How long does a leopard live? Wild cat leopard from the genus panther

A message about a leopard for children can be used in preparation for a lesson. A story about a leopard for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.

Report about the leopard

Leopard – typical representative large predatory cats. It is related to lions, tigers and jaguars. In total, up to 10 subspecies of this predator are distinguished.

Description of the leopard

He is extraordinarily handsome, swift and flexible, has an elegant head, a long tail, strong, slender paws. The leopard's gait is light, silent and majestic.

The leopard's body length is on average 160 cm (without tail), height - 65 cm, weight - 65-75 kg. Males are larger than females.
The animal's skin is smooth, beautifully colored: dark rings are densely scattered on a yellow background.

A leopard can run and jump into trees with prey weighing more than itself. In general, his “sports” indicators are impressive:

• running speed up to 65-70 kilometers per hour
• jumping up to ten meters in length and up to four in height
• deftly climbs trees when necessary, swims well.

What does a leopard eat?

As a rule, the leopard's diet consists of ungulates - roe deer, deer and antelope. Sometimes it can feed on monkeys and rodents, as well as snakes and birds. Can hunt horses and sheep. Dogs, as well as wolves and foxes, often suffer from leopards. For lack of food, an animal sometimes steals prey from its relatives.

Where does the leopard live?

Leopards appeared millions of years ago in Asia, and from there they spread to Africa. There are quite a lot of them in Africa, but in Asia there are no more than 100 of these predatory cats left.

Leopards' way of life

Leopard leads predominantly night image life. During the day, it often rests in trees, where it also ambushes monkeys. Brave and careful, dexterous and swift, knows no fear.
Leopard is an experienced hunter - average weight his prey is 25-50 kg, although he is able to run over a horse, zebra and gorilla. Hunts from ambush (near animal trails and at watering holes); sneaking up on the victim and overtaking him with powerful jumps; or just makes a quick dash.
With a roe deer in its teeth, the large animal jumps to a height of 2-3 m. It reaches speeds of up to 16-18 m/s and makes long jumps of 8-10 m. It always drags its prey up a tree, thus protecting it from other cats, hyenas and jackals.

Easily adapts to a variety of habitats. Excellent climbing trees and rocks.
The leopard has keen hearing and acute vision. The protective color of the animal camouflages it well. Even experienced hunters cannot always notice it. What gives a leopard away is its tail, which always hangs from the tree, and when the animal is excited, the tip of the tail moves.

The average life expectancy of leopards is 12-15 years. In the zoo it lives up to 20 years.

We hope the information presented about the leopard has helped you. You can leave your report about the leopard using the comment form.

Leopards form a species carnivorous mammals belonging to the cat family. The leopard (also known as the leopard) is a member of the panther genus. Research proves that the ancestors of leopards originated in Asia. And only then they settled on the African continent, where the modern leopard later developed.

The leopard is a large cat, which is characterized by an elongated muscular body, slightly compressed from the sides. The head is round, the ears are small and rounded. The leopard has strong limbs and a long tail. Leopards have thick fur, its length depends on the time of year. The general color background varies from light to dark (there are even almost black leopards). The fur is endowed with black spots. Each individual has a unique arrangement of these spots, which is sometimes used for identification.

The leopard is predominantly nocturnal. Representatives of this species stay solitary. The leopard has well-developed all external senses. The exception is the sense of smell. A leopard's roar can travel for several kilometers (especially if we're talking about about mountainous terrain). The voice of representatives of this species consists of alternating high and low sounds.

The pregnancy of a female leopard lasts about three months, after which one or two (less often three) cubs are born, which reach sexual maturity after two and a half years. The lifespan of leopards in the wild averages between ten and eleven years. In captivity they can live up to twenty-one years.

The decline in leopard numbers is steady. In the last century, the leopard was included in the Red Book International Union The Nature Conservancy (IUCN). The leopard is listed in the Red Book and Russian Federation. Leopon is a hybrid of a lioness and a male leopard. The berry parrot is a hybrid of a female leopard and a male jaguar.

The leopard is a member of the genus Panthera. The leopard was first scientifically described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) in his scientific work. However, the leopard was assigned to the genus Panthera only in 1929.

The leopard's ancestors come from Asia. Studying the evolution of this species allows us to draw exactly this conclusion. The data was obtained mainly through the analysis of found fossil remains. Great importance also had research in the field of molecular phylogenetics. With the help of fossil remains, the approximate time of the appearance of the leopard's ancestors was obtained - this happened about 3.8 million years ago. Data from molecular phylogenetic analysis fully confirm the presence of a close relationship between representatives of the genus Panthera. In addition, this kind of analysis allows us to conclude that the leopard separated from the common ancestral line much earlier than the jaguar and lion. Scientific publications record the fact that it was Asia that became the birthplace of the ancestor of the leopard. Later, he settled across the African continent. The origin of the modern leopard is believed to be between 470,000 and 825,000 years ago. Place of origin - Africa. A little later, the leopard also populated Asia.

Characteristic for different leopards different mass and sizes. These parameters depend on the geographical habitat of the leopards. Individuals whose habitat is open areas have more large sizes and greater mass compared to individuals whose habitat is forest areas. The body length of leopards (excluding the length of the tail) varies from ninety to one hundred and ninety centimeters. The length of the tail itself ranges from sixty to one hundred and ten centimeters. Females (weight 40-65 kilograms) are about a third smaller in size than males (weight 60-80 kilograms). Very rarely there are males whose weight reaches one hundred kilograms.

Adult leopards typically have thirty teeth. As, indeed, for most other felines. Upper jaw - six incisors, two canines, three premolars, one molar. Lower jaw - six incisors, two canines, two premolars and one molar. On the sides long tongue Leopards have special tubercles. Their purpose is to separate the meat from the victim's skeleton. The tubercles are covered with keratinized epithelium.

Leopards are endowed with short, thick fur. Summer fur is less dense and shorter than winter fur. For example, in the Far Eastern species of leopard, by the winter season, the fur grows to a length of seven centimeters. The color of leopards' fur can be either yellowish and gray (in Central Asian subspecies) or rusty-brown. The Far Eastern subspecies is endowed with a reddish-yellow tone of fur color. The coloring of younger individuals is lighter. The main background of the fur is grayish-yellow, and sometimes even dirty white.

Leopard is a spotted animal. Black spots of small and medium size are scattered along the legs, body, and tail of leopards. Different leopards have different spot sizes - for example, Asian leopards have larger spots, while African leopards are blessed with fur with smaller black spots. The spots themselves can be collected in rosettes of 3-4 pieces or be solid - their location is unique for each individual (like fingerprints for a person). This characteristic leopard identification is sometimes used by researchers to identify individual leopards in the wild. Spotted camouflage is necessary for the leopard to camouflage itself while hunting.

Melanistic leopards are black panthers. Meet in the South East Asia. However, it is wrong to assume that the skin of these panthers is completely black, since spots can always be seen appearing on it. These leopards need dark fur for camouflage. dense thickets forests. An interesting fact is that black panthers can be born in the same litter with cubs that have a normal color. Typically, panthers are more aggressive than other leopards.

The leopard's distribution range is very wide. The historical distribution area of ​​this species covered a significant part of Africa (with the exception of the Sahara Desert), Transcaucasia, Western Asia, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, China, as well as the islands of Java, Sri Lanka and Zanzibar. Nowadays, in some areas the leopard is not found or has already become extinct. Such territories include Zanzibar and the Sinai Peninsula. In other territories, the distribution range of leopards turned out to be divided into separate populations. Many of them are located at a considerable distance from one another. In the Russian Federation, leopards live in the Ussuri region. They can be found in the North Caucasus. Leopards can be found on the African continent in the jungles, semi-deserts, savannas, and mountains. They spread throughout the territory from Morocco to the Cape Good Hope. Leopards in Africa have not inhabited only the driest regions of Namibia and the Sahara Desert.

The leopard is a solitary animal. The area of ​​an individual plot can be as little as eight square kilometers (this is relatively small) or up to four hundred kilometers. The area depends on the region, the abundance of food, and the topography.

A leopard can also attack a person. It is extremely rare if a person does not pose a danger to the leopard. If an individual is wounded by a hunter, then an attack cannot be avoided; its results can be fatal. Man-eaters are much less common among leopards than, for example, among tigers or lions.

Man-eating leopards are sick or old individuals. Man-eating leopards are very, very rare. Indeed, these are predominantly sick or old individuals who are physiologically unable to hunt ungulates. For example, there is a known case (took place in the twenties of the last century) when one leopard from India had one hundred and twenty-five officially confirmed kills of people. The “Rudraprayag cannibal” acted as follows: under the cover of darkness, he entered villages and attacked people right in their huts or courtyards. In addition to old and sick leopards, representatives of this species who have suffered from porcupine quills and become disabled as a result can become cannibals. Such individuals lose mobility. The latter leads to the fact that the leopard is not able to hunt its usual prey and becomes a cannibal.

A leopard's prey can be very large. The mass of the victim can reach nine hundred kilograms. And this is despite the relatively small size of the leopard itself. Representatives of this species are excellent tree climbers. Often the tree becomes a place for daytime rest. Sometimes the leopard freezes on it, waiting for prey, but it mainly hunts on the ground. The leopard operates as follows: it quietly creeps up to the chosen victim and freezes within a jumping distance of it. Having chosen the right moment, the leopard jumps on the victim and begins to strangle it. However, if the jump is unsuccessful, then the leopard does not rush in pursuit of prey. If the prey is large, then after the delicacy the leopard takes the remains up the tree. This is necessary to save production. There are known cases when representatives of the leopard species did not hide to lure prey, but on the contrary began to loudly slap their paws. After this procedure, the leopards became quiet, and the confused victim simply did not know in which direction danger awaited her.

The leading place in the diet of leopards belongs to ungulates. These are roe deer, antelope, deer, etc. During periods of starvation, leopards can eat birds, monkeys, and rodents. Sometimes even reptiles become victims of leopards. Wolves and foxes suffer from leopard attacks. Representatives of the leopard species do not disdain carrion. Often they even steal prey either from other predators or from their fellows.

Leopards are characterized by the ability to reproduce year-round. Not entirely true. Leopards inhabiting the southern habitats have this ability. And, for example, on Far East estrus, i.e. The period of sexual activity in female leopards lasts from late autumn to early winter. The leopard, which can even be called a silent beast (it rarely gives out its voice), during the period of estrus violates its “life setting” - the roar of the males is also accompanied by fights. The gestation period for leopards is three months. Cubs are born blind. Usually a female gives birth to one or two cubs, sometimes three. Crevices and caves act as shelter for newborn cubs - the main thing is that the place is protected and secluded. Young leopards reach sexual maturity at the age of two and a half years (females even a little earlier than that). Interestingly, leopards grow and reach sexual maturity much faster than tigers.

The number of leopards is declining. Moreover, this process occurs throughout the species’ habitat. The reduction is steady. Main threat for leopards is a reduction in food supply and changes in natural habitats. In addition, it is shot annually a large number of leopard specimens for the needs of oriental medicine. When important issue There was a trade in leopard skins, which resulted in the deaths of many representatives of this species. However, in our time, this kind of trade has faded into the background.

Leopard is a coveted hunting trophy. Since ancient times, hunting for leopards has been carried out throughout the species’ habitat. The leopard was exterminated most massively in the last and century before last - the houses of aristocrats in different corners globe often decorated with stuffed animals and leopard skins. Nowadays, hunting leopards is prohibited. In principle, the ban does not prevent poaching from flourishing, which covers many areas. Moreover, in some countries of the African continent there are legal hunting safaris, where absolutely anyone can freely hunt a leopard from ambush for a fee.

Amur (Far Eastern) leopards are on the verge of extinction. The population of these leopards is currently in very high critical condition. According to data for 2007, its number is only 25-34 individuals. In addition, approximately one hundred representatives of the Far Eastern leopard are kept in different zoos around the world. One of the most important ways to preserve the population of Amur leopards is to breed them in captivity.

Poaching shooting - main reason such a dangerous decline in the Amur leopard population. The main reason is also considered habitat disturbance, which occurs due to the creation of networks of railways and roads and the expansion of logging operations. Forest fires and a decrease in the number of ungulates are of no small importance. Closely related crossings also do not have any effect positive influence. According to experts, in order to bring the Amur leopard population out of such a critical situation, it is necessary to think about creating a single protected area in Primorye (where the Amur leopard lives in our time), since individual reserves cannot cope with such an important task. In early times amur leopard inhabited the entire territory of Primorye, China and North Korea.

Leopon is a hybrid of a lioness and a male leopard. The first official existence of the leopon was recorded in 1910 in India. In the middle of the last century, such a hybrid was purposefully bred in zoos in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Hybrids are not capable of reproduction. The leopon looks like this: the head looks like a lion's, and the rest of the body is similar to a leopard's. The sizes of leopons are between the sizes of leopards and lions. Male leopons can be endowed with a mane whose length reaches twenty centimeters. The skin of leopons is spotted, but spots are much more common Brown color, rather than black. The leopon's tail, like the lion's, has a tassel.

The clouded leopard is a subspecies of leopard. The clouded leopard is also a member of the cat family, native to southeast Asia, but is a separate species. The clouded leopard is only vaguely similar to the leopard. It appears to be an ancient species that probably gave rise to today's large cats. Body length clouded leopard approximately ninety centimeters, and the tail - eighty centimeters. Weight varies from twenty to thirty kilograms. The general background of the coat is yellowish, on which large black spots are scattered.

Graceful, flexible, cunning animals are leopards. Everything about leopards, how they live in nature, what they look like, can be learned from books, from films... It is better, of course, to watch these animals in natural environment, but there are too few of them left on the planet; some subspecies are already listed in the Red Book.

In ancient times, it was believed that the animal appeared as a result of crossing a lion and a panther, which influenced the name of the beast. If you want to know more about the spotted predator, how it hunts, in what natural area leopard lives, read this article.

Description of the leopard

Leopard is large. The body of the animal is elongated and muscular, at the same time flexible and light. Distinctive feature- This is a beautiful long tail, it exceeds half the length of the entire body. When an animal is resting on a tree, hidden in dense foliage, it can only be detected by its tail hanging down, although it can easily be confused with a liana. The paws are powerful and wide, the head is not too large, round in shape, with small rounded ears. The eyes are small, with round pupils.

Weight and size depend on the natural area in which the leopard lives. Predators living in forests are much smaller than their relatives from open areas. The average weight of wild cats of this species is 30-40 kg; individuals weighing 80-90 kg have been spotted in Africa and India. The body length of an adult leopard is from one to two meters.

Fur adult cat short, does not differ in splendor even in the cold season. The leopard's color is light, the base is yellow with scattered black spots. Ring patterns with a light center. These black rings are solid, but usually have an interrupted character: one black ring is formed by several single spots.

In which natural area does the leopard live?

Leopards are common in the savannas and mountainous regions of Africa, as well as in forest and forest-steppe areas. These predators are also found in the southern part of East Asia. Nowadays, answering the question of what natural area the leopard lives in, first I would like to say that the population of the predatory cat is declining every year.

The current range of animals of this species is in Manchuria, Northeast Asia. In addition, it covers Africa, Indochina, eastern Tibet, Burma, the island of Java, Malacca, Kangean, India, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Arabian Peninsula.

From the territories of the former Soviet Union Leopards live in the Caucasus, and in the Far East.

Unfortunately, beautiful wild cats have become completely extinct in Morocco and Zanzibar. This is a signal that you need to think about preserving the species.

Leopard's natural habitat: lifestyle

The leopard is an animal that prefers to live alone. It is nocturnal. A predatory cat easily adapts to the conditions in which it has to exist. The spotted beauty's territory can be more than 400 square kilometers, but there are individuals that control just eight. This largely depends on the availability of production on occupied area. A relatively small predator can hunt game weighing up to 800-900 kg.

Leopards, like real cats, are great at climbing trees. At altitude they rest and hunt monkeys. Although preference is given to hunting on land. Having identified the prey, the predator creeps up to it within a jumping distance, then rushes forward and strangles the victim. After the first unsuccessful attempt the beast does not pursue prey, but goes in search of a new target.

The leopard is rightly called the most cunning wild cat. None of the predators can sneak up on prey as quietly and deftly as this handsome spotted creature does. He can pretend to be dead and lie for hours in the burning sun, or he can moan and writhe, pretending to be sick, in order to lure young deer, camels and other potential victims closer to him.

These animals are born weak, helpless and blind. After some time, small funny kittens grow into formidable hunters. As soon as babies begin to see the world and stand on their paws, they immediately show interest in little birds and frogs, trying to catch their first prey. Since childhood, animals' vision has been simply excellent: they can spot a hunting target one and a half kilometers away.

Leopards and tigers belong to But their habits are so different that I would like to give some facts about these animals so that they can be compared:

If we take our latitudes, then, considering the question of the leopard, we can safely note the fact that these beautiful predatory cats do not get along with each other at all. So in the place where the tiger lives, the leopard will not live.
. In our area, tigers and leopards are listed in the Red Book; according to rough estimates, there are about 35 spotted cats left, and about 400 beautiful striped cats.
. Leopards feel great both in the scorching sun and in temperatures below zero, while tigers tolerate the heat very poorly, experiencing real suffering in the scorching sun.
. The tiger, like a true gentleman, warns the opponent with a growl before attacking, the leopard is a cunning one, he attacks in most cases from behind and silently.
. The tiger does not eat carrion, except due to great hunger, and offal. He skins the prey and guts it, first taking the entrails away, and then only starts eating clean meat. The leopard is completely indiscriminate in this regard and eats everything.

A leopard (leopard) is an animal that belongs to the class mammals, the order Carnivora, the cat family, the subfamily big cats, and the genus panther.

International scientific name: Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758).

The Greek word πάνθηρ, from which the word “panther”, another name for the leopard, comes, consists of two stems: πάν (everything, everywhere) and θήρα (beast, predator), that is, literally “full-fledged predator”. Although there is an opinion that the word “panther” comes from the Sanskrit pundarikam - “tiger”, “yellowish beast”. Prefix leo from Greek Λέων indicates a relationship with. In Rus', the leopard was known as the leopard, pard and pardus, although the last two names also applied to another animal - the cheetah. The word leopard, which is also used to call this type of mammal, is of Turkic origin.

A leopard can also attack a person. But man-eating leopards are much less common than those that attack people and lions. Only an old or sick animal can do this. A healthy and young animal attacks a person only if it is wounded.

A leopard eats up to 20 kg of meat per day. Having killed large prey, it feeds on it for another 4-5 days. Only after this does the leopard go on its next hunt.

Leopards drink a lot, especially after eating. In this regard, they always settle in places where there is constant water. Cats usually go to water at night.

In addition to animal meat, leopards eat grass to cleanse gastrointestinal tract from fur that is ingested while cleaning their fur.

How do leopards hunt?

Leopards are night hunters. But sometimes they can hunt during the day, especially in cloudy weather. Leopards go for prey in the pre-sunset hours and hunt in the first half of the night. If the hunt was unsuccessful, they continue it in the early morning.

These predators are capable of attacking a wide variety of animals, acting cunningly and swiftly. They lie in wait for victims mainly on the ground, but at the same time, they climb trees very well, overtaking prey there too. The gait of these felines is silent. They try to watch for their prey on animal trails or at a watering hole, on a salt lick or even on a tree branch. Leopards quietly and deftly sneak up on the object of the hunt, approaching it within 2 meters, and make the decisive throw. The leopard does not like to chase its prey: it most often runs no more than 40-50 meters after an animal attacked from an ambush. Leopards kill small animals with a bite to the neck. Jumping onto the back of a large animal, they knock it down, fall with the full weight of their body, wrap their paws around the victim’s neck and bite its throat or back of the head.

Leopards usually hunt alone. The female can go hunting with adult children while the family has not yet broken up. As a rule, leopards kill one animal without touching or scaring the rest. If the leopard does not eat the killed victim immediately, then it can drag the remains of the meal up a tree to protect it from other carrion eaters. But usually they carry the remains several hundred meters away and hide them in thickets of plants. These predators do not compete with other big cats for food, as they feed not only on large ungulates.

Leopard breeding

In the southern regions of their habitat, leopards breed all year round. In the Far East they mate in January. During the mating season, male leopards are aggressive, often fight, and roar loudly. Leopards make dens for their offspring in the most remote and secluded places. These can be various depressions: under trees, under stones, in rocks. Before the babies appear, the female lines the bottom of the den with dry leaves and grass.

A leopard's pregnancy lasts 3 months. Childbirth occurs at night and lasts 6-10 hours. Usually there are 1-4 babies in a litter weighing 500-700 g and a body length of up to 15 cm, but up to 6 newborn kittens are possible. Leopard cubs are born blind and helpless, covered with long, thick brownish fur with dark spots. They begin to see clearly in 1.5 weeks, and get to their feet only after 2 weeks, crawling around the den. Leopard kittens meow like their domestic relatives. If a female leopard senses danger, she hides the kittens in another place, carrying them in her teeth one at a time. The female keeps the babies in a shelter until 6-8 weeks, and then they begin to leave the den to play. The female feeds them meat food: first by regurgitating half-digested food, and then bringing them killed small animals and birds. At 5-6 months, after the mother stops feeding her cubs milk, she begins to lead them to killed prey.

The brood follows the mother more than a year, learning hunting and survival techniques before she goes into heat. Young leopards from the same litter stay together for some time. They become sexually mature after 2 years, with females slightly earlier than males. During this period, young animals disperse and settle in other places.

Subspecies of leopards, photos and names

A leopard is a species of animal from the panther genus. There are several subspecies of this type:

1. Panthera pardus delacuri (Pocock, 1930) – Indochinese leopard,
2. Panthera pardus fusca (Meyer, 1794) – Indian leopard,
3. Panthera pardus japonensis (J. E. Gray, 1862) – North China leopard,
4. Panthera pardus kotiya (Deraniyagala, 1956) – Ceylon leopard,
5. Panthera pardus melas (G. Cuvier, 1809) – Javan leopard,
6. Panthera pardus nimr (Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1833) – South Arabian leopard,
7. Panthera pardus orientalis (Schlegel, 1857) – Far Eastern leopard, Amur leopard, East Siberian leopard,
8. Panthera pardus pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) – African leopard,
9. Panthera pardus saxicolor (Pocock, 1927) – Persian leopard. Currently, the Central Asian leopard (Caucasian leopard) (lat. Panthera pardus tulliana, Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) is also combined with Persian.

Below is short description each subspecies.

• Indochinese leopard (lat.Panthera pardus delacouri) - a subspecies that is often black. The predator lives in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand). According to data from 2016 (Rostro-García et al., 2016), it is no longer found in Singapore, may have been extirpated from Laos and Vietnam, and has almost disappeared from Cambodia and southern China.

The population, not exceeding 2503 individuals, is constantly under threat of destruction. Due to deforestation, the area that is the usual habitat of this species is shrinking. Poaching and illegal wildlife trade are also negatively impacting Indochinese leopard numbers.

• Indian leopard (lat.Panthera pardus fusca).

The body length of males reaches 128-142 cm, the tail length is 71-92 cm, the maximum weight of the leopard does not exceed 77 kg. The length of females is 104-117 cm, the length of the tail is 76-88 cm, females weigh 29-34 kg.

The Indian leopard lives in Northern India and adjacent countries: Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, southern China. Indian leopards have long been famous as cannibals. Perhaps in earlier times, this was due to the fact that they ate the unburied corpses of people who died during periods of epidemics, and then, having tried human meat, continued the attacks.

• North China leopard (lat.Panthera pardus japonensis) has the same dimensions as the Amur leopard: body length up to 136 cm, tail up to 90, weight up to 75 kg. The average weight of males is 50 kg, females - 32 kg.

North China leopards are found in the forests and mountains of central and northeastern China. According to data from 2015 (Laguardia et al., 2015), the number of predators is 174-348 individuals. For comparison: in 1998 their number reached about 1000 individuals.

Males reach a length of 142 cm, females 114 cm. The length of the male’s tail is up to 96.5 cm, the female’s is up to 84 cm. Weight Limit males up to 77 kg, females – up to 44 kg.

This species got its name from its the only place habitat - the island of Ceylon, which is now called Sri Lanka. Between 700 and 950 individuals live in the wild (data for 2015).

• Javan leopard (lat.Panthera pardus melas) - one of the endangered subspecies, lives only on the island of Java in Indonesia. It is dying out due to a reduction in the territory of residence, which is just over 3000 square meters. km and continues to decrease. According to data from 2008 (Ario et al., 2008), there are from 350 to 525 individuals in nature.

Previously it was believed that the Javan leopard is exclusively black in color, but then it was found that spotted color also found among them.

• South Arabian leopard (lat.Panthera pardus nimr) is the smallest leopard, reaching a length of no more than 140 cm with a weight of up to 20 kg (for females) and up to 30 kg (for males). The background color can be either pale yellow or bright gold. Patterned rosettes.

The predator was once widespread in the Middle East. Currently, South Arabian leopards live only in small areas in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. An endangered subspecies in dire need of protection. According to data from 2008, no more than 45-200 South Arabian leopards live in the wild.

• Far Eastern leopard (Amur, East Siberian) (lat.Panthera pardus orientalis) also called Manchurian leopard or Korean leopard. Small subspecies. Body length is 107 - 136 cm, tail length is 82-90 cm, shoulder height is up to 78 cm. The weight of a leopard is on average 32-48 kg, but can reach 75 kg. It differs from other subspecies in its softer and longer fur: 30-50 mm on the back and up to 70 mm on the belly. In winter, the color of the animal is lighter than in summer. The background varies from cream to golden. The sides are lighter, and the belly and inner side limbs are white. In summer, the color of the coat is more saturated. The predator's skull is strongly compressed in the interorbital region.

Currently, Far Eastern leopards live in a small area on the border of three countries - Russia, China and North Korea. A century ago, its habitat occupied the entire Korean Peninsula, Primorye and areas in northern China. As of 2014, no more than 50-60 individuals remained in the wild. This is the rarest living leopard. Active efforts are currently being made to conserve and restore the population both in captivity and in the wild. In the south of Primorsky Krai, reserves have been created to preserve this rare animal.

• African leopard (lat.Panthera pardus pardus) - the most common subspecies. Body length - up to 180 cm, tail - up to 110 cm. The maximum weight of males reaches 91 kg, with an average weight of 60 kg. Females weigh on average between 35 and 40 kg.

The predator occupies vast territories in Africa, found in mountains, savannas, semi-deserts, humid tropical forests. Avoids desert areas where there are no permanent sources of water. Not found in the Sahara and in the desert regions of northern Africa and Namibia.

• Persian leopard ( aka Central Asian leopard, Caucasian leopard) (lat.Panthera pardus saxicolor) - a large animal with a body length of up to 183 cm (according to the website www.inaturalist.org up to 259 cm) and a tail length of up to 116 cm. The leopard’s weight reaches 60 kg. The winter fur of the animal is pale, dull, the background is grayish-ochre, the spots are relatively rare, of a brownish tint. Summer fur can be of two types - lighter and darker.

According to 2008 data, there are from 870 to 1290 adult individuals in the world. Persian leopards live in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, eastern Turkey, Turkmenistan (in the Kopet Dag mountains); in Azerbaijan: in Nakhichevan, in the Talysh Mountains, in Karabakh; in Armenia and in the Greater Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. The habitat of leopards is the base of cliffs and scatterings of stones, sometimes plains overgrown with bushes.

Individuals that were previously widespread in the North Caucasus were completely exterminated in the middle of the 20th century. But we can hope that predators will return to these places again, since since 2007, Russia has launched a program to restore the population of the Central Asian (Caucasian) leopard. On the territory of Sochi national park The Leopard Recovery Center is operating in the Caucasus, and its first pets have already been released in wildlife. The Central Asian leopard is included in the Red Book of Russia as an endangered species.

A leopard is a species of carnivorous mammal of the cat group. The leopard, also called the panther or leopard, is a subfamily of big cats and is considered one of the members of the panther family. In the 20th century, the leopard was included in almost all the protection documents of countries on the planet, including the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Appearance

Leopard is big cat, which second in size only to the lion and tiger. The leopard's body is muscular and elongated, but at the same time light and elastic. The length of the animal's tail is more than half the size of its body. The animal's legs are small, but at the same time very strong. The paws are massive and wide, and the head has a rounded shape and does not differ large sizes. The top of the leopard's head is decorated with short, rounded ears that are spaced wide apart.

This animal has small eyes with round pupils. There is no mane, the whiskers are white or black and reach a size of 120 mm. As for how much a leopard weighs, these indicators differ taking into account geographical area residence. Animals that live in wooded areas have smaller body weight and size than their counterparts that live in open areas. Males of these cats, as a rule, exceed the size of females by a quarter. The length of an adult leopard can vary in the range of 85-200 cm. The tail can reach a length of 55-80 cm.

Leopard color features:

Habitat and distribution of leopards

There are many more places where leopards live than places where any other cat species live. Leopards are common in forest-steppe and forest areas, as well as in mountain and savanna areas African continent. This species of cat also inhabits the southern territory of Asia. Leopards once inhabited Transcaucasia, most of Africa, India and Pakistan. Their habitats also included Sri Lanka, Zanzibar and the island of Java.

Today, in many historical habitats, this species is either very rare or completely extinct. These countries include Zanzibar, Sinai Peninsula and Morocco. In other places, the range of leopards has a structure divided into separate populations located at a considerable distance from each other. If we consider the territory of Russia, then leopards can live in the Primorsky Territory. It is also possible to meet an animal in the Caucasus.

Speaking about African leopards, it should be noted that they mostly like to live in the jungles located in the central part of the continent, as well as in the highlands. These predators are also found in the semi-deserts and savannas of Morocco. Leopards are in dire need of water, so they avoid living in dry places, avoiding areas of Namibia and the Sahara.

In Asia, animals tend to live on the Amur in coniferous forests , as well as in subtropical and tropical forests, which are found on the plains and on the slopes of the mountains of India and South Asia. The habitats of leopards in Asia continue all the way to the Arabian Peninsula. These animals are not found only in the arid deserts of Asia, as well as in Borneo and Sumatra. However, archaeological finds confirm that leopards once inhabited Sumatra. Today's habitat of leopards covers parts of Afghanistan, Kashmir and the Caucasus, including the Himalayas.

Habitat of leopards in the Caucasus

In the Caucasus, the leopard population declined significantly at the end of the 20th century, becoming simply insignificant. We can confidently say that in this area these predators are on the verge of extinction. In the Caucasus, the range of leopards is located mostly in forested foothills.

The range begins in the western areas, not far from Tuapse, and covers the northern territories. Then it reaches the eastern part until the end Caucasian ridge. As for the foothills, leopards inhabit their forests and are sometimes found in their upper sections, less often above its border. The habitat of animals at the foot of the Caucasus ridge descends all the way to the slopes of the mountains, and in Transcaucasia the habitats covered the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus, including the area between Kura and Rion.

The habitats of animals in Central Asia are represented in Western Asia - in Afghanistan and Iran. This area is conventionally divided into several parts.

• In Turkmenistan, the main part of the range is represented by Kopetdag.
• In Central Asia, the habitat is located on the right bank of the Pyanj and Amu Darya rivers.
• The Far Eastern habitat belongs to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast China. This part The range is located in Transbaikalia, the Amur region and the Ussuri region.

Social and territorial behavior

Leopards are solitary predators that are mostly nocturnal. These animals can easily adapt to any living conditions. They can live in deserts, mountains, and forests. The territory of their individual residence may vary from 10 to 450 km. sq. - it depends on the availability of food and the terrain. The leopard's small build does not prevent it from successfully hunting large animals - their prey can sometimes reach up to 800 kg.

Leopards have unique ability climb trees. These animals can climb on them, both for recreation and for hunting monkeys. But mostly, leopards hunt on the ground. Usually a predator quietly and carefully approaches prey to the distance of one jump, and then pounces and strangles its victim. If the jump was unsuccessful, then the predator does not pursue the prey. In some cases, the animal may deliberately noisily approach the victim, and then hide. In this case, the victim, not understanding where to expect an attack, is confused. Often the predator lifts the remains of prey up a tree to keep them from hyenas and jackals.

As a rule, the leopard's diet consists of ungulates - roe deer, deer and antelope. Sometimes it can feed on monkeys and rodents, as well as snakes and birds. Can hunt horses and sheep. Dogs, as well as wolves and foxes, often suffer from leopards. For lack of food, an animal sometimes steals prey from its relatives. As for man, then Predators rarely attack people- to do this you need to disturb the leopard. But he will certainly attack if he is wounded - in this case the consequences will be very sad.

Leopard breeding

Typically, leopards breed year-round in the southern regions of their range. Populations located in the Far East breed most often in late autumn. The reproduction of these animals is usually accompanied by roaring and fighting on the part of the male, which is natural for cats. At other times, the leopard is rather silent, which cannot be said about the tiger or lion.

The female's pregnancy usually lasts 3 months. The result of this is the birth of 1-2 (in rare cases three) cubs. Animals most often set up shelter in rock crevices or caves. Also as a lair there may be holes, created by uprooted trees. Predators choose an area for this that is inconspicuous and quiet. Leopard cubs are ahead of tiger cubs in development - as a rule, after 2 years they are sexually mature.

Leopard hunting

This predator has always been a significant trophy for hunters. Leopards were hunted only within their habitat. Hunters have a term called the “Big Five,” which includes animals such as:

Each of the listed animals is considered for the hunter a luxurious trophy and valuable booty.

If we look at hunting for leopards in the 19th and 20th centuries, we can say that in areas of Asia and Africa this type of hunting was uncontrolled and completely disorderly. This was the main reason for the disappearance of this rare predator.

In some regions of Asia, even today there are poachers who hunt leopards, but this type of hunting is prohibited by law in the entire part of the country. Alas, the demand for valuable and beautiful skins of these animals is still high on the “black market”, and the organs of these predators are often used in folk art. medical prescriptions. Many states on the African continent provide a certain quota for hunting leopards - this is explained by their large numbers in these territories. If you are interested in knowing how much a leopard skin costs, then the price for a skin can reach up to $15,000.

The classic scheme for hunting this animal involves using as bait a carcass that is of interest to the leopard (usually a roe deer or a monkey). For this purpose, only fresh carcasses are used, since any type of cat does not recognize the rotten smell.

As a rule, poachers pick up lonely places where predators often come. The bait carcass is attached to the bottom of the tree so that it is clearly visible against the sky. The animal comes to the scent of the victim already at nightfall, emitting a peculiar roar. This roar is similar to a cough or the sound of a saw - the hunter will not confuse it with anything. After