04/10/2021
The beautiful and gracious Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus), is the 2nd of ‘The Big Five’ animals (see previous post) we are highlighting. Here are a few interesting facts about leopards:
• They occur over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa and most of South Africa, excluding the Greater Karoo basin.
• Leopards are astoundingly strong. They are pound for pound the strongest of the big cats. They are able to climb trees, even when carrying heavy prey, and often choose to rest on tree branches during the day. One reason why leopards sometimes take their prey up in the trees is to ensure lions or hyenas can’t steal them.
• Leopards are renowned for their agility. They run up to 58km/h and can leap 6m horizontally and 3m vertically. They are also very strong swimmers.
• During the National Geographic programme ‘Eye of the Leopard’, a wild leopard killed a baboon in order to feed herself. However upon noticing an infant baboon clinging to the dead baboon, the leopard amazingly carried the infant up to the safety of the tree to guard her from hyenas. She groomed and cuddled the baby throughout the night, caring for him/her as she would her own cub.
• As they are nocturnal, they are mostly active at night and the easiest time to see them is at dusk or very early in the morning – they can therefore be one of the hardest of the Big Five to see.
Information Source: World Wildlife / Wikipedia
Pictures:
Picture 1: by unknown.
Picture 2: from Kirkman’s Kamp, Sabi Sand
Pictures 3 & 4: from KwaMbili Safari Lodge, Thornybush Game Reserve
Picture 4: by Kobus Saayman