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February 15, 2006

African Field Notes: The Leopard

The leopard is the most elusive of the Big Five, those being the most dangerous animals to hunt in Africa. The Big Five are: the lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros.

Leopards love to eat warthogs but are known to eat all sorts of other animals. They have incredible strength. A leopard can climb as high as 50 feet up a tree holding a dead animal in its mouth, even one larger and heavier than itself! They often stash food up high so other predators like lions or hyenas can’t get it and steal it from them. Then they can return and eat more later.

I believe that I've read somewhere that the leopard's spots are unique, much like the stripes of a zebra.

Your best bet for seeing a leopard is in a tree, lounging during the day, waiting for the hunt at night

Latin Name: Panthera pardus
A Group Is Called: A Leap (More At: Critter Collectives)

Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!

Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:43 PM