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General Information
Leopards occur in two distinct colour phases, the spotted and the black. The black leopard is known as the black panther. On the Malay Peninsular, as many as half of the leopards are black.
The leopard is a silent killer. It stalks its prey by moving swiftly at first. Then it suddenly stops and watches intently. It keeps itself under cover by staying flat against the ground. It creeps again and stops again until it is close enough to its prey. Then, it springs forward and seizes the victim with its claws.
Large animals like the antelope are usually pulled to the ground before the leopard kills them with a bite into the neck or the throat. Instead of eating its meal on the spot, the leopard usually drags it away.
A leopard may weigh only about 45 kg. But it has such a powerful jaw that it can carry an animal its own weight up a tree. The leopard feeds in the tree. Up there, they are safe from hyenas, vultures and lions which tend to snatch their food away.
The leopard walks on pads that are under the toes and the sole of each foot. It seems to walk on tiptoe. The thick hair around the pads of its feet allows it to stalk its prey silently. When the claws are not in use, they retract into protective coverings. This is to keep them needle-sharp.
Nocturnal Adaptation
The leopard hunts mostly at night. Their eyesight at night is good. Like other
nigh time hunters, they can see when it is dark, because inside a leopard's
eye there is a special surface that reflects light.
This surface is what makes a cat's eyes shine in the dark. Many cats have pupils that become tall, narrow slits in bright light. In the dark, these pupils open wide to let in light.
Leopards also find their way in the dark with their whiskers. These long, stiff hairs on their faces have no real feeling. But if the tips of the whiskers brush something, a leopard feels the movements at the roots of its whiskers.
Habitat
Leopards are very adaptable animals. They can survive in forests and on grasslands.
They have a very broad diet. They will eat almost anything they can catch.
This explains why they are so widespread. They can be found in many parts of Africa and Asia. There are three big cats
which look similar to each other, the leopard, the jaguar and the cheetah.
It is, however, easy to spot the difference by looking at their skin coat
The leopard has rings of black dots on its coat. Besides having the rings
of black dots, the jaguar has dark spots in the centres of the rings. As for
the cheetah, only black spots pattern its coat. Jaguars are only found in
central and South America while cheetah are found mostly in Africa.
Conservation
Leopards are threatened by habitat destruction, more in Asia than Africa. When their living areas are smaller, leopards are often forced to turn to livestock for food, which in turn causes them to be poisoned by ranchers. Leopards are also hunted for their beautiful skin. Although hunting has eased with stricter control on the trade of leopard skin, illegal trade still continues. We can actually play a role in the conservation of this beautiful animal by not purchasing the skin. Only when there is no demand can we cut down on the supply, which translates to fewer leopards being killed.
Insight
The 3 male Sri Lankan leopards are siblings and they grew up together in Night Safari. Most evenings find them resting behind the glass panel . This allows guests to have an almost ' nose-to-nose' encounter with them.
