Leopard facts
7 Interesting Facts about the leopard – Here are some of the leopard facts you should know
- The leopard has a scientific name as Panthera pardus and it is known as the second largest animal among the big cats. Among the African big five, the leopard has got the prominent allure and this is as result of its mysterious amalgamation of grace, elusiveness as well as power. It is well built better than the same sized cheetah. The leopard can be spotted in almost all habitats such as the arid semi deserts, the dense rainforests, in the open savannah grassland, woodlands among others and its weight and size varies from 40 to 90 kilograms.
- The leopard is multitalented and flexible which has helped it to be wide spread and successful in various habitats and this is one of its uniqueness among the big cats. You will encounter with the leopards across Africa wilderness, in the deserts of Sinai as well as the snows of northern china and there about nine sub species of leopards which have been categorized according to the scientist study. The leopards feast on both small and big mammals for example from Frogs to the adult mature wildebeests. Their excellent secrecy allows to them to survive surprisingly close to the human beings, such as the outskirts of the Nairobi capital city of Kenya to the fringes if Mumbai. We present to you the five fascinating facts about leopards.
- The leopard has been ranked among the African big cats which falls in the genus Panthera that is an origin of Asia and it is the in the 6th lineages in the Felidae family. The fossil remains of the leopard ancestors are traced from the Pleistocene epoch. About 2-3.5 million years ago of the leopard fossil were discovered in south Asia as well as East Africa. Whilst the modern leopard evolution is believed to have happen in Africa and these were about 0.5-0.8 million years ago before it was spread to across Asia in about 0.3-0.2 million years ago.
- The Leopards have got a habit of dragging their prey up into trees so that they can feast on it for a long period of time and enjoy their leisure time for days. Their enormous energy and strength allows them to carry the carcasses which might be heavier than them, for example a leopard can carry a giraffe that weighs about 125 kilograms and lift it up into a tree at a height of 5.7 meters. The leopard practices this habit to avoid competition from other large predators like the lions as well as the hyena.
- The Adult leopard was recuperated from the stomach of the Burmese Python which is about 5.5 meters in south East Asia.
- The black Panther are gloaming leopards; blackness is an inherited genetic attribute. They are found in the equatorial forests especially the Malay Peninsula, on the rolling slopes of mountains in Africa for example Mount Kenya. If you interbreed the black leopard the result is an important smaller little that cannot be compared to the normal leopard.
- Although the leopards do avoid people, sometimes they target humans as part of their prey. This was witnessed in India according to the Corbett’s book named man-Eaters of Kumaon in which the famous hunter was describing how he shoots the several individuals which were victims of eating human beings. The leopard Rupraprayag had eaten about 125 people while as Panar Leopard had finished about 400 people. The Rupraprayag leopard one time sneaked into a goat’s pen with about 40 goats where all eaten up, others killed and the 14 year boy who was guarding pen was as well eaten.