South African Leopard Travel Information

Leopard is one of the most adaptable of allbush. The Leopard mother takes great care to
species in Africa, surviving where many otherhide the cubs from predators like Lion, Cheetah
species can not. Being very shy and secretiveand Hyena, who would jump at the chance to
there is often no obvious sign of their presencemake an easy meal of the cubs. Cubs stay with
unless they start to kill domestic animals. Theythe mother for at least a year, during which time
prey on any thing from mice to Kudu andthey learn the ways of the wild and how to
Wildebeest. They are also scavengers and willsurvive on their own.
readily feed on any carrion that they find.Behavior:
Leopards are well known for their taste for dogThey lie up in hiding during the day and hunt at
flesh and will often take domestic dogs as prey.night. Their hunting technique entails stalking and
In rare cases Leopards have become man-eaterspouncing, killing larger prey with a holding bite to
preying mainly on women and small children. If athe throat which asphyxiates larger prey. Smaller
Leopard is cornered, they will charge and only aprey are killed by a bite to the back of the neck
fatal bullet will stop him. When the Leopardwhich usually severs the spinal cord. They pluck
charges he will come in low and without a sound,fur off the carcass before starting to feed on the
and because he is so well camouflaged, it is verysofter parts of the body.
difficult to pick him up before he gets to you.The remains of the catch and stomach contents
Appearance:will be covered with grass and sand. They are
Leopards have black spots arranged in rosettes,agile climbers and when there is competition from
contrasted on a yellow-golden background. Theyother predators the carcass will be cached out of
have single black spots on their limbs and head.reach in the fork of a large tree. Males defend
Their tails are white tipped on the underside. Thislarge territories which overlap the territories of
Cat is larger and stockier built than the Cheetah.two or even three females. Females defend their
Their head and body length is 1.6 - 2.1 m, and theterritories against other females.
tail is 0.68-1.1 m.Habitat:
Females are smaller and weigh 17-60 Kg whereasThe Leopard tolerates variable climatic conditions
males weigh 20-90 Kg. Their standing height isand occurs in a wide range of habitats. Found
700-800 mm at the shoulders. This nocturnalfrom coastal areas to elevations of 2000 m
predator is the second largest of Africa's largeabove sea level in forests, deserts, semi-deserts,
Cats.bushveld, mountains, woodlands and rocky areas.
Diet:They are not dependant on surface water.
A varied diet ensures that the Leopard is able toThis master of stealth needs some form of
adjust to just about anything. Although Leopardscover such as thick bush or rocks. Though they
generally feed on medium and small antelopes,diminished in numbers over the years, Leopards
they have also have been known to feed onare still found in wild mountains and thick bush
Hyrax, Baboon, Fox, fish and reptiles. There arethroughout South Africa, except for the
even accounts of Leopards living off a diet ofintensively farmed central interior.
insects and rodents in times of scarcity. LeopardsWhere they are found:
are so adaptable that they have even beenLeopards can be viewed in their natural habitat in
known to survive on the outskirts of towns anda number of game reserves throughout South
villages.Africa. These include the Kruger National Park,
Breeding:Mpumalanga and Pilanesberg National Park in the
Young are born any time of the year as they areNorth West Province. Isolated Leopard populations
non-seasonal breeders. Leopard cubs are borncan even be found in the Drakensberg Mountain
after a gestation period of three and a halfRange and on many private game reserves and
months and females usually give birth to two orfarms throughout South Africa.
three cubs in hidden lairs of natural holes or thick