1. Leopards are the most common representatives of the feline family, after domestic cats.
2. Leopards are the smallest representatives of the group of big cats, they are ahead of jaguars, lions and tigers.
3. The average height of a leopard to the shoulders is about 70 centimeters. And the body length of leopards ranges from 100 to 150 centimeters.
4. Most leopards live in the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa, although they are found in other parts of the continent, in the Middle East and Asia.
5. Leopards live not only in forests and jungles, but also in open spaces, and forest dwellers are usually smaller than their lowland relatives.

Panther and Leopard

6. Panther and leopard are different names of the same animal in fact, only panthers are called leopards with a rare black color.
7. Black and spotted cubs can be born in the same litter
8. The origin of the word leopard also refers to two names of predatory cats — the Greek words leon (lion) and pardus (panther).
9. There are hybrids of leopards with lions, jaguars and cougars.
10. As a species in general, leopards are not threatened with extinction, but some subspecies do suffer, especially those living outside Africa.

Ceylon Leopard

11. Subspecies of leopards that are on the verge of extinction: South Arabian leopard; Far Eastern leopard; Asian leopard; Ceylon leopard; Javanese leopard.
12. According to experts, about 500 thousand leopards live in nature – this is 10 times more than lions, tigers and cheetahs combined.
13. Among all kinds of big cats, leopards are best able to climb trees.
14. Leopards are skilled fast hunters and agile scavengers, their ability to adapt to various types of natural conditions can be envied by many predators.
15. These big cats prefer wet places where there are reservoirs nearby, but the largest number of leopards lives in Africa and Asia.

The Far Eastern Leopard

16. The homeland of the Far Eastern leopard is the Far East of our country and the North of China. That is why it was called “Far Eastern”. But in zoology, this animal species is known by a completely different name, namely the Amur leopard or Amur leopard.
17. Today, the population of the Far Eastern leopard is in critical condition. And in the last century, in the Chinese provinces, as well as in Korea, these animals lived in large flocks.
18. Interestingly, the Far Eastern leopard changes the intensity of the fur coloring. This phenomenon can be observed when the time of year changes. For example, in summer their coloring has a brighter and more intense color than in winter. All this helps the leopard to disguise itself perfectly depending on the season.
19. Representatives of the Far Eastern leopard species for settlement in most cases choose regions in which large areas are occupied by forests, as well as moderate temperatures and natural precipitation (rain, snow). These predators inhabit one of the remote areas of Primorsky Krai, near the border of the Russian Federation and China.
20. For the Far Eastern leopard, a nomadic lifestyle is not characteristic at all. After all, they are conservatives by nature, which means that they live where they immediately settled. They even walk the same route.
21. The leopard is the only representative of the feline, which tightens and eats its prey on a tree.
22. If a leopard has caught and killed prey, he tries to drag the carcass up a tree and eat it there so that it is not taken away by other predators – lions or hyenas.
23. Leopards are able to adapt to almost any habitat, from deserts to dense forests. Probably, it is this quality that they owe to the fact that they have spread so widely across the most diverse regions of the planet.
24. In addition to strong paws, leopards also have a fairly strong neck. This is what allows them to grab and drag a victim who is almost twice as big and heavier than themselves.
25. Leopards are “nocturnal, solitary hunters”. They never go out hunting during the day. And they appear at the watering hole only at dusk.
26. The color of animal skins is often predetermined by the habitat. For example, leopards living in the savanna have an orange or yellow coat color that merges with the terrain. Leopards inhabiting the desert have acquired a sandy palette of fur.
27. Leopards that live in harsh cold conditions have grayish long hair, and leopards of tropical forests have golden hair.
28. Spots on the fur of leopards can be round or square and help animals hide in the environment, remaining less noticeable.
29. The location of spots on the skin of each leopard is unique — there are simply no two identical ones, as there are no people with the same fingerprints.
30. Nature has endowed the leopard with a slender and rather elongated body. They also have a long, even tail. He plays an important role during the jump, namely to perform steep maneuvers.
31. Each individual leopard has its own territory for hunting, which it marks with urine and claw marks.
32. Male leopards weigh from 60 to 75 kilograms, and females – from 32 to 65 kilograms.
33. Male leopards can kill a baby giraffe and then drag its carcass up a tree.
34. The territory of a male often intersects with the territories of several females, whose “possessions” are usually much smaller.
35. Leopards warn each other of their presence with loud cries.
36. Female leopards can give offspring at any time of the year and there are usually 2-3 cubs in the brood.
37. The mother hides her kittens for about 8 weeks until they learn to move, play and hunt on their own.
38. The female begins to bring meat to kittens at the age of 6 to 7 weeks, although the cubs continue to suck her milk for about 3 months.
39. Kittens live next to their mother for about 2 years. After that, leopards begin to lead a hermit lifestyle, existing all alone.
40. Leopards feed on various fish, reptiles, as well as mammals of various colors, such as baboons, antelopes, wild boars, hares and rodents.
41. A leopard can reach speeds of up to 57 kilometers per hour when running. This is 2 times less than the same indicator for a cheetah, but still a very high speed for the animal.
42. Leopards can growl like lions, of course, not so loud, and purr like domestic cats.
43. In the wild, leopards live for 12-15 years, in zoos there are cases when they lived up to 23 years.
44. Leopards have a special ankle structure that helps them climb trees quickly.
45. Leopards have excellent eyesight, they can see prey at a distance of 1.5 kilometers.
46. Leopards are also excellent swimmers and often catch fish and crabs in the water.
47. Leopards have about 5 times sharper hearing than humans.
48. Leopards can interbreed with jaguars and lions, but the offspring from such marriages turns out to be sterile, having no ability to reproduce.
49. All leopards are born with blue eyes. Then the iris of the eyes changes color.
50. Leopards are excellent at climbing trees, often descending from the trunk of a tree head down. They are the largest cats that constantly climb trees. Leopards can often be seen sleeping high on the branches.