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Snow leopard at Wildkatzenzentrum Felidae near Berlin.
Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775)
Felidae
Carnivora
My god, all they do is lounge around.... yard the game into a tree so the hyena's don't bother them and life is good. Leopard, Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana Oct 13 09 9526
Leopard sauve par les militaires du CIGS bresilien (forces speciales). Manaus, Bresil (2018) // Insta: @Sebas_ ; flick.com/SebMar; www.facebook.com/SebMarPhotography
Chris Loades/ FFI
The Pamirs, known as the ‘Roof of the World’, are one of the key mountain ranges of Central Asia and are home to Tajikistan’s globally significant snow leopard population.
FFI is working to bring together local communities, hunting agencies, the state conservation sector and the military on the Tajik side of the Pamir mountain range in a programme to help conserve the regions’ biodiversity.
The project aims to secure vital snow leopard habitat and offer further hope to all the species found in the breathtaking Pamir landscape, including Marco-Polo sheep and the Barheaded (Indian) Goose.
We found this young male leopard near Lugmag Dam in Kruger Park just before midday. Contrary to what people believe, leopards in fact are as active during the day if not more so than lions. In hunting areas leopards are predominantly nocturnal in order to escape hunters finding them. This young male was actively stalking some impala before he turned around, clearly surprised we had found him and gave us this stare probably questioning to himself what this 3-eyed monster was (due to 3 lenses ;) )
This picture was taken at Duma Tau Camp in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
Our trip was planned by Africa Adventure Company who we strongly recommend.
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka. Classified as Endangered. The Sri Lankan leopard has a tawny or rusty yellow coat with dark spots and close-set rosettes, which are smaller than in Indian leopards. The Sri Lankan leopard hunts like other leopards, silently stalking its prey until it is within striking distance where it unleashes a burst of speed to quickly pursue and pounce on its victim. The prey is usually dispatched with a single bite to the throat.
Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
This 4 month old leopard cub in the Masai Mara (Kenya) was hiding in some bushes late in early evening. He then came out on this branch to take a look.
The Amur leopard, Panthera Pardus Orientalis, is the rarest big cat in the world and yet is still a relatively unknown species of leopard outside of its homeland in Russia. Also known as the Far Eastern leopard the approximate population stands at about 35 individuals remaining in the wild. These leopards now only exist in the southern most tip of the Russian Far East along the borders with China in the Khasan Region of Primorsky Krai.
With its long winter coat the Amur leopard is well adapted to the harsh climate of the Amur-Ussuri region. The hairs of its summer coat are 2.5 cm long whereas in the winter they grow to 7 cm long when it also lightens to a pale cream colour. Its fur has larger and more widely spaced rosettes than other leopards, with thick dark borders. It also has longer legs, probably an adaptation for walking through snow. The male Amur leopard weighs between 32-48 kg, with exceptionally large males up to 60-75 kg. Females are smaller than the males weighing between 25-43 kg.
Amur Leopards tend to avoid living or hunting too close to tiger territory to avoid direct competition for prey. They normally hunt at night using the silent stalk and ambush technique, one that is also used by the tiger. During the attack phase the leopard may reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour but this is sustainable only for a very short time. The main prey species of the Amur leopard are roe deer, red deer, musk deer, sika deer, wild boar, hares and badgers. Leopards are adapted for their carnivorous diet. They have large, powerful jaws and long pointed canine teeth to help them grab and hold their prey. The premolars in the back of their mouth have surfaces specially designed for shearing and chewing meat and are referred to as ‘carnassial’ teeth. They also have sharp, pointed papillae on their tongue to help them remove meat from bones.
Deforestation, the use of animal parts for traditional medicine and conflict with humans has had a devastating effect on the Amur leopard population. There has also been a drastic reduction in the number of prey species, and further disruption due to mineral extraction and extensive road building. The Amur leopard has been a protected species in Russia since 1956, but still there is a problem with poaching.
There are nearly 200 Amur leopards in the captive population worldwide, many of which are in European zoos. The European population is managed by Europaeisches Erhaltungszucht Programme an organized captive breeding program. Unfortunately the captive population of Amur leopards comes from only 9 wild-born founders, and therefore, several of the animals are considered highly inbred. There is a proposal to capture some wild Amur leopards to place in zoos to provide additional founders from the wild. The Amur leopard in captivity may live for 20 years or more while in the wild they are believed to survive for anything up to 12 years.
© Copyright Leigh Garthwaite.
All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use of this photo is strictly prohibited.
This big male leopard was photographed by tour leader Mary Anne Rogers on the recent Field Museum Serengeti Safari. Leopards (Panthera pardus) are common tree dwellers and they are capable of carrying prey--often an ungulate as heavy as the leopard--up a tree to stash in the branches. This behavior allows them to feed at leisure and not have to fight off scavengers that plague other large cats such as lions or cheetahs.
(c) The Field Museum, Division of Mammals. Photograph by Mary Anne Rogers