Meet Our Animals

© Schepker

Leopard

Leopard (Panthera pardus)
Range: Africa, India, and a few locations in Asia
Status: Listed on the Endangered Species Red List; some subspecies are considered
highly endangered

Leopards once ranged from the British Isles throughout Eurasia, into Africa and the Indian subcontinent and portions of Indonesia. Now they are largely restricted to Africa, India, and a few locations in Asia. They are very adaptable and inhabit a wide range of habitats. This adaptability results in a wide range in size with leopards weighing from 60 pounds up to 210 pounds (average is about 120 pounds).

Leopards are well-known for their ability to climb trees. The classic image of a leopard is of one draped across a tree limb, tail dangling. Leopards often carry their prey into trees to eat in peace, away from the terrestrial scavengers. Leopards are also very strong swimmers, although they don’t enjoy a swim the way tigers do. These large cats are very fast and therefore potentially very dangerous. In the wild they hunt and eat primates, including baboons. There are a few accounts of “man-killers” among wild leopards, but most of those are undocumented. Even so they are very, very fast and very strong and so they are potentially quite dangerous.

Wild leopards are increasingly rare primarily due to hunting pressures because their beautiful coats are in high demand for furs. Hopefully their adaptability, including a surprising ability to live near humans, will allow them to recover from their depressed numbers.

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