The Leopard Cubs

Leopard Cubs

FACT FILE:

Swahili Name:  Chui

Scientific Name:            Panthera pardus

Size:     About 28 inches at the shoulder

Weight: Up to 140 pounds

Lifespan:           21 years in captivity

Habitat:            Bush and riverine forest

Diet:     Carnivorous

Gestation:         Approximately 21/2 months

Predators:         Humans

Leoprds are someof the most beautiful animalsinthe world. While these beautiful dangerous animals resemble cats, the leopard is one of the third largest cats in the cat family apart from the lion and the tigers. As some of the most powerful animals on land, theleopard is also a member of the African BIg Five as it is one of the greates animalswhich is difficult to hunt and the most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores, the leopard is also the shrewdest. Pound for pound, it is the strongest tree climber of the large cats and capable of killing prey larger than itself.

Leopard's Physical Characteristics

Leopards come in a wide variety of coat colors, from a light buff or tawny in warmer, dryer areas to a dark shade in deep forests. The spots, or rosettes, are circular in East African leopards but square in southern African leopards.

Habitat

Dense bush in rocky surroundings and riverine forest are their favorite habitats, but leopards adapt to many places in both warm and cold climates. Their adaptability, in fact, has helped them survive the loss of habitat to increasing human settlement. Leopards are primarily nocturnal, usually resting during the daytime in trees or thick bush. The spotted coat provides almost perfect camouflage.

Behavior

When a leopard stalks prey, it keeps a low profile and slinks through the grass or bush until it is close enough to launch an attack. When not hunting, it can move through herds of antelopes without unduly disturbing them by flipping its tail over its back to reveal the white underside, a sign that it is not seeking prey.

Leopards are basically solitary and go out of their way to avoid one another. Each animal has a home range that overlaps with its neighbors; the male's range is much larger and generally overlaps with those of several females. A leopard usually does not tolerate intrusion into its own range except to mate. Unexpected encounters between leopards can lead to fights.

Leopards growl and spit with a screaming roar of fury when angry and they purr when content. They announce their presence to other leopards with a rasping or sawing cough. They have a good sense of smell and mark their ranges with urine; they also leave claw marks on trees to warn other leopards to stay away.

Leopards continually move about their home ranges, seldom staying in an area for more than two or three days at a time. With marking and calling, they usually know one another's whereabouts. A male will accompany a female in estrus for a week or so before they part and return to solitude.

Diet

As they grow, cubs learn to hunt small animals. The leopard is a cunning, stealthy hunter, and its prey ranges from strong-scented carrion, fish, reptiles and birds to mammals such as rodents, hares, hyraxes, warthogs, antelopes, monkeys and baboons.

Caring for the Young

A litter includes two or three cubs, whose coats appear to be smoky gray as the rosettes are not yet clearly delineated. The female abandons her nomadic wandering until the cubs are large enough to accompany her. She keeps them hidden for about the first 8 weeks, giving them meat when they are 6 or 7 weeks old and suckling them for 3 months or longer.

Predators

Leopards have long been preyed upon by man. Their soft, dense, beautiful fur has been used for ceremonial robes and coats. Different parts of the leopard the tail, claws and whiskers are popular as fetishes. These cats have a reputation as wanton killers, but research does not support the claim. In some areas farmers try to exterminate them, while in others leopards are considered symbols of wisdom. Leopards do well in captivity, and some have lived as long as 21 years.

Did you know?

The elegant, powerfully built leopard has a long body, relatively short legs and a broad head. Its tawny coat is covered with dark, irregular circles called "rosettes."

Both lions and hyenas will take away a leopard's kill if they can. To prevent this leopards store their larger kills in trees where they can feed on them in relative safety.

Which of these two cubs is a leopard? The spotted ones you would say. In fact they are both leopards. From time to time a litter of leopard or jaguar cubs (from two to four in number) will include one completely black cub. This phenomenon, the opposite of’ albinism, gave rise to the term ‘black panther’ and is a common occurrence in Asia among the local subspecies. When the normal cubs are horn, their coats have solid black spots which later on form a central yellow spot, the distinguishing mark of the leopard.

Aggressive and tenacious by nature with exceptional eyesight, sense of smell, and powers of concentration, the leopard cub is a born hunter, far superior to the lion cub. Here, under their mother’s watchful eye, three cubs of about four months, only just weaned, follow a jackal returning from a feast in the savannah with some food he managed to seize.

The leopard cub never makes a good pet because it may attack its owner when it is older. 

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