Leopard

Leopards eat meat.

They catch antelopes, monkeys, birds and even fish. A leopard hides its food up in a tree. Then no one else can take it.

Leopards eat almost any animal they can catch, from rodents, snakes and birds to monkeys, baboons, warthogs and antelopes. Mostly they hunt small and medium-sized antelopes and deer.

A leopard does not chase prey for long. It creeps close, often on its belly, or drops from a tree, then pounces and catches its prey by the throat. Afterward it may drag the meal up a tree, out of reach of lions and hyenas, so it can come back and eat in peace.

The leopard is a dietary generalist: Britannica and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance list prey from rodents, amphibians, fish, snakes and large birds to monkeys, baboons, porcupines, warthogs and antelopes up to the size of waterbuck, though small and medium-sized antelopes and deer are usual. This flexibility is a big reason the species can live in so many habitats.

Leopards stalk and pounce rather than chase, varying their approach unpredictably, and kill with a bite to the throat. Their strength is remarkable: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance describes leopards climbing about 15 meters with a kill heavier than themselves, and one dragging a 100-kilogram young giraffe into cover. Caching kills in trees protects them from lions and hyenas.

Leopards like to be alone.

In the hot day they rest in trees, bushes or caves. At night they wake up and hunt. Leopards rarely roar. They make a raspy bark.

Leopards live alone, and they are mostly nocturnal, which means they are active at night. During the heat of the day they rest in bushes, among rocks, in caves or stretched out on a tree branch.

Leopards share their homes with lions and hyenas in Africa and tigers in Asia, which can harm them. So leopards stay out of the way: they hunt at different times, often catch different prey, and rest in trees where they are hard to notice. Instead of roaring, leopards usually make a raspy bark.

Leopards are solitary and mainly nocturnal, though they sometimes bask in the sun. They avoid larger competitors, lions, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs in Africa and tigers in Asia, by hunting at different times, often on different prey, and resting in trees. Caching kills off the ground is part of the same strategy.

Communication is mostly by scent and sound. A male may follow a female's scent trail for days before mating. Leopards rarely roar; their typical call is a rasping bark. The white markings on the tail tip and the backs of the ears probably help individuals keep track of each other in tall grass.

Leopards are good at living in many places.

But some kinds of leopards are now very rare. People are working to keep their forests and grasslands safe.

Leopards are Vulnerable. Even though they are good at living in many places, they have lost up to three quarters of the land where they used to live. Forests are cut down, the animals leopards hunt are disappearing, and some leopards are killed by poachers or by people protecting their farm animals.

Some kinds of leopards, like the Amur leopard of Russia and China and the Arabian leopard, are very rare. Parks, patrols and work with local communities help protect them.

The IUCN Red List assessed the leopard as Vulnerable in 2023, with a decreasing population. Britannica estimates a range loss of up to 75 percent since 1750, and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance describes habitat loss to logging and building, poaching for skins and body parts, and conflict with people as key threats.

The picture differs sharply between populations. Britannica describes large remaining pockets in sub-Saharan Africa, Iran and the Himalayas, while several subspecies, including the Amur and Arabian leopards, are endangered or worse. Protecting connected habitat, prey and the livelihoods of people who live alongside leopards is central to their conservation.