Leopards are large and strong cats (Panthera pardus) that have fawn or brown coats with black spots and camouflaged fur marked with smaller rosettes. Their legs are short compared to other wild cat and their physique are lighter and long with enormous heads and large jaws.
Overall they have a similar appearance to jaguar (Panthera onca). Also their canine teeth are very sharp that along with claws allows them to attack and capture prey and eat. Their hunting techniques are ferocious.
However they are often thought of as African animals but they live all around the world mainly found in southern Asia(India, China, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Indochina) and Africa(sub-Saharan Africa). Although their reach is vast their numbers are declining quickly.
So How Much Does A Leopard Weigh?
Among large cats like lions, tigers, and jaguars leopards are the smallest. On average male leopards weigh around 80 to 165 pounds or 36 kg to 75 kg. In rare cases, some leopards can weigh up to 212 pounds or 96 kg.
Female leopards are less weigh than their male counterparts. The average weight of female leopards is 45 to 132 pounds or 20 kg to 59 kg.
How Much Do Baby Leopards Weigh?
At birth, baby leopards remain blind and almost hairless and weigh around 17 ounces to 21 ounces or 500 grams to 600 grams.
How Much Do Snow Leopards Weigh?
On average adult male snow leopards weigh 60 pounds to 120 pounds or 27 kg to 54 kg although the heaviest male can weigh up to 165 pounds or 75 kg. And average weight of female leopards is around 55 pounds or 25 kg and they gain weight when they are about to give birth.
How Much Do Baby Snow Leopards Weigh?
Baby snow leopards grow quickly and can quadruple their weight only in 15 days. During their birth time, they remain helpless as they are born blind and have a thick coat of fur. On average a baby snow leopards weigh 320 grams or 567 grams or 11.3 oz to 20 oz.
The cubs start opening their eyes when they reach 3.96 pounds. At birth time, their weight is equal to an adult alpine marmot.
Weight Example Of Different Leopard Species:
- Javan Leopard – 110 to 154 pounds (50 to 70 kg)
- African Leopard – 88 to 132 pounds (40 to 60 kg
- Sri Lankan Leopard – 64 to 124 pounds (29 to 56 kg)
- Indian Leopard – 64 to 170 pounds (29 to 77 kg)
- Arabian Leopard – 44 to 66 pounds (20 to 30 kg)
- North Chinese Leopard – 48 to 167 pounds (22 to 76 kg)
- Amur Leopard – 55 to 105 pounds (25 to 48 kg)
- Persian Leopard – 130 pounds (60 kg)
- Indochinese Leopard – 176 pounds (80 kg)
How Fast Can A Leopard Run?
Leopards are fast enough than your imagination. They can run very fast which is around 36 mph or 58 kph. This is much quicker than the speed of the fastest men on track and field (22 mph or 36 kph).
What Do Leopards Eat?
Leopards are carnivorous animals although they are not picky eaters. They prey on any animal that comes across their path which includes antelopes, gazelles, impalas, cheetah cubs, baboons, rodents, monkeys, snakes, large birds, amphibians, fish, warthogs and porcupines.
Their extensive diet menu has helped them to survive in areas where other large cat animals have diminished. When their food is scarce they will hunt with a less desirable attitude with more abundant prey.
They crouch low and ambush their predators before it reacting. A leopard can easily kill its prey with one soft bite to the neck by breaking it. They don’t like water that much as they survive from the moisture they get eating their prey.
Are Leopards Endangered?
In many areas around the world, some subspecies of leopards are critically endangered or threatened due to habitual loss and human hunting for their skins. They are mainly endangered outside Africa.
Also, they are killed by domestic livestock owners by trying to protect their herds. Eastern Russias Amur Leopard is an example of one of the rarest subspecies and there are only around 30 currently living in the wild.
Although many conservation groups and local wildlife parks and conservation laws are trying to protect leopards. Such as U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Commission on International Trade are trying hard to protect leopards.
How Long Do Leopards Live?
On average leopards live up to 12 years to 15 years in the wild and in captivity like zoos they live a bit longer than the wild which is 23 years.
How Much Do Leopards Eat?
Leopards can easily eat a third of the carcass of their prey and this weight can be around 2.2 pounds or one kilogram of meat each day for one leopard. So overall leopards need around 882 pounds or 400 kg of meat each year.
Where Do Leopards Live?
Leopards are the solitary animal that can live in both warm and cold climates and the only known species lives in deserts and rainforest areas. They mainly live in forests, subtropical and tropical regions, savannas, grasslands, deserts, and rocky and mountainous regions.
They are solitary in nature and only spend time with others when they are mating or raising young. Also they are nocturnal and loves to spend their night’s hunting rather than sleeping.
A leopard spends lots of time in trees and their spotted coat camouflages them and helps them to blend their body with the leaves of the trees.
How Many Babies Does A Leopard Have?
Leopard’s gestation periods are three months and give birth to two or three cubs in a den. Their cubs are born blind and remain hairless and depend on their mother for food. These cubs do not leave the den as long as they are three months old.
When they reach 12 to 18 months they get ready to live their own and when they reach 2 years to 3 years they create their own offspring.
How Long Is A Leopard?
Leopards are the smallest members of a large cat family but larger than any house cat. A leopard can grow 92 cm to 190 cm or 3 feet to 6.2 feet long.
However, their tails add an extra 64 cm to 99 cm or 25 inches to 39 inches to their length. At their shoulder, they are average 28 inches and in general, the range is 17.5 inches to 30.5 inches high at the shoulder.
Fun Facts:
>>The word “Leopard” is originated from the Greek word “leopardus” which is the combination of leon(lion) and pardus(panther)!
>>Leopards are difficult to trace and locate in the wild as they are secretive!
>>Male and female leopards have different territories and they make their territories with urine and claw marks to warn others!
>>Leopards have the widest habitats range among all big cats which allows them to survive in various climates.
>>A leopard can easily leap as high as 20 feet or 6 meters horizontally and 10 feet or 3 meters vertically.
>>Sometimes leopards take their prey up in the trees to confirm that lions and hyenas can’t steal their prey.
>>Leopards can hear five times more sounds than humans!
>>Their spots are known as rosettes as they look like roses.
>>Some people believe that leopards bones and whiskers can heal sick people!
