Leopard Habitat

Leopard, the spotted wild cat, is one of the most shrewdest predators. Its secretive and elusive nature helps it get its prey that is much, larger than itself. It is one of the strongest climber in the large cat family and the sleekest of all killers. Only a few hundred years ago, leopard habitat consisted of many places around the globe. Today, the leopard habitat has shrunk down to only a few areas of the world.

Facts about Leopard Habitat

Let us begin with the African leopard habitat facts. Africa is the only continent where you can still find a healthy population of this wild cat. The African leopard habitat consists of the eastern and central Africa and some fragmented regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. In Asia, it is still found in some Southwest and Central Asian regions in marginal population. In the northeast Asia, leopards are crucially endangered animals. However, in the Indian subcontinent, China and southeast Asia, leopards are yet surviving in a more than average population.

Their habitat consists of dense bushes around rocky areas. The riverine forest areas are also favorite habitats. They are well adapted to warm and cold climates. Their adaptability is the most important key to their survival as they are managing to survive their loss of habitat to human population. They hunt at night and dusk, and spend their day on the high branches of trees. They are easily camouflaged because of their spotted coat.

The snow leopard habitat consists of the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia. They are found in over 12 countries like Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The preferred snow leopard habitat is the steep, broken terrain cliffs, rocky outcrops and ravines. They like this difficult terrain as it helps them with a good cover and clear view of the top. This also helps them sneak up on their prey. You can read more on why are snow leopards endangered.

The black leopard habitat consist of different areas as they can prey on a variety of animals. They are found mostly in the dense rainforest areas and their coat helps them hide at night in the dense forest. They live in areas other than rainforest like marshlands, woodlands, swamps, Savannah, mountains and deserts. The black leopards and black jaguars are commonly known as the black panthers.

Facts About the Leopard

The leopard comes in a variety of coat colors like light buff to tawny. The spots or rosettes on the coat are circular on the east African leopards and square-shaped on the southern African leopards.

The leopards can easily camouflage itself and move silently through the forests, stalking its prey. Once it is in close quarters of the prey, it attacks the victim. The leopard instantly kills its prey by a bite on the back of the neck. This causes the neck to break and the animal is dead. The leopard then drags its victim to the tree and enjoys its meal at leisure.

The leopards are solitary animals and associate with one another only during mating. The female leopard will stay with her cubs for 3 months or more. The male leopards are highly territorial and his territory may overlap several female territories. The male leopard will not tolerate any intrusion on his ground other than females for mating.

When angry a leopard will growl and spit. He will give out a screaming roar in anger. The leopard will purr when he is content. They announce their presence by a rasping or sawing cough to other leopards. They have a good sense of smell and they mark territories by spraying urine. They also mark trees with their claws warning other leopards to keep away. A leopard will never be found in the same area for more than 2 to 3 days time. They keep moving about in their territory. They keep marking and calling to let leopards around them know their whereabouts.

A leopard is a smart hunter who stealthily hunts down its prey. They will hunt down carrion, fish, reptiles, birds and even mammals that include warthogs, antelopes, monkeys, baboons, hares, hyraxes and rodents.

The average life span of a leopard is about 15 years and some have gone on to live up to 21 years. Man is the only most dangerous predator of leopards. They have been killed indiscriminately only for their dense beautiful fur coat. People use their tails, claws and even whiskers for their own fetishes.

This was a brief information on leopard habitat facts and facts about the leopard. The leopard is a beautiful wild cat and you can imagine it like the giant version of your pet cat. Leopards have become an endangered species due to the selfish motives of man. Stop using fur and animal parts for your fetishes to help save not only the leopards but other endangered species as well. I hope this article on leopard habitat has been a helpful and informative read.