FACTS ABOUT LEOPARDS
Their name stems from the words leon and pardo.
The English word “leopard” originates from the Greek word leopardos. The word leopardos itself originally referred to cheetahs and is a compound word consisting of the terms leon and pardo. Leon roughly translates to “lion”, while pardos could mean “panther” and stems from the Greek word pardalotόs, meaning “spotted”.
Their spots provide excellent camouflage.
One of the most apparent leopard facts is that they have groups of spots or rosettes that help them blend in with their surroundings. Their fur color is typically pale yellow to dark gold, and they sport white-colored bellies. This coloration, along with their characteristic spots, provides excellent camouflage in the wild, hiding them against the foliage of trees, shrubs, and other plants. Their camouflage helps them avoid detection from both predators and prey.
Leopards bear similarities with jaguars and cheetahs.
Although leopards look quite similar to jaguars and cheetahs because of their common coloration and the spots on their fur, they have a lot of notable differences as well. These large cats vary considerably in size, geographical range, behaviors, and even the patterns of their spots! Leopards occupy many parts of Africa and Asia, from sub-Saharan Africa to parts of East Asia. It also has some populations from European Russia to Southeast Asia. Cheetahs, on the other hand, live in a much more limited range in Africa and Iran, while jaguars live in the Americas. Among the three, the jaguars are the largest, followed by leopards, then cheetahs. Cheetahs also have a simple polka dot pattern, while leopards have spots that come together in a small, polygonal, rose-like pattern (hence the term “rosette”), and jaguars have larger rosettes that have central spots. Certainly some of the most essential leopard facts to remember.
They are expert hunters.
One of the most interesting leopard facts is that they are successful hunters that mainly track their prey using their keen senses of sight and hearing. These nocturnal hunters usually hunt on the ground. They are ambush predators and usually stalk their prey and try to get as close as possible while avoiding detection. Afterwards, they pounce on their prey, biting down on their necks with their powerful jaws and large teeth. For larger prey, they may grapple the animals’ necks to strangle them. More interestingly, some leopard populations reportedly jump down from trees to attack unsuspecting prey.
Leopards often live near trees.
In many of their habitats, leopards use trees to their advantage. They are excellent climbers and are the most arboreal among the big cats. Leopards often retreat to trees when they face threats and aggression. During the day, they sleep on the branches of trees to avoid detection from other predators. Leopards also store their prey on tree branches to prevent other predators such as hyenas from stealing their kills. Their large skulls and strong jaws allow them to carry even animals larger and heavier than themselves (such as young giraffes and rhinoceroses) onto tree branches. When there aren’t many trees available in their terrain, then they prefer shrubs and rocks.
They can leap up to 20 feet forward.
Leopards are such lethal hunters not just because of their stealth and strength, but also because of their speed and agility. They may not be able to run as fast as cheetahs, but they’re capable of reaching top speeds of over 36 mph (58 km/h). For comparison, Usain Bolt, the fastest human runner, ran a top speed of 27.78 mph (44.72 km/h) in 2009. Leopards can also leap up to 20 ft (6 m) forward. Leopards are also capable of jumping vertically up to 10 ft (3 m). How’s that for some interesting leopard facts?
Leopards are strong swimmers.
In addition to being expert climbers, leopards are also strong swimmers. They are some of the few cats that are quite comfortable in the water. When they swim, they can catch a variety of aquatic prey such as crabs and fish.
Leopards are closely related to lions.
Recent genetic studies suggest that the closest relatives of leopards are lions. Fossils of their ancestors date back to around 2 to 3.5 million years ago, but modern leopards likely evolved in Africa as recently as 0.5 to 0.8 million years ago. From Africa, early modern leopards spread throughout Asia as well.
They don’t need to drink much water to survive.
One of the most impressive leopard facts is that they don’t need to drink water every day to survive. In the wild, leopards drink water only every two to three days and mainly get their water requirements through the bodily fluids of their prey. In the Kalahari Desert, leopards may also sometimes feed on moisture-rich plants to meet their water needs. These plants include succulents, watermelons, Kalahari sour-grass, and gemsbok cucumbers.
Leopards have white spots on their ears and tails, likely to help with communication.
Aside from vocalizations, researchers suggest that leopards also communicate with each other through visual cues. Leopards have white spots on their ears and tails, and scientists hypothesize that these spots aid with communication. They suggest that the white tips of their tails convey a signal that says “follow me” to other leopards.
Wild leopards have an average lifespan of 12 to 17 years.
In the wild, leopards typically live up to 12 to 17 years of age. In captivity, on the other hand, they can live much longer. The oldest recorded leopard was a female leopard in McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary in The Acreage, Palm Beach County, Florida. This leopard, Roxanne, died in 2014 at 24 years, 2 months, and 13 days of age.
African leopards have the largest geographic range of all leopard subspecies.
Among the nine subspecies of leopard, the African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) has the largest range. This widespread subspecies occupies most parts of Africa south of the Sahara. There are also African leopard populations in North Africa.
The Arabian leopard is the smallest leopard subspecies.
Arabian leopards (Panthera pardus nimr) are the largest wild cats in the Arabian Peninsula. However, they are the smallest subspecies of leopard, with the males having a length of 72–80 in (182–203 cm) from head to body. Females are slightly smaller, having an average length of only 63–76 in (160–192 cm). The males weigh around 66 lb (30 kg), while the females are 44 lb (20 kg) in weight. In contrast, the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) is the largest subspecies, measuring up to 102 in (259 cm) in length.
They rarely attack humans.
Leopards rarely approach humans, and they’re less likely to become man-eaters compared to lions and tigers. While they feed on monkeys and apes, they rarely feed on humans. They’re more likely to come into conflict with humans by attacking their livestock. However, when their usual prey animals become scarcer, they will resort to attacking humans.
The Amur leopard is among the rarest cats in the world.
Among all the leopard subspecies, the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is the rarest subspecies. Reports from 2007 stated that there were only as few as 19 to 26 wild individuals left, making them one of the rarest cats on Earth. Fortunately, their populations have since improved, and as of 2019, the number of Amur leopards rose up to 90 individuals. Now that’s some good news to conclude this list of amazing leopard facts!
