Appearance

The leopard is quite similar in appearance to the jaguar, but it lacks the jaguar's massive head and robust physique. The background color of the leopard's fur varies from the gray to rusty brown. Leopards living in desert or savanna areas are usually paler, while those living in tropical forest are darker. The coat is covered with small black spots and rosettes, but unlike the jaguar, the open rosettes do not usually have smaller pots inside. All-black leopards are common, especially in tropical forest.

Diet

Leopards feed on a wide variety of prey. they will eat almost anything from insects and rodents to large ungulates, and are known to kill prey weighing several times their own weight. Commonly they prey on animals such as gazelle, deer, pig, and monkey.

Habitat / Distribution

Leopards are great generalists in terms of habitat use. They seem to be able to live in almost any area that has sufficient food and cover. They are found in lowland rainforests, wooded savanna, scrub, and rocky mountains, deserts, and agricultural grazing land. They have one of the widest distributions of any of the felids. It is found throughout much of Africa, except the Sahara, and in parts of Israel, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, as well as part of China and Siberia.

Reproduction / Social System

In the northern part of its range the leopard mates in January and February, and elsewhere breeding occurs throughout the year. After a gestation period of 90-105 days, 2 or 3 young are born in a secluded den. The cubs weigh about 1 pound at birth, and open their eyes when they are 10 days old. The young remain with their mother until they are 15-24 months old. The leopard is a solitary cat. Males and females usually maintain territories, which may be 3-25 square miles in size. A male's territory often overlaps the territory of more than one female.

Size

Leopards measure 36-73 inches head and body length, with a tail of 23-43 inches. Males weigh 82-99 pounds, whereas females usually weigh about a third less.