Graceful, flexible, cunning animals are leopards. You can learn all about leopards, how they live in nature, how they look, from books, from movies ... It’s better, of course, to watch these animals in a natural environment, but there are too few of them left on the planet, some subspecies are already listed in Red book.
In ancient times, it was believed that the animal appeared as a result of crossing a lion and a panther, which influenced the name of the beast. If you want to learn more about the spotted predator, about how to hunt, in which natural zone the leopard lives, read this article.
Leopard Description
Leopard is a big wild cat. The body of the beast is elongated and muscular, at the same time flexible and light. A distinctive feature is a beautiful long tail, it exceeds half the length of the whole body. When the beast rests on a tree, hiding in dense foliage, it can be found only on the tail hanging down, although it can easily be confused with the vine. Paws are powerful and wide, the head is not too big, rounded in shape, with small rounded ears. The eyes are small, with round pupils.
Weight and size depend on the nature zone in which the leopard lives. Predators living in forests are much smaller than their relatives from the open area. The average weight of wild cats of this species is 30–40 kg; individuals weighing 80–90 kg are seen in Africa and India. The body length of an adult leopard is from one meter to two.
The fur of an adult cat is short, splendor does not differ even in the cold season. The color of the leopard is light, the base is a yellow with a red tint color with scattered black spots. Ring patterns with a bright center. These black rings are solid, but are usually interrupted: a single black ring forms several single spots.
What natural area does the leopard live in?
Leopards are common in savannahs and mountainous regions of Africa, as well as in forest and forest-steppe regions. These predators are also found in the southern part of East Asia. Nowadays, when answering the question about what natural zone the leopard lives in, first I want to say that the population of a predatory cat is declining every year.
The current range of animals of this species is in Manchuria, on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. In addition, it covers Africa, Indochina, eastern Tibet, Burma, Java, Malacca, Kangean, India, Iran, Afghanistan, the Arabian Peninsula.
Of the territories of the former Soviet Union, leopards live in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Far East.
Unfortunately, the beautiful wild cats completely died out on the Sinai Peninsula, in Morocco and in Zanzibar. This is a signal that you need to think about preserving the view.
Leopard's natural habitat: lifestyle
Leopard is an animal that prefers to live alone. He leads a nocturnal lifestyle. A predatory cat easily adapts to the conditions in which it is necessary to exist. The territory of a spotted handsome man can be more than 400 square kilometers, but there are individuals that control only eight. This largely depends on the availability of production in the occupied area. A relatively small predator can hunt game weighing up to 800-900 kg.
Leopards, as befits real cats, climb trees very well. At a height, they rest and hunt monkeys. Although preference is given to hunting on the ground. Having outlined the prey, the predator creeps up to it at a distance of a jump, then rushes forward and strangles the prey. After the first unsuccessful attempt, the beast does not pursue prey, but sets off in search of a new target.
The leopard is rightly called the most cunning wild cat. None of the predators can sneak up on the victim so quietly and deftly as this spotted handsome man does. He may pretend to be dead for hours in the burning sun or moan and writhe as a patient in order to lure young deer, camels and other potential victims closer to himself.
These animals are born weak, helpless and blind. After some time, formidable hunters grow out of small funny kittens. As soon as the kids begin to see the world around them and stay on their feet, they immediately show interest in the birdies and frogs, trying to catch their first prey. Vision in animals since childhood is simply excellent: they can spot the goal of hunting for one and a half kilometers.
Interesting facts about leopards and tigers
Leopards and tigers belong to the cat family. But their habits are so different that I would like to give some facts about these animals so that we can compare them:
• If we take our latitudes, then, considering the question of what natural zone the tiger and leopard lives in , we can safely note the fact that these beautiful predatory cats do not get along with each other at all. So in the place where the tiger lives, the leopard will not live.
• In our area, tigers and leopards are listed in the Red Book, according to approximate estimates, there are about 35 spotted cats, and about 400 individuals of striped beauties.
• Leopards feel great both in the scorching sun and at temperatures below zero, while tigers tolerate heat very poorly, experiencing real torment in the scorching sun.
• The tiger as a true gentleman before the attack warns the opponent with a growl, the leopard is a sly one, he attacks in most cases from behind and in silence.
• The tiger does not eat carrion, except perhaps for great hunger, and offal. From prey, he removes the skin and gutting it, while taking the entrails away first, then only proceeds to a meal of clean meat. Leopard is completely illegible in this regard and eats everything in a row.