Fun Leopard Facts For Kids

The leopard is an elusive nocturnal creature. This creature is a terrestrial ambush predator. The leopard is an altricial and arboreal carnivore. The leopard is not a migrant. It is found in tropical, temperate, and arid climatic zones. Often if two leopards come face to face, they engage in a fight. Thus, leopards, in general, tend to avoid other leopards. Territories of male leopards often overlap with two or more female leopards. Leopards mark their territories using claw marks or scent marks. A group of leopards is called a leap or a lepe. These creatures spend most of the day resting under the shade of trees. Also, these creatures are opportunistic feeders. Leopards can attack humans if they feel threatened. The hide of these creatures helps them to blend with their surroundings and approach their prey stealthily.

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If you like reading about this mammal, you may also like reading about mountain zebra and Masai giraffe.

What type of animal is a leopard?

The leopard is an animal belonging to the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, order Carnivora, suborder Feliformia, family Felidae, genus Panthera, and species Panthera pardus.

What class of animal does a leopard belong to?

The leopards belong to the class Mammalia, that is, they are mammals.

How many leopards are there in the world?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the exact number of mature individuals is not known. However, according to the IUCN, their population trend is exhibiting a decline. The population is not severely fragmented.

Where does a leopard live?

The leopard is found in the continents of Asia and Africa. They are found in the subcontinents of Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and North Africa. They are found across various countries in Africa and Asia.

What is a leopard's habitat?

The leopard is found in tropical moist forests, desert, and xeric shrublands, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and tropical savannah.

Who do leopards live with?

Leopards are solitary creatures. Occasionally, they may be seen with their mates or cubs.

How long does a leopard live?

The leopard's lifespan varies from 10-20 years.

How do they reproduce?

These cats are polyandrous. Both the males and the females mate with other mates. The breeding season reaches its peak in May in the monsoon season. The gestation period is 90-105 days. The females give birth to two or three cubs in one litter. Sometimes female leopards give birth to four baby leopards in one litter. The cubs are born in a den and are born blind. By six to eight weeks, the spots develop. The cubs are weaned until the age of three months. The cubs stay with their mother till they attend 13-18 months of age. The cubs accompany their mother to hunt. They start breeding once they reach two to three years of age.

What is their conservation status?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, these animals are classified as Vulnerable.

What do leopards look like?

This wild cat is a beautiful creature with a light yellow-spotted coat. The leopard's fur is covered in dark spots called rosettes. The pattern of these is unique for every creature. This wild cat has small legs and a long tail. The color and the patterns on the coat changes according to the environment that the leopard resides in. Creatures living in dense forests have darker fur as compared to those living in open grasslands. These animals have a broad head and large skull with powerful muscles in the jaw. They have long whiskers. The ears are round and small, and their eyebrows have long hair. This feature protects their eyes as they move through dense foliage. The animal's slender body is adapted to climbing the branches of the trees.

How cute are they?

Leopard cubs with their soft fur and large eyes are very cute.

How do they communicate?

Leopards typically bark and do not roar. When angry, they tend to growl and spit. They also roar and scream when they are angry. The cats tend to purr when satisfied. Also, they emit a sawing or rasping cough to announce their presence to other leopards in the area.

How big is a leopard?

The length of a leopard varies between 35-74.8 in (90-190 cm). A male leopard stands at 23.6–27.6 in (60-70 cm) whereas a female leopard stands at 22.4–25.2 in (56.8–64 cm). The leopard is the smallest of the four big cats, the others being the tiger, lion, and jaguar.

How fast can a leopard move?

The leopard can move very fast. Their top speed is 36 mph (58 kph).

How much does a leopard weigh?

Male leopards weigh 81.6–198.4 lb (37–90 kg) and female leopards weigh 61.7–132.3 lb (28–60 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no sex-specific names for leopards.

What would you call a baby leopard?

Baby leopards are called cubs.

What do they eat?

Leopards have a carnivorous diet. The leopard diet mainly includes primates and ungulates. Sambars, chital, langurs, foxes, impala, wildebeest, gazelles, jackals, hares, sheep, goats, and many other animals can be classified as leopard prey. These wild cats absorb moisture from their food. Thus, they can spend days without drinking water.

Are they dangerous?

Leopards are apex predators and are very dangerous. They can fatally injure humans.

Would they make a good pet?

Keeping a leopard as a pet is not easy. However, it is interesting to note that with expert handling these creatures can prove to be good pets. Proper shelter and equipment are required to keep such exotic pets. Also, in many areas keeping leopards as pets is banned. It is important to know in detail about such issues to avoid legal problems.

Did you know...

Black pathers are black leopards with recessive melanistic genes. It is very difficult to spot a black leopard.

Leopards can hear way better than humans and are excellent swimmers.

Leopards are used as sports emblems in many African countries.

The Asian leopard cat is a small wild cat found in Southeast Asia.

Why is the leopard endangered?

Leopards are losing their habitats to human development. Also, they are hunted for their skin and teeth. They are hunted in many areas as they pose a serious threat to livestock. The animal has been protected under Appendix I of CITES(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) since 1 July 1975. International commercial trade in leopards is prohibited.

Different types of leopard

Leopard populations are scattered across the continents of Asia and Africa. The African leopards are mostly found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Indian leopards are found in the Indian Subcontinent. The Javan leopards are found in Java. The Arabian leopards are found in the Arabian Peninsula. The Amur leopards are found in Russia, China, and Korea. The Indo-Chinese leopards are found in Southern China and Southeast Asia. The Sri Lankan leopards are natives of Sri Lanka. The snow leopard belongs to the same genus. It is found in Central and South Asia. All these leopards vary in size and physical features. The clouded leopard is much smaller in size and is found mainly in Southeast Asia. Black leopards have a much darker coat as compared to other leopards.

Leopard vs jaguar

Interesting facts come to light when a jaguar vs leopard study is undertaken. Leopards are found in Africa and Asia. The jaguar is a native of Central and South America. Jaguars have spots within the rosettes. Jaguars are the most comfortable living in wet habitats amongst all big cats. Their hunting behavior is also different. Jaguars use their powerful jaws to crush the skull of the prey while the leopards deliver a suffocating bite on the neck or the throat of the prey. Jaguars are bulkier than leopards. Leopards are better climbers than jaguars. Leopards are famous for their climbing skills. Leopards drag their kill and climb high on trees to protect it. Jaguars are a bit slower than leopards.

Leopard vs cheetah

Leopards are only half as fast as cheetahs. A cheetah can run at speeds of up to 74.6 mph (120 kph), whereas leopards can reach a maximum speed of 36 mph (58 kph). The physical features of both these big cats are pretty different. The leopard's coat has rosettes whereas cheetahs have spotted coats with solid or oval spots. Also, cheetahs hunt in the day while leopards hunt at night.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these hyena facts and Karelian bear dog fun facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable cheetah coloring pages.