Leopard
Leopards are closely related to jaguars, with a similar body structure.
They have flower-shaped spots on their backs called rosettes, with a solid edge and no dot in the center.
Scientists believe the coloring of spotted cats helps them hide from their prey, breaking up their outline in forests or grasslands.
White spots on the tip of their tails and back of their ears help leopards locate and communicate with each other in tall grass.
Leopards that live in dry grasslands are a lighter color than those found in rain forests.
In the thick rain forests of Southeast Asia, nearly black leopards can sometimes be found.
Although they may at first look solid black, their spotted pattern is visible from the right angle.
The largest leopards are named after where they’re found, like the North African leopard Panthera pardus panthera and the Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor.
They can live without drinking water, getting the moisture they need from their food.
All they need is some brush or rocky terrain to hide in and hunt.
Leopards usually rest during the heat of the day in bushes, rocks, caves, or even up in a tree.
Unlike other cats, leopards are strong swimmers and are one of the few cats that like water.
They are great athletes, able to run in bursts up to 36 miles an hour (58 kilometers per hour), leap 20 feet (6 meters) forward in a single bound, and jump ten feet (3 meters) straight up.
Leopards have incredible strength.
A leopard can climb as high as 50 feet (15 meters) up a tree holding a dead animal in its mouth, even one larger and heavier than itself!
They stash food up high so other predators like lions or hyenas can’t get it.
Then they can return and eat more.
One leopard was spotted dragging a 220-pound (100-kilogram) young giraffe into heavy brush to hide it.
Leopards hunt at night.
They use their vision and keen hearing while hunting, not their sense of smell.
Leopards stalk and pounce but don’t usually chase their prey long distances.
They grab their prey or swat it, using their retractable claws.
Prey is killed with a bite to the throat.
Leopards are carnivores and will eat any meat item they can find: monkeys, baboons, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, large birds, fish, antelope, cheetah cubs, and porcupines.
They have flower-shaped spots on their backs called rosettes, with a solid edge and no dot in the center.
Scientists believe the coloring of spotted cats helps them hide from their prey, breaking up their outline in forests or grasslands.
White spots on the tip of their tails and back of their ears help leopards locate and communicate with each other in tall grass.
Leopards that live in dry grasslands are a lighter color than those found in rain forests.
In the thick rain forests of Southeast Asia, nearly black leopards can sometimes be found.
Although they may at first look solid black, their spotted pattern is visible from the right angle.
The largest leopards are named after where they’re found, like the North African leopard Panthera pardus panthera and the Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor.
They can live without drinking water, getting the moisture they need from their food.
All they need is some brush or rocky terrain to hide in and hunt.
Leopards usually rest during the heat of the day in bushes, rocks, caves, or even up in a tree.
Unlike other cats, leopards are strong swimmers and are one of the few cats that like water.
They are great athletes, able to run in bursts up to 36 miles an hour (58 kilometers per hour), leap 20 feet (6 meters) forward in a single bound, and jump ten feet (3 meters) straight up.
Leopards have incredible strength.
A leopard can climb as high as 50 feet (15 meters) up a tree holding a dead animal in its mouth, even one larger and heavier than itself!
They stash food up high so other predators like lions or hyenas can’t get it.
Then they can return and eat more.
One leopard was spotted dragging a 220-pound (100-kilogram) young giraffe into heavy brush to hide it.
Leopards hunt at night.
They use their vision and keen hearing while hunting, not their sense of smell.
Leopards stalk and pounce but don’t usually chase their prey long distances.
They grab their prey or swat it, using their retractable claws.
Prey is killed with a bite to the throat.
Leopards are carnivores and will eat any meat item they can find: monkeys, baboons, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, large birds, fish, antelope, cheetah cubs, and porcupines.
