8 Facts about Leopards

Today's post features the one eyed Safari female, Arathusa from northern Sabi Sands. 

Leopards are well known for their cream and gold spotted fur, but some leopards have black fur with dark spots. These black leopards are often mistaken for panthers. 

Leopards are part of the cat family, Felidae. The scientific name for a leopard is Panthera pardus.

Adult leopards are solitary animals. Each adult leopard has its own territory where it lives and, although they often share parts of it, they try to avoid one another.

Leopards are mostly nocturnal, hunting prey at night.

Leopards protect their food from other animals by dragging it high up into the trees. A leopard will often leave their prey up in the tree for days and return only when they are hungry!

Female leopards give birth to a little of two or three cubs at a time. By the time a cub is two years old it will leave the company of its mother and live on their own.

When a female leopard is ready to mate she will give a scent and rub her body on the trees to leave her smell there. Male leopards either smell the females scent or hear her call to know that she is ready to mate. 

Sad fact: Some people believe that the bones and whiskers of leopards can heal sick people. Many leopards are killed each year for their fur and body parts and this is one reason why the leopard is an endangered animal.