=CAP/>
Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree or thicket. Newborn cubs weigh Template:Cvt, and are born with closed eyes, which open four to nine days after birth.<ref name=WCW/><ref name=mammal/> The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage is also more gray in colour with less defined spots. They begin to eat meat at around nine weeks.<ref name="Kingdon"/> Around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year of age, cubs can probably fend for themselves, but will remain with the mother for 18–24 months.<ref name=CMBC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After separating from their mother, sibling cubs may travel together for months.<ref name=CAP/> Both male and female leopards typically reach sexual maturity at 2–2⅓ years.<ref name=Kingdon/>
The generation length of the leopard is 9.3 years.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The average life span of a leopard is 12–17 years.<ref name=WCW/> The oldest leopard was a captive female that died at the age of 24 years, 2 months and 13 days.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
ConservationEdit
The leopard is listed on CITES Appendix I, and hunting is banned in Botswana and Afghanistan; in 11 sub-Saharan countries, trade is restricted to skins and body parts of 2,560 individuals.<ref name=IUCN/> In 2007, a leopard reintroduction programme was initiated in the Russian Caucasus, where captive bred individuals are reared and trained in Template:Cvt large enclosures in Sochi National Park; six individuals released into Caucasus Nature Reserve and Alaniya National Park in 2018 survived as of February 2022.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
ThreatsEdit
The leopard is primarily threatened by habitat fragmentation and conversion of forest to agriculturally used land, which lead to a declining natural prey base, human–wildlife conflict with livestock herders and high leopard mortality rates. It is also threatened by trophy hunting and poaching.<ref name=IUCN /> Contemporary records suggest that the leopard occurs in only 25% of its historical range.<ref name=Jacobson2016/><ref name=Williams2017>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Between 2002 and 2012, at least four leopards were estimated to have been poached per week in India for the illegal wildlife trade of its skins and bones.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> In spring 2013, 37 leopard skins were found during a 7-week long market survey in major Moroccan cities.<ref name=Bergin>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2014, 43 leopard skins were detected during two surveys in Morocco. Vendors admitted to have imported skins from sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Surveys in the Central African Republic's Chinko area revealed that the leopard population decreased from 97 individuals in 2012 to 50 individuals in 2017. In this period, transhumant pastoralists from the border area with Sudan moved in the area with their livestock. Rangers confiscated large amounts of poison in the camps of livestock herders who were accompanied by armed merchants. They engaged in poaching large herbivores, sale of bushmeat and trading leopard skins in Am Dafok.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In Java, the leopard is threatened by illegal hunting and trade. Between 2011 and 2019, body parts of 51 Javan leopards were seized including six live individuals, 12 skins, 13 skulls, 20 canines and 22 claws.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Human relationsEdit
Cultural significanceEdit
Leopards have been featured in art, mythology and folklore of many countries. In Greek mythology, it was a symbol of the god Dionysus, who was depicted wearing leopard skin and using leopards as means of transportation. In one myth, the god was captured by pirates but two leopards rescued him.<ref name=reaktion>Template:Cite book</ref> Numerous Roman mosaics from North African sites depict fauna now found only in tropical Africa.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> During the Benin Empire, the leopard was commonly represented on engravings and sculptures and was used to symbolise the power of the king or oba, since the leopard was considered the king of the forest.<ref name=britishmuseum>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Ashanti people also used the leopard as a symbol of leadership, and only the king was permitted to have a ceremonial leopard stool. Some African cultures considered the leopard to be a smarter, better hunter than the lion and harder to kill.<ref name=reaktion/>
In Rudyard Kipling's "How the Leopard Got His Spots", one of his Just So Stories, a leopard with no spots in the Highveld lives with his hunting partner, the Ethiopian. When they set off to the forest, the Ethiopian changed his brown skin, and the leopard painted spots on his skin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A leopard played an important role in the 1938 Hollywood film Bringing Up Baby. African chiefs, European queens, Hollywood actors and burlesque dancers wore coats made of leopard skins.<ref name=reaktion/>
The leopard is a frequently used motif in heraldry, most commonly as passant.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The heraldic leopard lacks spots and sports a mane, making it visually almost identical to the heraldic lion, and the two are often used interchangeably. Naturalistic leopard-like depictions appear on the coat of arms of Benin, Malawi, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon, the last of which uses a black panther.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Attacks on peopleEdit
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The Leopard of Rudraprayag killed more than 125 people; the Panar Leopard was thought to have killed over 400 people. Both were shot by British hunter Jim Corbett.<ref name=Corbett>Template:Cite book</ref> The spotted devil of Gummalapur killed about 42 people in Karnataka, India.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In captivityEdit
The ancient Romans kept leopards in captivity to be slaughtered in hunts as well as execute criminals.<ref name=reaktion/> In Benin, leopards were kept and paraded as mascots, totems and sacrifices to deities.<ref name=britishmuseum/> Several leopards were kept in a menagerie originally established by King John of England at the Tower of London in the 13th century; around 1235, three of these animals were given to Henry III by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In modern times, leopards have been trained and tamed in circuses.<ref name=reaktion/>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
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External linksEdit
- IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group: Panthera pardus in Africa and Panthera pardus in Asia
- Template:Cite EB1911
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