Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. paradus
Conservation Status: Near Threatened
Temporal Range: Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene to recent
EVOLUTION:
The last common ancestor of the Panthera and Neofelis species is believed to have occurred about 6.37 million years ago. The clouded leopard was the first to diverge from the rest of the panthera lineage, then snow leopard followed them. The genus Panthera is believed to have emerged in Asia, from where they subsequently emigrated to Africa. The tiger-snow leopard clade diverged from the rest of the Panthera around 2.9 million years ago. It is very likely that leopard diverged next and followed by the lion-jaguar clade.
Fossils of early leopard ancestors have been
found in East Africa and South Asia from the Pleistocene of 2 to 3.5 Million
years ago. In Europe, the leopard is known at least since
the Pleistocene.The modern leopard is suggested to have evolved
in Africa 470,000-825,000 years ago and radiated across Asia 170,000-300,000
years ago. In Europe, the leopard is known at least since
the Pleistocene. Fossil leopard bones and teeth dating from the
Pliocene were found In Perrier in France, northeast of London and in Valdarno
in Italy. At 40 sites in Europe fossil bones and dental remains of leopards
dating from the Pleistocene were excavated mostly in loess and caves. The sites
of those fossil records range from near Lisbon, near Gibraltar and Santander
Province in northern Spain to several sites in France, Switzerland, Italy,
Austria, Germany, in the north up to Derby in England, in the east to Prerov in
the Czech Republic and the Baranya in southern Hungary. The
Pleistocene Leopards of Europe can be divided into four subsequent supspecies.
The first European leopard subspecies P.p. Begoueni is known since the
beginning of the early Pleistocene and was replaced about 600,000 years ago by
P.p. sickenbergi, which in turn was replaced by P.p. antique at around 3000,000
years ago. The last form, the Late Ice Age Leopard (P.p.spelaea) appeared at
the beginning of the Late Pleistocene and survived until about 24,000 years ago
in the large parts of Europe.
Leopards may sometimes be confused with two
other large spotted cats, the cheetah with which it may co-exist in Africa and
the jaguar, a neotropical species that it does not naturally co-exist with.
However, the patterns of spot in each are different. The cheetah has simple
black spots, evenly spread; The cheetah has longer legs and a thinner build
that makes it look more streamlined and taller but less powerfully built than
the leopard. The Jaguar is more similar in build to the leopard but is
generally larger in size and has a more muscular, bulky appearance.
Leopards show a great diversity in coat colour and rosettes patterns. In general, the coat colour varies from pale yellow to deep gold or tawny and is patterned with black rosettes. The head, lower limbs and belly are spotted with solid black. Coat colour and patterning are broadly associated with habitat type.Their rosettes are circular in East Africa but tend to be squarer in southern Africa and larger in Asian populations. Their yellow coat tends to be paler and cream coloured in desert populations, more gray in colder climates and of a darker golden hue in rainforest habitats. Overall the fur under the belly tends to be lighter coloured and of a softer, downy type. Solid black spots in place of open rosettes are generally seen along the face, limbs and underbelly. Leopards are agile and stealthy predators. Although they are smaller than most other members of the Panthera genus, they are able to take larger prey due to their massive skulls that facilitate powerful jaw muscles. Head and body length is usually between 90 and 165 cm. the tail reaches 60 to 110 cm long, around the same length as the tiger’s tail and proportionately long for the genus. Though snow leopards and the much smaller marbled cats have relatively longer tails. Shoulder height is from 45 to 80 m. the muscles attached to the scapula are exceptionally strong which enhance their ability to climb trees.They are very diverse in size. Males are about 30% larger than females, weighing 30 to 91 kg compared to 23 to 60 kg for female. This type of variation in size happens because the quality and availability of prey found in each habitat. The largest verified leopards weighed 96.5kg and reached 190 cm in head and body length. Larger sizes have been reported but are generally considered unreliable.The leopard’s body is comparatively long and its legs are short.The Melanistic leopards are commonly called black panthers. The black colour is caused by recessive gene.The Black Panther is common in the equatorial rainforest of Malaya and the tropical rainforest on the slopes of some African mountains such as Mount Kenya
There are eleven subspecies of leopard family-
· African Leopard (P. p. pardus) – inhabits sub-Saharan Africa
· Indian Leopard (P. p. fusca) – inhabits the Indian Subcontinent
· Javan Leopard (P. p. melas) – inhabits Java, Indonesia
· Arabian Leopard (P. p. nimr) – inhabits the Arabian Peninsula
· Amur Leopard (P. p. orientalis) – inhabits the Russian Far East, Korean Peninsula and Northeast China.
· North-Chinese Leopard (P.p. japonensis) – inhabits northern China
· Persian Leopard (P. p. saxicolor) – inhabits the Caucasus, Turkmenistan and northern Iran.
· Indochinese Leopard (P. p. delacouri) – inhabits mainland Southeast Asia
· Sri Lankan Leopard (p. p. kotiya) – inhabits Sri Lanka
· Anatolian Leopard (P. p. tulliana) – inhabits Western Turkey
· Balochistan Leopard (P. p. sindica) – inhabits Pakistan and possibly also parts of Afghanistan and Iran
Leopards are elusive, solitary and largely nocturnal. Their activity level varies depending on the habitat and the type of prey that they hunt.Radio-tracking and scat analysis in West Africa showed that rainforest leopards are more likely to be diurnal and crepuscular. Forest leopards are also more specialized in prey selection and exhibit seasonal differences in activity patterns.Leopards are known for their ability in climbing. They have been observed resting on tree branches during the day. They drag their kills up to the trees and hang them there.They are powerful swimmers, although are not as disposed to swimming as some other big cats, such as the tiger.They are very agile, and can run at over 58 kilometres per hour or 36 miles per hour. They can leap over 6 metres or 20 feet horizontally, jump up to 3 metres or 9.8 feet vertically.Home ranges of male leopards vary between 30 square km and 78 square km. and of females between 15 and 16 square km. female home ranges decreased to 5 to 7 square km when young cubs were present. There seems to be little or no overlap in territory among males, although overlap exists between the sexes.Studies of leopard home range size have tended to focus on protected areas, which may have led to skewed data; as of mid-1980s, only 13% of the leopard range actually fell within a protected area. However, significant variations in the size of home ranges have been suggested across the leopard’s range.Research in Namibia that focused on spatial ecology in farmlands outside of protected areas revealed ranges that were consistently above 100 square km with some more than 300 square km. Admitting that their data were at odds with others, the researchers found little or no sexual variation in the size of territories.Aggressive encounters have been observed. Two of five males studied over a period of a year at a game reserve in South Africa died, both violently. Once was initially wounded in a male-male territorial battle over a carcass, taken in by researchers, it was released after a successful convalescence only to be killed by a different male a few months later. A second was killed by another predator, possibly a spotted hyena. A third of the five was badly wounded in intraspecific fighting, but recovered.Female leopards showing white spots on the back of the ears used to communicate with other leopards and the white spot on the tail used for communicating with the cubs while hunting or in long grass.Mother leopards are seen to eat their dead cub. Most probably it is some ritual.They produce a number of vocalizations, including grunts, roars, growls, meows and purrs.
CHARACTERISTIC:
Leopards show a great diversity in coat colour and rosettes patterns. In general, the coat colour varies from pale yellow to deep gold or tawny and is patterned with black rosettes. The head, lower limbs and belly are spotted with solid black. Coat colour and patterning are broadly associated with habitat type.Their rosettes are circular in East Africa but tend to be squarer in southern Africa and larger in Asian populations. Their yellow coat tends to be paler and cream coloured in desert populations, more gray in colder climates and of a darker golden hue in rainforest habitats. Overall the fur under the belly tends to be lighter coloured and of a softer, downy type. Solid black spots in place of open rosettes are generally seen along the face, limbs and underbelly. Leopards are agile and stealthy predators. Although they are smaller than most other members of the Panthera genus, they are able to take larger prey due to their massive skulls that facilitate powerful jaw muscles. Head and body length is usually between 90 and 165 cm. the tail reaches 60 to 110 cm long, around the same length as the tiger’s tail and proportionately long for the genus. Though snow leopards and the much smaller marbled cats have relatively longer tails. Shoulder height is from 45 to 80 m. the muscles attached to the scapula are exceptionally strong which enhance their ability to climb trees.They are very diverse in size. Males are about 30% larger than females, weighing 30 to 91 kg compared to 23 to 60 kg for female. This type of variation in size happens because the quality and availability of prey found in each habitat. The largest verified leopards weighed 96.5kg and reached 190 cm in head and body length. Larger sizes have been reported but are generally considered unreliable.The leopard’s body is comparatively long and its legs are short.The Melanistic leopards are commonly called black panthers. The black colour is caused by recessive gene.The Black Panther is common in the equatorial rainforest of Malaya and the tropical rainforest on the slopes of some African mountains such as Mount Kenya
SUBSPECIES:
There are eleven subspecies of leopard family-
· African Leopard (P. p. pardus) – inhabits sub-Saharan Africa
· Indian Leopard (P. p. fusca) – inhabits the Indian Subcontinent
· Javan Leopard (P. p. melas) – inhabits Java, Indonesia
· Arabian Leopard (P. p. nimr) – inhabits the Arabian Peninsula
· Amur Leopard (P. p. orientalis) – inhabits the Russian Far East, Korean Peninsula and Northeast China.
· North-Chinese Leopard (P.p. japonensis) – inhabits northern China
· Persian Leopard (P. p. saxicolor) – inhabits the Caucasus, Turkmenistan and northern Iran.
· Indochinese Leopard (P. p. delacouri) – inhabits mainland Southeast Asia
· Sri Lankan Leopard (p. p. kotiya) – inhabits Sri Lanka
· Anatolian Leopard (P. p. tulliana) – inhabits Western Turkey
· Balochistan Leopard (P. p. sindica) – inhabits Pakistan and possibly also parts of Afghanistan and Iran
ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR:
Leopards are elusive, solitary and largely nocturnal. Their activity level varies depending on the habitat and the type of prey that they hunt.Radio-tracking and scat analysis in West Africa showed that rainforest leopards are more likely to be diurnal and crepuscular. Forest leopards are also more specialized in prey selection and exhibit seasonal differences in activity patterns.Leopards are known for their ability in climbing. They have been observed resting on tree branches during the day. They drag their kills up to the trees and hang them there.They are powerful swimmers, although are not as disposed to swimming as some other big cats, such as the tiger.They are very agile, and can run at over 58 kilometres per hour or 36 miles per hour. They can leap over 6 metres or 20 feet horizontally, jump up to 3 metres or 9.8 feet vertically.Home ranges of male leopards vary between 30 square km and 78 square km. and of females between 15 and 16 square km. female home ranges decreased to 5 to 7 square km when young cubs were present. There seems to be little or no overlap in territory among males, although overlap exists between the sexes.Studies of leopard home range size have tended to focus on protected areas, which may have led to skewed data; as of mid-1980s, only 13% of the leopard range actually fell within a protected area. However, significant variations in the size of home ranges have been suggested across the leopard’s range.Research in Namibia that focused on spatial ecology in farmlands outside of protected areas revealed ranges that were consistently above 100 square km with some more than 300 square km. Admitting that their data were at odds with others, the researchers found little or no sexual variation in the size of territories.Aggressive encounters have been observed. Two of five males studied over a period of a year at a game reserve in South Africa died, both violently. Once was initially wounded in a male-male territorial battle over a carcass, taken in by researchers, it was released after a successful convalescence only to be killed by a different male a few months later. A second was killed by another predator, possibly a spotted hyena. A third of the five was badly wounded in intraspecific fighting, but recovered.Female leopards showing white spots on the back of the ears used to communicate with other leopards and the white spot on the tail used for communicating with the cubs while hunting or in long grass.Mother leopards are seen to eat their dead cub. Most probably it is some ritual.They produce a number of vocalizations, including grunts, roars, growls, meows and purrs.
HUNTING AND DIET:
Leopards are versatile, opportunistic hunters and have a very broad diet. They hunt in the time of sunrise, sunset and at night.They feed on a greater diversity of prey than other members of the panthera genus, and are reported to eat anything from dung beetles to common elands, though medium sized prey species in the 20-80 kg range are usually taken. The largest prey reported killed by a leopard was a 900 kg male eland, although leopards generally do not prey such large animals. Their diet consists mostly of ungulates, followed by primates, primarily monkeys of carious species, including the vervet monkey. However, they will also opportunistically eat rodents, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds (especially ground-based types like the vulturine guineafowl), fish and sometimes smaller predators (such as foxes, jackals, martens and smaller felid species). In at least one instance, a leopard has predated a sub-adult Nile crocodile that was crossing over land. Leopards are the only natural predators of adult chimpanzees and gorillas, although the cat may sometimes choose to avoid these as they are potentially hazardous prey, especially large male silverback gorilla. They stalk their prey silently; pounce on it at the last minute and strangle its throat with a quick bite. In Africa, mid-sized antelopes provide a majority of their prey, especially impala and Thomson’s gazelles. In Asia their primarily prey on deer such as chitals and muntjacs, as well as various Asian antelopes and ibex. Their selection of the prey is focused on the small herds, dense habitat and low risk of injury. In search of safety after making a kill they often take their kill to a suitable branch of a nearby tree. They are able to carry much heavier prey up to the tree with them in their mouth. One leopard was seen to haul a young giraffe, estimated to weigh up to 125 kg, more than twice the weight of the cat, up 5.7m into a tree.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER PREDATORS:
Leopards must compete for food and shelter with
other large predators such as tigers, lions, spotted hyenas, striped hyenas, up
to 5 species of bear and both African and Asian wild dogs. These animals may
steal the leopard’s kill, devour its young or even kill adult leopards.
Leopards co-exist alongside these other large predators by hunting for
different types of prey by avoiding areas frequented by them. They also retreat
up a tree in the face of direct aggression from the other large carnivores. Leopards have been seen to either kill or prey
on competitors such as black-backed jackal, African wild cat and the cubs of
lions, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs. Where leopards share their territory with
tigers, Resource partition occurs. Leopards tend to take smaller prey, usually
less than 75kg. In the Rajaji National Park in India, tiger and
leopards have high dietary overlap. There an increase in the tiger population
resulted in a sharp decrease in the
leopard population and a shift in the leopard diet to small prey (from 9% to
36%) and domestic prey (from 6.8% to 31.8%). In the Primore region of Russian Far East, Amur
leopards were absent or very rarely encountered at places where Siberian tigers
reside. In Chitwan National Park in Nepal, both species
coexist because there is a large prey biomass. Here leopards killed prey
ranging from less than 25kg to 50 kg where tigers killed prey weighted about
50kg to 100kg. In the tropical forests of India’s Nagarhole
National Park, tigers selected prey weighting more than 176kg, whereas leopards
selected prey in the 30-175kg range. In areas with high tiger populations leopards
are not permanent residents but transients. They were common near villages at
the periphery of the park and outside the park. In some areas of Africa, troop of large baboon
species will kill and sometimes eat leopard young if they discover them. Nile crocodiles may predate on leopards of any
age. Lions are occasionally successful in climbing
trees and fetching leopard kills but leopards are also known to kill or prey on
cubs of lion. In Kalahari Desert, leopards frequently lose
kills to the brown hyena unless they move the kill into a tree. A single brown
hyena has been observed charging and displacing a male leopard from the kill. Burmese Pythons have been known to prey on
leopards. An adult cat having been recovered from the stomach of an 18-foot
specimen. Two cases of leopards killing cheetahs have been
reported.
Depending on the region, leopards may mate all the years around. The estrous cycle lasts about 46 days and the female usually is in heat for 6-7 days. Gestation lasts for 90 to 105 days. Female give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree or thicket to make a den. Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2-4 cubs. Cubs are born with closed eyes, which open four to nine days after birth. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage is also grayer in colour with less defined spots. Mortality of cubs is estimated at 41-50% during the first year. Around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year of age leopard young can probably hunt but remain with the mother for 18-24 months. The average typical life span of a leopard is between 12 and 17 years. The oldest recorded female leopard died at the age 24 years 2 months and 13 days. The oldest recorded male leopard died at the age of 23.
REPRODUCTION AND LIFE CYCLE:
Depending on the region, leopards may mate all the years around. The estrous cycle lasts about 46 days and the female usually is in heat for 6-7 days. Gestation lasts for 90 to 105 days. Female give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree or thicket to make a den. Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2-4 cubs. Cubs are born with closed eyes, which open four to nine days after birth. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage is also grayer in colour with less defined spots. Mortality of cubs is estimated at 41-50% during the first year. Around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year of age leopard young can probably hunt but remain with the mother for 18-24 months. The average typical life span of a leopard is between 12 and 17 years. The oldest recorded female leopard died at the age 24 years 2 months and 13 days. The oldest recorded male leopard died at the age of 23.
HUMAN- LEOPARD CONFLICT:
Most leopards avoid people, but humans may occasionally be targeted as prey. Most healthy leopards prefer wild prey to humans but injured, sickly or struggling cats or those with a shortage of regular prey may resort to hunting humans and become habituated to it. Two extreme cases of man-eating leopards occurred in India: the first is, ‘The Leopard of Rudraprayag’, killed more than 125 people; the second is, ‘The Pannar Leopard’, killed more than 400 people. Both are killed by the renowned hunter Jim Corbett. Man-eating Leopards are much more dangerous than the lions and tigers. Man-eating leopards are very much bold. It is very difficult to track the man-eating leopard by feline standards and may enter human settlements for prey.
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