Big Cats | One of the Most Powerful in the Animal Kingdom

Big cats are one of the most interesting and ferociously evolved cats in the animal kingdom. While they are really strong, they also appear quite majestic. The big cat nomenclature is reserved for lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and jaguars. All of the big cats are closely related and are believed to have evolved from a common ancestor around 3-4 million years ago.

It's worth noting that there is scientific debate about the taxonomy of leopards and some researchers have proposed recognizing several subspecies of leopards, such as P. pardus pardus (African leopard) and P. pardus fusca (Asian leopard) as distinct species, while others consider them as subspecies of P. pardus.

The Asian and African Leopards have some distinct evolutionary lineage. The African leopards are more or less in the forest region while the Asian leopards have wide-ranging territories and in some places, their territories overlap with humans. In fact, in Mumbai, India, leopards are freely inhabiting the greenery with human beings. Lately, though, there has been some man-animal conflict. Despite that, the co-existence continues.

Leopards | Most Agile and Adaptable

Leopards are one of the most versatile big cats. They not only can survive on land and water but also have made the trees their home. In fact, leopards, with the exception of Jaguars, are the only ones of big cats to climb a tree with ease. One of the reasons for their arboreal adaptation could arise from the need to stay safe from lions, hyenas, and other competing predators. This adaptation also helps them hoist their prey up a tree and keeps it safe from other predators.

Here is one example of the leopard carrying its prey up a tree.

Leopards are known for their golden-yellow fur with dark spots, called rosettes, which helps them blend in with their surroundings. The spots are unique to each leopard and no two have the same pattern. It is much like a human fingerprint. They are solitary animals and are active at night. They are apex predators and will hunt a wide variety of prey, including deer, antelope, and monkeys. They are opportunistic creatures and even have been observed in the wild killing lion cubs and cheetahs for food. Also scavenging on the corpse of competing predators like hyenas and dogs. With the leopards, no food is out of bounds.

Here is one example of a Leopard’s attack on a Cheetah.

The video concludes with the Leopard feeding on the Cheetah. It would have stalked the Cheetah or the Cheetah would have been already injured. Otherwise, catching up with a Cheetah is not an easy task. But feeding on Cheetahs is borderline cannibalistic behavior. Leopards have been known to prey on other cats like the serval too. While big cats have been known to attack the smaller cats or their cubs, with the aim of annihilating competition, preying on them is something unique to leopards.

Leopards Compared To Other Big Cats

Leopards are considered to be medium-sized big cats, smaller than lions and tigers but larger than cheetahs. On an average jaguars are bigger than leopards but in some cases, the leopards are bigger. So it is a tie with Jaguars.

Adult leopards typically weigh between 60 and 70 kg (132-154 lbs) and have a body length of around 1.1 to 1.5 m (3.6 to 4.9 ft) and a tail length of 60 to 110 cm (24 to 43 in). Adult lions weigh around 150-250 kg (330-550 lbs) and have a body length of around 1.2-2.5 m (4-8 ft). Adult tigers weigh around 180-306 kg (397-675 lbs) and have a body length of around 2-3.3 m (6.6-10.8 ft). Adult jaguars weigh around 56-96 kg (123-211 lbs) and have a body length of around 1-1.8 m (3.3-5.9 ft),

Leopards are way more successful in staying stealthy during a hunt. Much of the time, leopards are known to leap at their prey from the tree.

That puts them in a league of their own when it comes to hunting. They are so agile and at home in the trees that they are known to pursue and hunt monkeys. The monkeys, at times, are pursued as they jump across trees. Wherever a monkey can go, a leopard can too. Not a good day to be a monkey if a leopard is in hot pursuit.

Leopard Population In the Wild

One of the main issues surrounding leopards is habitat loss and hunting. Some countries still hunt leopards for their skin. So, bad is the population decline that they are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

One of the estimates puts the decline in leopard population at 30% over the last two decades. However, conservation efforts have once again been improved in Africa and most countries in Asia. Cities like Mumbai, which has its own leopard population, have led to forest officials and conservationists working with people to avoid man-animal conflict. The efforts seem to have worked and more such programs need to be undertaken to ensure leopard population growth.

Leopard | The Night Hunter

While leopards mostly hunt at night, they are known to be active throughout. They are one of the only big cats which can purr. Leopards have a wide range of vocalizations from growling and snarling to purring and chirping. These are used to communicate with each other.

Leopards are also known to adapt to a large variety of regions from the hot Saharan plains to the Himalayas. Snow leopards and Amur leopards have adapted to have thick fur to survive the extreme cold weather. These majestic creatures are essential for keeping the prey population in check and for the wild ecosystem.

The more we learn about the leopard, the more we will stay amazed. It is truly one of the most agile, adaptable, and interesting of the big cats!

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