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Leopard where it lives. Far Eastern leopard, description, habitat and lifestyle, what it eats, interesting facts, photos, videos

The leopard is a typical large representative of the vast cat family. The beast is unusually beautiful, although this beauty is somehow unkind and alarming. Large black spots and rings are randomly scattered across the sparkling golden background. On the sides and outer side of the legs the general background color is lighter than on the back. It is white on the belly and inside of the legs. The winter fur of the leopard that lives in the Amur-Ussuri region is soft and quite lush. In summer it is shorter, sparser and coarser, but the pattern remains the same - beautiful and bright. In warm regions, of course, the leopard does not need winter fur.

Black leopards are occasionally seen. They are most often called a black panther. However, they are melanistic: the same leopards, but dressed in a skin of a different color. In very bright light and on a black panther, spotting can be seen, although with difficulty.

Scientists at zoos have found that when spotted leopards are crossed with black ones, kittens of both color types are born in approximately equal proportions, and black parents produce mostly black offspring.

Black panthers live throughout the vast range of the leopard, but are rare in the Amur-Ussuri region. They are most often found in Southeast Asia, especially Java.

The leopard has a graceful, light and flexible figure, a rounded head, a long tail, slender legs. And he is all graceful - when he stands or lies, and when he walks, and when he attacks. His gait is quiet, light, completely inaudible - majestic.

This beast is superbly armed. Its fangs and retractable claws are as sharp as needles and deadly as daggers. With a load in his teeth that exceeds his own weight, he rushes through the forest quickly and easily. It seems that the animal has a bag of tow in its mouth, and not a roe deer, sika deer or gilt. And it’s almost incredible: with a roe deer in its teeth, a large leopard can jump to a height of two or three meters. Let's add: his running speed is 16 - 18 meters per second, and eight to ten-meter long jumps and four-meter high jumps are common for him, as is artistic climbing of trees, even straight and smooth ones.

The lion and the tiger are relatives of the leopard, but the closest of them in origin is appearance and the lifestyle of the jaguar, which lives in South and Central America. He is almost the same color, with dark spots on a yellow background, only a little larger and a little stockier in build. And the habits are the same. In a word, a brother to the leopard and a supercat of the New World.

Lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar are all in the same genus panther. They are so close that they produce hybrid crosses between themselves. And if the cat family deservedly bears the laurels of the most specialized predatory animals, then the four representatives of the panther genus are nothing less than the elite of the cat family.

WWF UK

The Amur, or Far Eastern, leopard is the rarest endangered subspecies. Far Eastern leopard lives in mountain forest areas, where it has a clear preference for black fir-cedar-broad-leaved forests in the middle and upper reaches of rivers. It is less willing to colonize broad-leaved forests and especially pyrogenic oak forests, the area of which increases as a result of annual fires. Its range, which previously covered Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the south of the Ussuri Territory, has now shrunk to a critically small size. The current range of the Far Eastern leopard covers only a limited mountain forest area with an area of about 10-15 thousand square meters. km at the junction of the three states of Russia, China, and North Korea. The size of individual areas of the Far Eastern leopard is small, approximately 5-8 thousand hectares, and the animals themselves are strictly territorial predators: each adult animal has its own area, which does not overlap with the areas of individuals of the same sex.

The harsh conditions of the region with cold snowy winters and a limited food supply did not previously allow Amur leopard have a more or less significant number, and in recent decades an active economic activity man is steadily being pushed out of his original habitats and brought to a very dangerous brink...

The remaining habitats of this elegant, graceful cat are annually subjected to the destructive effects of forest fires, the breed dies and the food supply is undermined. Poaching has not been stopped not only of the main food items of leopards - roe deer, sika deer, raccoon dog, badger, hare, but also of the leopard itself. And it is not difficult to get it: almost any pack of dogs can drive not only a young, but also an adult animal into a tree, and when hungry, it will go for any bait and end up in traps. This is what poachers take advantage of.

The last refuge of the leopard in the Ussuri Territory was a small area of southwestern Primorye with a length of about 200 kilometers from the Razdolnaya River to Posyet Bay. But even here it remains only in a narrow, poorly developed mountainous strip of coniferous-deciduous and deciduous forests along the border with China.

Among all cats, the leopard is perhaps the most beautiful, the most graceful, very strong and courageous, but at the same time very strong and courageous, but at the same time a very cautious animal. The bright variegated color not only decorates, but also makes it invisible in the play of sunbeams in the forest jungle, in the variegation of tall grass and among the mosaic of fallen leaves. The leopard has a keen eye and keen hearing, and an excellent sense of smell. He is smart and unhurried in a calm state, but is lightning fast in a jump when not hunting, and can climb a tree with prey that exceeds his weight. Compared to a tiger, he is small. The female weighs up to 50, and the male - up to 70 kg.

The life of the Far Eastern leopard, which lives in the north of its range, passes in extreme conditions. A region with cold and snowy winters, with frosts up to 30 degrees, would seem to be no place for tropical animals... And yet the leopard lives here... But lives at a density tens of times lower than in the tropics: different nature, different prey, different behavior. In the summer, when the climate in the leopard’s domain approaches tropical (abundant fog, drizzle, downpours, impassable thickets intertwined with vines, the green fragrance of nature - then its food is more varied and there is no need for warm clothing), the fur barely reaches 2.5 cm. But in the fall, with the onset of cold weather, the leopard dresses in a lush coat with thick and long (from 5 cm on the back to 7 cm on the belly) fur. Especially fluffy are young kittens, which in nature are very reminiscent of a snow leopard. Perhaps that is why the locals call the leopard exactly that: “leopard”.

What is known about the Far Eastern leopard? The material on measurements of cats is small - scientists were lucky enough to take measurements of about a dozen spotted panthers. Their upper limits show that the length of males reaches 136 cm, females - 112, tails up to 90 and 73 cm, respectively, weight up to 53 or, possibly, up to 60 kilograms.

And further... The eyes are yellow, the pupil is vertically oval, becoming round in the dark, the claws are dark chocolate with white ends, very mobile and retractable into a special “sheath” so as not to dull them when walking. The fur coat is changed twice a year, in the fall - for a warm winter one and in the spring - for a cool summer one. Polygamous, that is, one male can court several females. Mating games (rut), and therefore the appearance of cubs, can occur at any time of the year (in this the leopard remained faithful to the heritage of tropical origin), but usually the wedding takes place in January. After this, after 92-95 days, the female gives birth to up to four kittens weighing 400-600 grams, blind and measuring only 15-17 cm. But more often there are only two kittens. They begin to see the light on the 7-9th day. The babies begin to leave the den at the age of just over a month, and at two months they begin to partake of game - the mother feeds them with regurgitation of semi-digested meat. Three-month-old kittens acquire the coloration of adults: black spots on their fluffy coat turn into rosettes. At the age of about a year they separate from their mother and become independent, and in the second or third year they start a “family” themselves. In the zoo they live up to 20 years, in the wild - much less. These are the main data published in reference books on the Far Eastern leopard, which present observations made mainly in zoos. For more than 10 years, V. Korkishko and D. Pikunov studied the life of the leopard; they prepared a monograph on the ecology of this cat, which, of course, will reveal many little-known aspects of the animal’s life. In particular, they identified about 20 different animals that serve as food for the leopard, including the not mentioned above boar, musk deer, fox, weasel, squirrel, hedgehog, hazel grouse, pheasant and others.

Most of the animals that the leopard feeds on are objects of commercial and recreational hunting and, naturally, are hunted by poachers. In addition, after the installation of barrier structures on the border with China in the autumn-winter period, the influx of roe deer migrating from the Black Mountains, which previously regularly filled empty niches in coastal areas, almost stopped. Over the past 10 years, the number of roe deer, even in the Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve, has fallen by more than 10 times. If previously passing herds of 20-30 and up to 70 animals were observed, now there are none at all.

It became difficult for the leopard to obtain food, especially in winter, when badgers and raccoon dogs go into holes for a long time, and young ungulates are few in number, and, in addition, they grow up and become more cautious. Other small prey do not have large numbers to be sufficient to feed the leopard. Sika deer are a good prey for panthers, but they live in herds and are distributed sporadically and are therefore accessible only to some leopards. In addition, a certain competition when hunting deer arises between the leopard and the tiger, especially in places with a small number of deer.

And yet, despite the difficulties encountered in obtaining food, the Far Eastern leopard has not recorded any unprovoked attacks on humans. He is not afraid of people, but he is very careful towards them, and sometimes quite curious. Sometimes, like a tiger, he follows on the heels of a person, watches all his actions, undoubtedly hoping to profit from the remains of his hunt, but at the same time remains unnoticed. Very often uses paths and roads made by humans: they are easier to walk on and produce less noise when walking. He almost never attacks livestock, with the exception of deer in deer parks, rarely specifically hunts dogs.

If in the tropics, in places where leopards are common, you can easily observe them almost point-blank from a car, then the Far Eastern leopard lives so secretly and in inaccessible places that it is very difficult to see it even from a distance. And this is where for more than six months the forest, which has shed its leaves, remains completely transparent and the grass sticks to the ground, where for almost 4 months, at least in shady places, there is snow... In winter, their tracks left in the snow tell the life of leopards in great detail, but in summer the leopard gets lost in the tall grass and bushes and its life is revealed in separate fragments: footprints left on the dirt of the paths, scratches - marks along the paths, on terraces and ridges, and paw prints on sand spits near the river. It is rare for a leopard to give itself away by roaring.

The leopard can eat frozen meat and animal carcasses. Reindeer herding farms play a special role in the life of leopards. On the one hand, they provide leopards with unlimited and easily accessible prey, on the other hand, farm owners do everything to destroy the predator. Leopards are very conservative. For many years they live in the same areas, using permanent paths, passages and brood lairs. At the same time, they absolutely cannot tolerate the long-term presence of humans in such places, much less any economic activity (construction of hunting huts, roads, etc.) and when it appears they always leave them. The disturbance factor for this hidden beast is very significant. The leopard poses no direct danger to humans. Over the past 50 years, not a single case of an unprovoked leopard attack on a person has been recorded. Having excellent hearing and vision, the leopard is the first to detect people and carefully moves away (even from prey), remaining unnoticed. Only some young leopards, out of curiosity, can follow the scent of a person, but they never show signs of aggression.

Taxonomic position:
Class Mammals - Mammalia, Order Carnivores - Carnivora, Family Cats - Felidae, Species - Pantera pardus, Subspecies - Pantera pardus orientalis Schlegel.

States in which the Far Eastern leopard is found:
The size of the entire world population of the Far Eastern leopard is not about 40 individuals, with the majority living in Russia in the Primorsky Territory - 30 individuals, and less than 10 individuals in the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in China. IN South Korea The last meeting with a leopard was recorded in 1969.

Central Asian leopard – Panthera pardus tulliana. An extremely rare, endangered subspecies in Russia, possibly an already extinct subspecies. Listed in the IUCN Red List. Body length 90 – 170 cm. Tail up to 100 cm. Body weight – 2 – 80 kg. An excellent tree climber and rock climber, but does not like water. Distributed in the Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia, those areas that are involved in military operations. The main sources that were used in compiling this story about LEOPARDS:

Young naturalist 1992 - 2
Young naturalist 1980 - 4
Newspaper "Bird Market" 1996
WWF Russia website -

Leopard, panther (Panthera pardus) is a species of mammal from the cat family. The fourth largest cat in the world (after the tiger, lion and jaguar). Leopards live in Africa and Asia. These animals live mainly in dense wet forests, prefer to stay near water.

The leopard is an animal that is distinguished by its graceful and flexible body, long tail and paws with large claws. The leopard has a very beautiful spotted color, which makes it attractive. The main color of the coat is considered to be a red tint, which gradually turns into White color, on the underside of the body, where the leopard’s belly is.

But among animals there are breeds that are distinguished by increased pigment in their fur; then the animals are distinguished by their dark color, on which spots are practically invisible. Such leopards are called panthers. The fur of such animals is distinguished by its thickness and shortness. Their wool is very valuable and is used as finishing material.

Panthers are much smaller and lighter than lions or tigers, which makes them ideal for climbing trees. They spend a lot of time there, sleeping and relaxing in the branches. They often drag prey into trees when they hunt so that hyenas and vultures do not disturb them.

Leopard is the most mysterious cat

Leopards are the most mysterious of all big cats. These animals are so careful and vigilant that even in nature reserves it is difficult to track their lifestyle.

The fur color of these predators helps them hide in the foliage of trees and grass and makes leopards almost invisible. There are also black specimens.

The black coloration of panthers is a manifestation of melanism caused by a gene mutation and is characteristic only of females, with rare exceptions. The black coat is not perfectly black; to a greater or lesser extent, visible spots are always visible on it.

Leopard and jaguar - comparison

The leopard is often confused with the jaguar. , unlike leopard cats, is very muscular, although they are similar in appearance. In fact, the leopard has a stronger structure. He has longer and slimmer legs and a thin chest. A jaguar can be distinguished from a leopard by the black spot in the center of the rosette on the skin. Leopards and jaguars in wildlife live in different areas.

Leopard and jaguar - comparison.

The leopard, like a cat, leads a solitary lifestyle. Often, you can’t even hear how the leopard moves, since it does it on its soft paws. This animal madly loves to camouflage itself among grass and trees. And he does this well due to his spotted color. Leopards go hunting only at dusk, and sit in shelter all day. But if a leopard sees prey in front of it, then it can go hunting in daytime.

The leopard is the great hunter of the earth's fauna.

The leopard's diet consists of ungulates, namely antelope, roe deer, gazelles and wild pigs. There are also areas where leopards feed on monkeys, reptiles and rodents. If they have nothing to eat, they can also attack birds, but this happens extremely rarely. Animals disdain carrion and eat it only in the most extreme cases.

The leopard lies in wait for prey in a shelter, stealthily crawls close to it and pounces on it with large leaps.

Listen to the voice of the leopard

Leopard and panther are the names of the same animal.
Leopards are very strong. They can lift a victim heavier than themselves into the crown of a tree.
Panthers climb down from tree trunks upside down.
Black panthers also have spots on their fur, but they are difficult to see.
The favorite food of young leopards is baboons.
Each individual has a unique mottled pattern by which they can be identified.
The black panther is more aggressive than other leopards.
Leopards can jump up to 7 meters.
Different types of leopards can vary greatly in size and color.

Tree is the leopard's favorite resting place

Leopards Size:

Body length from 100 to 150 cm (record 190 cm)
Height from 60 to 80 cm
Weight: 60-80 kg (for females) and 70-90 kg (for males)
Tail length up to 110 cm
Life expectancy in the wild is 12 years (record 17 years), in captivity 25 years.

Leopard breeding

"Wild cat" resting on a tree.

Leopards breed regardless of the season, but the exception is animals living in the north.

The female's pregnancy lasts three months, usually she bears three babies. For her cubs, a female leopard chooses a secluded place, most often in dense thickets.

The cubs are born completely blind, but they grow very quickly and very soon they independently leave their den for a walk in order to explore the world. Young children stay with their mother until they are one and a half years old, during which time she brings them wounded animals and teaches them to hunt.

Adult leopards have almost no enemies, since they are hidden from other animals. The main opponents of leopards are hyenas, lions, tigers and wolves. All these animals can attack young leopards and take their prey. But it is still extremely difficult to take prey from leopards, since they hide it in the trees.

During a hunt, a leopard can be injured by a buffalo. But often, such situations occur either with young or inexperienced animals.

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Leopard is one of the representatives of large cats. The body of the animal is elongated, flexible, slender and strong. The length of the body varies from 91 to 180-190 cm. The height at the shoulders is 45-80 cm. A leopard weighs from 15 to 75 kg (depending on the subspecies and sex of the animal), extremely rarely reaching 100 kg or more. Males are 1.5-2 times larger than females.

Head The leopard is round, relatively small, with a noticeably convex forehead, sloping crown and moderately blunt muzzle. The ears are short, triangular, rounded, without tufts. A leopard's eyes are small and the pupils are round. The animal has well-developed vision and hearing, but the sense of smell is weak. The predator's fangs are relatively thin at the base, but high and sharp. The tail is long - 75-110 cm and makes up at least 2/3 of the body.

Legs Leopards are slender, relatively short and very strong. There are soft pads on the paws. The leopard's claws are hidden. He releases them only when it is time to grab prey or when he needs to climb a tree.

Wool The leopard is rough, not long - about 25-30 mm on the back, shorter on the tail. The fur of leopards living in tropical countries is brightly colored, but not fluffy. In winter, Far Eastern leopards are fluffy and denser. The body, legs, head and tail of the animal are covered with clearly defined spots. They can be solid or in the form of rings. The spots are larger on the animal’s belly and paws, and smaller on the head. On the back they are collected into rosettes. The largest leopard spots do not exceed 5 cm in length. In some cases, in the rear region of the back or on the sides they merge into stripes, and on the tail they form transverse rings.

The spotted pattern stands out against the yellowish or reddish color of the leopard's coat, the shades of which depend on the mammal's habitat: from yellow-brown to light yellow.

Young individuals are somewhat lighter than older ones. Their general tone is grayish-yellow or off-white. Summer leopard fur is rarer, shorter and lighter than winter fur. By the way, it is typical for leopards different lengths yellowish and black hair. The black hairs that make up the spots are longer and thinner than the yellow ones. The degree of spotting and the shape of the spots may vary. Black color may acquire a brownish tint.

Thanks to their coloring, leopards are well camouflaged, clinging to the ground or hiding in the branches of trees. It is difficult to see them in grass no more than 50 cm high, even if you are several tens of meters away from them.

By the way, to communicate with other individuals, leopards use visual communication, namely: white spots that are located on the ears and at the tip of the tail. For example, by exposing these spots, females convey a message to their cubs while hunting or while in tall grass.

When communicating with their relatives, leopards make various sounds. This can be a growl or roar, snorting, rumbling, purring. The leopard's voice is so loud that it can be heard in the mountains several kilometers away. The growl of a leopard resembles the sound of a saw cutting into a tree. This is how the mother calls her cubs to her, and females call males during estrus. When establishing contact with other individuals and marking the boundaries of its territory, the leopard emits a creaking growl. The frequent cry of males during the rut is similar to a sharp cough that turns into sighs. But, in general, the leopard rarely makes sounds and is silent, even when caught in a trap.

Leopards are cautious and secretive animals, but at the same time very brave. They do not run away, but calmly retreat when meeting a person. Carrying away prey in front of people, predators do not pay attention to screams and even shots. Sport hunting for a leopard in permitted areas is considered one of the most dangerous, since a wounded animal, unlike many predators, rushes at the hunter.

Lifestyle of leopards

Leopards lead a solitary lifestyle. Their typical day: sleep, hunting and leisurely walks around their property. Leopards hunt mainly at night. Females who have kittens can go hunting at any time of the day.

Thanks to its soft pads, the leopard is able to sneak up on its prey so quietly that not a single leaf rustles, not a single branch crunches. As a rule, it hunts medium-sized animals, which it overtakes with a powerful jump (up to 5-6 m).

Leopards adapt well to living in any terrain, be it mountains, rainforests, plains, savannas or semi-deserts. The territory of one leopard can range from 10 to 400 km². Females and males may have the same territorial areas, but if a representative of the same sex enters the territory, a fierce fight inevitably breaks out between the rivals, sometimes with a fatal outcome.

Leopard breeding

Leopards do not have a specific breeding season; mating can occur at any time of the year. The female's pregnancy lasts from 93 to 103 days, then babies are born. Leopard cubs are born blind and only after 8-10 days do they open their eyes. Most often, 1-2 babies are born in one litter, less often 3. Of the entire litter, only one kitten often survives.

The cubs spend the first three months in the den, and then leave it with their mother. From time to time, the mother changes the shelter of her kittens so that they are not discovered by predators. Leaving them in the next shelter, the mother goes hunting. Only after six months can kittens follow their mother everywhere. The mother raises her offspring for about two years. Young leopards at this age leave their nurse and become independent.

Young animals reach sexual maturity at approximately 2.5 years.

Life activity and habitat

Most leopards live in Africa, and hunting them is even allowed there. But in China, India and Russia, the leopard population is very small, some species are even listed in the Red Book.

Nature has endowed the leopard with acute vision, so it hunts at night. Its diet consists of ungulates, rodents, monkeys, hares, and sometimes the leopard can snack on a snake or frog. The leopard loves to feast on fish, which he catches with his paw, like a bear. A leopard can jump up to 10 meters in length.

The leopard has practically no enemies; it can fight with a tiger or lion, emerging victorious in this fight thanks to its agility and speed. The leopard is a solitary animal that marks its boundaries and fiercely defends them. He leaves his prey in the trees so that other predators do not get to it.

The leopard is nature's best hunter and helps control the monkey population by hunting old or sick individuals. But every year these hunters become fewer and fewer. This is due to the invasion of people into their habitat. Some species of leopards have already become extinct or are listed in the Red Book.

Leopard and panther are the names of the same animal.
Leopards are very strong. They can lift a victim heavier than themselves into the crown of a tree.
Panthers climb down from tree trunks upside down.
Black panthers also have spots on their fur, but they are difficult to see.
The favorite food of young leopards is baboons.
Each individual has a unique mottled pattern by which they can be identified.
The black panther is more aggressive than other leopards.
Leopards can jump up to 7 meters.
Different types of leopards can vary greatly in size and color.

Leopard hybrids

Among leopards there are hybrids - such as leopon. Leopon is a hybrid resulting from crossing a male leopard with a female lion. The existence of Leopon was first officially confirmed in Kolhapur in India at the beginning of the 20th century. Later they began to be deliberately bred in zoos in Germany, Japan and Italy. Leopard hybrids cannot bear offspring. The appearance of the leopon is also quite interesting. Its head is shaped more like a lion's. All other parts of the hybrid's body are more similar to the body of a leopard. The size of the hybrids is usually somewhere between a lion and a leopard. Male hybrids sometimes have a mane similar to a lion's, which can reach 20 cm in length. The color of leopons is distinguished by brown or black spots, and their tail is decorated with a lion's tassel at the end.

Another leopard hybrid is the berry pard - it appeared after crossing a male jaguar and a female leopard.

Territorial and social behavior

The leopard is a solitary animal, leading mainly night look life. These animals can easily adapt to any living conditions. They can live in forests and mountains, as well as in deserts. The areas of their individual habitat can vary from 8 to more than 400 km2 - it all depends on the terrain and the availability of food for the animal. The modest size of the leopard does not prevent it from successfully hunting large prey - their victims can sometimes weigh up to 900 kilograms.

Leopards have unique tree climbing skills. They can climb them for recreation or to hunt monkeys. But more often, nevertheless, leopards engage in ground hunting. As a rule, the predator very quietly and carefully approaches its prey at a distance of one jump, and then pounces on its prey and strangles it. If the jump is unsuccessful, the animal does not pursue the victim. Sometimes a leopard can deliberately noisily approach its prey and then hide. In this case, the hunting victim was confused, not understanding from which side to expect an attack. Often, the leopard lifts the remains of its victims high into a tree in order to protect them from jackals and hyenas.

Leopard food

The leopard's diet usually consists of ungulates - antelopes and deer, as well as roe deer. Sometimes the predator can feed on rodents and monkeys, as well as birds and snakes. May also attack sheep and horses. Domestic dogs, as well as wild foxes and wolves, often suffer from leopards. A leopard, due to lack of food, can steal prey from other leopards. As for people, leopards rarely attack them - to do this you need to disturb the animal. However, a leopard always attacks if it is wounded - in this case the consequences can be the most dire.

Hunting for prey

As a rule, leopards do not hunt collectively, preferring to hunt alone. The predator sneaks up on the prey or waits for it somewhere in ambush.

Leopard Population Status

Leopard populations are inexorably declining. The reasons for the extinction of a species are destruction natural conditions habitats of predators, as well as the disappearance of food for animals. There are statistics that indicate that at the time of 2007 there were only 25 to 34 Far Eastern leopards.

Leopard conservation

Just a few years ago main problem The disappearance of leopards was their shooting in order to take possession of a valuable skin. However, now the reasons for catching them have changed somewhat. With the development of oriental medicine, poachers are shooting leopards with the aim of using them for medical needs. Five species of leopards are included in the Red Book, including the Far Eastern leopard. They are also included in the Red Book of Russia.

Leopard hunting

The leopard, or leopard, has always been a very significant trophy for hunters. They hunted predators exclusively within their habitat areas. Among hunters, there is the concept of the “Big Five,” which includes such dangerous animals as the elephant, rhinoceros, lion, African buffalo and African leopard. Any of these animals is valuable prey and a luxurious trophy for the hunter.

If we talk about hunting for leopards in the period from the 19th to the 20th, we can conclude that in the countries of Africa and Asia this type of hunting was completely random and uncontrolled. It was this factor that became decisive in the issue of the disappearance of such a rare predator in most of its habitats.

In many areas of Asia, even today there are poachers hunting leopards, although this type of hunting is legally prohibited throughout the country. Unfortunately, the demand for beautiful and valuable leopard skins is still high on the black market, and animal organs are actively used in recipes traditional medicine. Some countries African continent allocate a certain quota for shooting leopards - this is due to their high numbers in some countries. It will be interesting to know that the cost of a leopard can range from 4,000 to 12,000 dollars.

The standard scheme for hunting a leopard is the use of bait in the form of the carcass of an animal of interest to the predator (this could be a monkey or a roe deer). It is necessary to use fresh carcasses, because the leopard, like all other representatives of its family, will not come to the smell of carrion.

Usually hunters find a lonely growing tree that is often visited by leopards. The bait carcass is tied to the lower branch of a tree so that it is clearly visible against the sky. The leopard follows the scent of its prey already at dusk, accompanying its arrival with a roar. Such a roar is similar to a cough or the sound of a saw - the hunter will not confuse it with anything. Then the hunter has to act very quickly - the shot is fired with close range. When a leopard is wounded, it is most aggressive and dangerous to a person, trying to attack him instead of running away. Often the leopard only pretends to be killed - as soon as the hunter comes closer, he rushes at him.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the fashion for leopard skins reached its apogee, making this animal its victim. Most of the stars of that time loved to flaunt in a leopard skin coat, and were also photographed for magazine covers in this form. All this led to a significant reduction in the number of leopards on earth. Over the six years of the 60s, the European fur market was replenished with more than 250,000 leopard skins. They especially loved leopard skins and brought them into fashion. famous personalities as the wife of the President of the United States.

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Sources

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Leopard(Panthera pardus), a mammal of the cat family. Full classification: subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammals, or Beasts (Mammalia), subclass Real Beasts (Theria), order Carnivora, family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, genus Big cats (Pantera). In our country it is known as the leopard.

A very beautiful cat with an elongated, flexible, slender and at the same time strong body (91-180 cm), a rounded head, a long tail (75-110 cm), slender, strong legs. Body weight is usually 32-40 kg, occasionally up to 100 kg.
The color is yellow, with one shade or another. Scattered across a yellow background with one shade or another (on the body, tail, legs) are clearly defined solid and ring-shaped black spots. The fur of a leopard from tropical countries is thick, but not fluffy, and very brightly colored. African leopards have small spots, while Asian leopards have larger ones. The color of the Central Asian is sandy-grayish, the Far Eastern is reddish-yellow. The Far Eastern animal has fluffy, thicker, rather dull fur in winter. Very bright, rich tones in the coloring of leopards in dense tropical forests.

Leopards do not like water and rain: they hide if it rains. They bury their droppings like cats. They know how to sleep on a tree, hiding in the branches. Excellent hearing and vision. Sense of smell is weak. Will be born, but very rarely albino leopards and the so-called flaviists: for these, it’s as if nature didn’t have enough black paint - the spots are faded, ocher, at best chocolate. Forest leopards the largest of its kind. And the smallest one - Somali leopard.

The leopard lives over a vast territory that is larger than that of any other member of the cat family. It inhabits most of Africa (except the Sahara), the southern half of Asia, and Southeast Europe. Until recently, the leopard was found in the Caucasus, but now it occasionally appears only in Transcaucasia, sometimes in Central Asia, and more often in the southern part of Primorye.

The leopard's habitat is remote tropical, subtropical and mixed forests Manchurian type, mountain slopes, plains, savannas, thickets along river banks. It happens that the predator lives near populated areas, stays alone and hunts at night. The leopard climbs trees well, often resting there for the day or in ambush, and sometimes even catches monkeys in trees or hides prey from other predators. However, the main hunting area is land. While inferior in strength to a tiger or lion, a leopard surpasses them in the ability to silently and deftly sneak up on its prey.

This is a very cunning cat. A leopard can lie in the sun for hours, pretending to be dead, writhing, moaning and pretending to be dying, thereby luring inexperienced, curious deer or camels. If a leopard hunts from an ambush, it makes a huge leap (the height of the jump can reach 5.5 m), falling on the victim’s back, biting it in the scruff of the neck and knocking it to the ground. The main prey of leopards are small antelopes, deer, roe deer and other ungulates, but hard times he can hunt rodents, monkeys, birds, and does not disdain reptiles and insects. Among leopards there are also cannibals, which are superior to man-eating tigers in their boldness of attack. In India, one leopard killed 125 people in eight years. Another killed 400 people in 77 mountain villages and terrorized the locals at night until he was shot dead.

Leopards are usually nocturnal. They usually hunt alone. In the southern regions, leopards breed all year round. In the Far East, mating occurs in January. Like other cats, leopards start fights at this time, accompanied by loud roars from the males, although in normal times the leopard is silent. Pregnancy lasts 3 months, 1-3 cubs appear. They are born blind and helpless. But very soon they begin to see the light and begin their first forays for frogs and little birds. By the time they learn to hunt, their vision becomes so acute that they can see prey 1.5 km away. Young leopards reach full height and sexual maturity, with females somewhat earlier than males.

IN national park In Chitavan in Nepal, a female tiger, who was accompanied by two six-month-old tiger cubs, and a female leopard, who gave birth to kittens after tagging, were radio-collared. Radio tracking of these two predators was carried out from December to April. Both females stayed in the same area of riverine forest with tall grass vegetation. The individual home range of a tigress was 9.3 km 2 , and that of a female leopard was 8 km 2 . The areas completely overlapped, but the females avoided meetings, although the distance between them was sometimes from 100 to 500 m. These ecologically close predators were allowed to avoid each other by the fact that the tigress stuck to areas with dense woody vegetation, and the female leopard - more open spaces covered with forbs . At the same time, the tiger, except at night, was active in the cooler morning hours, the leopard - in the early evening.

The number of leopards is small everywhere, so it is included in the IUCN Red List. Recently, the leopard has been one of the favorite trophies of hunters due to its skin being highly prized in the fur market.

Amur leopard(Pantera pardus orientalis) is found in the Far East; by 1973, its number was only 20-25 individuals permanently living there, and 18-21 coming from China and Korea. This subspecies is so rare that rare zoo the world is honored to have it in its collection. According to the latest data, only 30 individuals of the Amur ( Far Eastern) leopard. Since December 2002, a fundraising campaign began to carry out work to preserve this subspecies of leopards. Will be released computer game, by playing which you can establish the desired survival strategy for the Amur leopard. It is assumed that one of the winning strategies will be taken as the basis for the real restoration of the subspecies.

The harsh conditions of the region with cold, snowy winters and a limited food supply did not previously allow the Amur leopard to have a more or less significant population, and in recent decades, active human economic activity has been steadily pushing it out of its original habitats and has brought it to a very dangerous brink... Remaining places The habitats of this elegant, graceful cat are annually subjected to the largely destructive effects of forest fires, the breed dies and the food supply is undermined. Poaching has not been stopped not only of the main food items of leopards - roe deer, sika deer, raccoon dog, badger, hare, but also of the leopard itself. And it is not difficult to get it: almost any pack of dogs can drive not only a young, but also an adult animal into a tree, and when hungry, it will go for any bait and end up in traps. This is what poachers take advantage of.

The only reserve where the Far Eastern leopard breeds is Kedrovaya Pad, but it is so small - about 18 thousand hectares - that it does not play a significant role in the conservation of this wonderful cat - only one male lives here permanently, and breeds, as a rule, no more two females. Almost every year the reserve “releases” from two to four young leopards outside its boundaries, but the surroundings of the reserve are so developed by humans and unsuitable for the animals to live that they are doomed to death from a poacher’s bullet or from starvation. The last refuge of the leopard in the Ussuri region remains small an area of southwestern Primorye with a length of about 200 kilometers from the Razdolnaya River to Posiet Bay. But even here it remains only in a narrow, poorly developed mountainous strip of coniferous-deciduous and deciduous forests along the border with China.

Central Asian leopard(Pantera pardus ciscaucasica) has a population of no more than 10 individuals in the Caucasus (or maybe it no longer exists at all), and in the Kopetdag - 10. The Persian leopard lives in Armenia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Now about two thousand individuals live in the wild, and 174 live in 72 zoos around the world. In the summer of 2007, three Persian leopard kittens were born at the Budapest Zoo: 2 females and a male.

Even in the last century, the Central Asian leopard could be found in all mountainous regions of Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan, southwestern Tajikistan, as well as in Iran, Turkey and some areas of the Caucasus. At that time, the leopard’s range was several million hectares; now it has decreased to 600-800 thousand hectares. In some areas the leopard has completely disappeared, in others its numbers are very low. Even in those areas where the leopard still lives - in the Kopetdag mountains in Turkmenistan - it faces the problem of a lack of food resources - wild ungulates, which forces it to hunt domestic animals and thus come into conflict with the local population.

Until 1940-1950, when the number of leopards fell sharply, its population in Western Kopetdag was relatively stable. By the beginning of the 1990s. the population has declined significantly following the decline in the populations of animals that serve as its main food sources - argali, bezoar goat and wild boar. There is a real threat of the population disintegrating into isolated groups and even its complete disappearance, as happened with the population of the Turanian tiger.

Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), contrary to its name, has no relation to real leopards. It is distinguished by significant morphological and ecological originality and occupies an intermediate position between small and large cats. The clouded leopard's pupil is not round, like those of big cats, but ovoid. In addition, the larynx is designed like that of small cats. He is able to purr like small cats. Sometimes it is classified into a special genus (Neofelis).

Clouded leopard has a body 62-106 cm long, a tail 60-90 cm long. The mass of this predator is in the range of 16-30 kg, so it cannot be classified as big cats, but this is the largest representative of medium-sized cats. It has an elongated, flexible body, short legs, wide paws and hard, bare calluses, suitable for climbing trees. Thick grayish or yellowish fur is decorated with an elegant pattern of wide and narrow markings in the form of circles, rosettes, ovals, the rear edges of which are more clearly defined than the front ones, which enhances the effectiveness of the coloring. A very beautiful black marble pattern on a bright yellow or yellow-gray background. The chest and belly are light or white with a few spots. There are dark brown or black elongated spots on the neck and back. The tail is heavy, furry, colored with non-joining black rings. The eyes are yellow.

The clouded leopard has an elongated skull, which distinguishes it from other cats. His fangs are larger than those of other cats in proportion to body size. Sometimes it is classified as a modern “saber-tooth.” It feeds on deer, large cattle, goats, wild pigs, reptiles, birds and monkeys. It can hunt both day and night, tracking its game on the ground or overtaking it in a jump from a tree.

The clouded leopard's range is South Asia from Nepal, Sikkim, Southern China south to Sumatra and Kalimantan. Habitat: dense tropical forests, bushes, swamps. The clouded leopard spends most of its time in trees. It hunts mainly at night, more often on birds, but also attacks monkeys, pigs, sika deer, goats, and porcupines. Sometimes it jumps on its prey from branches hanging above the ground, but often hunts directly on the ground.

There are four species of clouded leopards in total. Their color varies from darkish yellow-brown (in the southern part of their range) to light yellow (these are found in southern China).

Pregnancy of females lasts 86-92 days. There are from 2 to 5 kittens in a litter. The cubs are born in hollows and develop relatively slowly. The clouded leopard is a rare animal; it is listed in the IUCN Red List.

In 2007, a new species of clouded leopard was identified in Sumatra and Borneo. The discovery was made by geneticists from National Institute cancer in the USA (US National Cancer Institute) and a group of representatives of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Until now, clouded leopards have been classified as belonging to a species found in mainland Southeast Asia. Scientists now believe that the two species diverged more than a million years ago, and have evolved separately since then.

Clouded leopard(Felis nebulosa) of Borneo is the territory's largest predator, similar in size to a small leopard. Its weight is about 20 kg, and its body length is 1.6-1.9 m, with the tail taking up almost half. The fact that the species separated was established by scientists at the National Cancer Institute in the USA using a DNA test, which showed about 40 differences between them. Another confirmation was obtained by studying the characteristics of animal fur. Leopards from Borneo and Sumatra have small "clouds" with many distinct spots in them, gray or dark fur, and double stripes along their backs.

The spots are separated from each other by thin strips of bright brown (slightly reddish) fur. The spots of mainland leopards are different large size. In addition, the animal is much lighter in color; the main fur color of Asian leopards is brown-yellow. Their mainland counterparts have dark spots on their skins with smaller, often faintly visible dots, their fur is lighter and its color is more reddish-brown. According to WWF, there are from 5 to 11 thousand leopards on the island, and in addition, from 3 to 7 thousand animals are found in Sumatra.

Mountain leopard lives in the Alps. There are literally only a few of this subspecies in the world. On May 14, 2003, a short story was broadcast on television about the fact that one specimen of the mountain alpine leopard was acquired by the Buenos Aires Zoo. During the moments of the plot, we were able to note a short body, thick, long, fluffy, spotted fur. This is how animals living in harsh high mountain conditions should have it. I was struck by the cat’s extreme cuteness and gentleness. A species of mountain leopard found in the mountains of Africa.

In tropical countries, dark-colored leopards are sometimes found, which are called black panthers. If you look closely, you can see even darker spots on the black background. Scientists have recently established that the panther and the black leopard are the same species. Black panthers are commonly found in Java. Black individuals can be born in the same litter with normally colored cubs.

The main prey of the leopard are roe deer, small antelopes, deer, wild boars, monkeys, and hares. Average weight the prey is usually 25 - 50 kilograms, but a leopard is able to crush a horse, zebra, cow and even a gorilla. And with all this, he is not averse to eating a locust, a vole or a frog. And you can imagine - he catches and feasts on fish!

In Primorye, until the beginning of the 20th century, its favorite prey were sika deer and goral. Now these animals in the wild have become very rare, but there are a lot of deer on state fur farms. And the predator uses every opportunity to penetrate the deer farm park and indulge his soul on his favorite hunt. The leopard is a smart animal, it understands well how a visit to the deer farms can end, and yet it goes for it.

The leopard has keen hearing and sharp eyesight, and it sees well in seemingly impenetrable darkness. With its bright coloring, the supercat perfectly camouflages itself in the area. In a rare clear forest, you can walk past a motionless animal lying a few meters away and not notice it. It sneaks invisibly even in grass 30 - 40 centimeters high, as if pressing into the ground. Its color camouflages especially well in autumn or during drought, when yellow and brown leaves and withered grasses are everywhere.

On a tree, a leopard lying motionless in a fork or on a thick sunu often cannot be noticed even by an experienced and keen-sighted local hunter - so much so does the animal merge with the general background of the tree bark, flickering in the glare of the sun. Only the tail gives away the supercat: she forgets about it, and it hangs down, and when the animal gets excited, the tip of the tail moves.

Like the tiger, the leopard has an irresistible hatred of jackals, wolves, dogs and a passion for their meat.

A large hungry leopard can eat medium-sized prey in two days, but a well-fed one can eat it for almost a week. What is not eaten is hidden in reserve. In Africa and South Asia, this animal, fearing jackals, hyenas and other lovers of preying on strangers, usually drags its prey onto a rock or into the fork of a large tree and settles here itself.

But here’s another mystery: the leopard finishes its large prey on the fourth or fifth day, when it is already smelly. He does not disdain carrion, and if another predator tastes the prey during his absence, the leopard no longer touches it. Pride? Disgust? Unknown.

Leopard - a thunderstorm of monkeys. Monkeys, chimpanzees, and all monkey relatives are terrified of not only a living predator, but even its frayed cords. What can you do: they don’t always manage to escape from his rapid throws, even in the trees. When the super cat walks through the forest, the monkeys, climbing to the tops of the trees, raise an unimaginable hubbub. Baboons - large, brave and strong monkeys - are constantly wary of the leopard: the herd maintains a perimeter defense during the transition, and during feeding and resting it is vigilantly guarded by guards.

Our distant ancestors also often died in the claws of a leopard. Maybe that’s why this beast is not afraid of people even now. Do not believe the reports often found in the scientific literature about the cowardice of the leopard. Cowardice and prudent caution are not the same thing and should not be confused. The leopard is insanely brave and at the same time careful. Pursuing prey, he sometimes comes close to settlements, however, he began to shy away from meeting modern man, without showing haste and nervousness. There have been attacks by leopards on people, but almost all of them were caused by persecution, i.e. attacks on a person were instigated by the person himself: Like the tiger, the leopard does not tolerate this, he is too proud and independent.

The leopard is protected throughout its range and is listed in the International Red Book; main threat for him it is associated with changes in natural habitats and a reduction in food supply. The trade in leopard skins, once a serious problem, has now faded into the background, with poaching of the animals for eastern medicine becoming a major concern. Only large reserves can guarantee the survival of the species.

The lion and the tiger are relatives of the leopard, but the closest of them in origin, appearance and way of life is the jaguar, which lives in South and Central America. He is almost the same color, with dark spots on a yellow background, only a little larger and a little stockier in build. And the habits are the same. In a word, brother leopard and supercat of the New World.

While inferior to the lion and tiger in size, the leopard wins in agility and swiftness of movements. He climbs trees and rocks beautifully and feels no less free there than on the ground. His reaction is instant, attacks are lightning fast, he knows no fear. And it’s not for nothing that many scientists and famous hunters consider the leopard to be the most perfect of cats - a supercat.

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Leopard is big wild cat, belonging to the panther genus, which also includes three more representatives of the cat family: lion, tiger, jaguar.

The leopard species has 13 main subspecies, with the European leopard being an already extinct animal, and some subspecies are listed in the Red Book.

The name leopard comes from the fusion of two Greek words “lion” and “panther”, since in ancient times it was believed that the leopard was the fruit of the love of a lion and a panther.

Based on archaeological research, it has been proven that the first leopard appeared approximately 3.8 million years ago in Asia. Later he migrated to Africa.

Leopard - description of the species and habits

Although the leopard is a large cat, its size is much smaller than that of the tiger and jaguar. The animal is unusually slender and flexible. The leopard's body is elongated and muscular (length 90-190 cm), and its long tail is more than half the length of its body (60-100 cm). The height at the withers is 50-80 cm. The weight of a male leopard is 60-75 kg, and that of a female is 30-65 kg.

In fact, the size and weight of these cats depends on their habitat. Forest leopards are smaller and lighter than steppe leopards.

Leopard has a magnificent coat color- on a golden background there are large specks of black spots in African leopards. Central Asian leopards have spots on a grayish-sandy background, while the Far Eastern leopard has a reddish-yellow main background. These spots scattered on the animal's skin are a good camouflage when hunting - like the robe mask worn by scouts.

What's interesting about the spots. Their location on the animal’s skin is unique for each individual. It's like a person's fingerprints. They can be used to monitor a specific animal.

A characteristic feature of all representatives of the panther genus is the structure of the larynx, with the help of which they can reproduce a growl.

The melanistic black leopard (melanism: increased pigmentation of certain areas of the skin) lives in southeast Asia. Otherwise they are called panther. But they are not completely black. If you look closely, you can always see emerging spots. Moreover, black panthers can be born in the same litter with normally colored kittens.

In the warm southern regions, leopard breeding occurs all year round. The female carries the fetus for 3 months. In the Far East it is autumn and the end of winter. There are usually 1-2 kittens in a litter. They reach sexual maturity in 2.5 years.

The lifespan of leopards in the wild is 10-11 years, but in captivity their lifespan doubles (about 21 years).

Where do these large leopard cats live and what do they eat?

The leopard's habitat is much larger than that of any other member of the cat family. This is explained by the fact that they lead a more hidden lifestyle and hunt a wide variety of animals. These are mainly ungulates - roe deer, antelope, deer. But they do not disdain rodents, lizards and other reptiles, monkeys and birds.

They can also attack domestic animals - sheep and horses (read), dogs, foxes and even wolves. When there is a shortage of food, they do not disdain carrion or steal from other predators, including their relatives.

They hunt mainly at night, like all cats, and to prevent their prey from falling to competitors, they drag it into trees. The area of their “land” ranges from 8 to 400 km. Having tracked its prey, the leopard sneaks up on it at jumping distance, jumps and strangles it with its strong front paws.

The historical habitat is Africa (except the Sahara), South and East Asia, Transcaucasia, Pakistan, India, China, Tibet. In Russia - Primorsky Krai and the North Caucasus.

In ancient times, leopards also lived in Europe (the European leopard became extinct about 10,000 years ago).

Types of leopards

It was previously believed that the leopard species contains 27 subspecies. This was based on the difference in colors and spots. But recent studies of their DNA have proven that there are much fewer of them:

African leopard (Africa)
Barbary leopard
Indochinese leopard (Indochina)
Javan leopard (Java)
Indian leopard (India, South-East Pakistan, Nepal)
Ceylon leopard (Ceylon)
North China leopard (China)
Far Eastern leopard (Russian Far East, Northern China, Korea)
Persian leopard (Foreign Asia, Caucasus)
Sinai leopard
Central Asian leopard
Anatolian leopard (combined with the Persian leopard, since the last mention of it was in 1974)
South Arabian leopard (Arabian Peninsula)
European

Leopard hybrids

Leopon- a hybrid of a male leopard and a lioness. First registered in 1910 in India. Outwardly, they look like a leopard, only with the head of a lion. Since the mid-20th century, they have been specially bred in zoos in Japan, Germany and Italy, since the hybrids themselves are sterile.

A hybrid of a female leopard and a male jaguar.

Leopard on the verge of extinction

The number of leopards on Earth is steadily declining. Five subspecies are included in the Red Book. According to the latest data on the verge of extinction:

Far Eastern leopard - 25-34 individuals
Central Asian leopard less - only 10 individuals

But the decline in leopard numbers also affects other species. This is due to the fact that today not only the skin of a leopard is valuable, but they are also shot for the needs of oriental medicine.

Leopard hunting

Leopard has always been considered prestigious hunting trophy along with such as the lion, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo. From the 19th century, their hunting was uncontrolled until the mid-20th century, when leopards became rare in Africa and Asia. Now for the right to shoot a leopard in Africa you have to pay from 4 to 12 thousand dollars, and the limit on shooting this animal is determined annually.

Since the mid-30s of the last century, this animal has become a victim of fashion, thanks to its skin. Between 1962 and 1968 alone, 250 thousand spotted leopard skins entered the market in Europe.

Despite the fact that hunting leopards is prohibited in Asia, poaching is rampant, as teeth and bones are used for traditional oriental medicine. In addition, restaurants in China and Thailand offer leopard dishes for wealthy tourists.

Leopard and man, man-eating leopard

If you do not touch the leopard, then it will not attack a person. If an attack occurs, it is only if the animal is wounded or is being pursued by a hunter. Moreover, the wounded animal does not flee, but goes on the attack and rushes at its enemy.

Cannibalism occurs only in old, sick or injured animals that are unable to hunt their usual prey, so they are forced to attack humans.

Leopard - as a symbol of courage

Since ancient times, the leopard has been a symbol of fearlessness, ferocity, courage and cruelty. For the Egyptians, the leopard was a symbol of the god Osiris, and for the Greeks it was one of the close associates of the god Dionysus.

Often the leopard symbol is present in heraldry, representing courage and bravery. Queen Tamara's husband (Prince David Solomon) was the bearer of a leopard skin, thereby showing his belonging to royal family and commander's title.

Leopard became symbol of the Olympics 2014 in Sochi. The leopard conservation program is included in the environmental movement of the Olympics. Let's hope that by attracting public attention, this strong, powerful, courageous cat - leopard will be saved as a view.

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