Animal Unique | African Leopard | African leopard is one leopard subspecies occurring in most of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying both rainforest and arid desert habitats. African leopards inhabited a wide range of habitats in Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannas, with the exception of only extremely sandy desert. They are most at risk in the area of semi-desert, where scarce resources often result in conflict with nomadic farmers and their livestock. They seem to be successful at adapting to altered natural habitat and settled environments in the absence of intense persecution. There were many reports of their presence in the vicinity of large cities. But in the 1980s, they have become rare in many parts of West Africa.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. pardus
Subspecies: P. p. pardus
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. pardus
Subspecies: P. p. pardus
African leopards show a wide variation in coat color, depending on location and habitat. Coat color varies from pale yellow to deep gold or tawny, and is patterned with black rosettes, while the head, lower limbs and belly are spotted with solid black. Male African leopard are larger. African leopard inhabit the mountains of the Cape provinces appear physically different from leopards further north. Their average weight is only half that of the northern leopard. African leopard is a powerful, graceful and arguably one of the most beautiful of all big cats. The leopard is a master of stealth and survival. By far the strongest climber, it can carry prey twice its own body weight in a tree where it can feast without interference from other predators.
Their diet consists of reptiles, and they will occasionally take livestock when other food is scarce. African leopardss are very discreet and like to stalk close and run a relatively short distance after their prey. They kill through suffocation by grabbing their prey by the throat and bite with their powerful jaws. They rarely fight other predators for their food. Their diet to include rodents, birds, small and large antelopes, hyraxes and hares, and arthropods. In the forest, they hunt mainly on impalas, both adult and young, and a number of Thomson's gazelles caught in the dry season. Occasionally, they successfully hunted warthogs, dik-dik, reedbuck, duiker, steenbok, wildebeest and topi calves, jackal, hare, guinea fowl, sparrow. They were less successful in the hunt zebras, kongonis, giraffes, mongooses, genets, hyrax and small birds.
African leopards are generally most active between sunset and sunrise, and kill more prey at this time. In Kruger National Park, male and female African leopards with cubs were relatively more active at night than solitary females. The highest rates of daily activity were recorded for leopards using thorn bushes in the wet season, as also used them.Their impala hunt at night was difficult to watch, the best time for observing them was after sunrise. They have an exceptional ability to adapt to changes in the availability of prey, and have a very broad diet. Small prey is taken where large ungulates are less common. African leopards often cache large kills in trees, a behavior which much power is needed. There are several sightings of leopards transporting carcasses of young giraffe.
In 2008 the IUCN classified leopard as Near Threatened, indicating that they soon may qualify for vulnerable status due to habitat loss and fragmentation. They are increasingly rare outside protected areas. The trend of population decline. Throughout Africa, African leopards are the biggest threats to habitat conversion and intense persecution, particularly in retaliation for real and alleged cattle loss. The impact of trophy hunting on populations is unclear, but may have consequences on the demographic and population level, particularly in women were shot. With the increasing proximity of human settlements and associated hunting pressure, leopards exploit smaller prey and occur at significantly reduced population density. In the presence of intensive hunting bushmeat around human settlements, leopards seem entirely absent.
Animal Unique