21-4-2018 OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN LEOPARD (FEMALE AND JUVENILE) (Panthera pardus pardus)

The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have also been recorded in North Africa as well.

In Kruger National Park, male leopards and female leopards with cubs were more active at night than solitary females. The highest rates of daytime activity were recorded for leopards using thorn thickets during the wet season, when impala also used them. Leopards are generally most active between sunset and sunrise, and kill more prey at this time.

African Leopard have suffered from habitat loss and fragmentation, increased illegal wildlife trade, decline in prey and poorly managed trophy hunting.

Prey species are increasingly under threat from an unsustainable bushmeat trade across large parts of Africa’s savannas. Leopards are also killed illegally for their widely sought-after skins and other body parts used for ceremonial purposes.

African Leopard have limited levels of ecological resilience to human-caused habitat fragmentation, and as a result are more restricted to conservation areas – future decline is anticipated unless conservation efforts are undertaken.

African leopards inhabited a wide range of habitats within Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannahs, excluding only extremely sandy deserts. They used to live in most of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying both rainforest and arid desert habitats. African leopards successfully adapted to altered natural habitats and settled environments in the absence of intense persecution and they have often been seen close to major cities. But already in the 1980s, they have become rare throughout much of West Africa. Now, African leopards remain patchily distributed within historical limits. During surveys in 2013, they were recorded in Gbarpolu County and Bong County in the Upper Guinean forests of Liberia. They are rare in North Africa. A relict population persists in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, in forest and mountain steppe, where the climate is temperate to cold. In 2016, an African leopard was recorded for the first time in a semi-arid area of Yechilay in northern Ethiopia.

21-4-2018 OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN LEOPARD (FEMALE AND JUVENILE) (Panthera pardus pardus)

The African Leopard is widely distributed across Africa, but the population of this sub-species is decreasing and it has been classified as Vulnerable by IUCN’s Red List.

Like most felines, African Leopard are incredibly athletic predators and they can run up to 58 miles per hour and leap an impressive 6 metres forward through the air.

The coat of the African Leopard is covered with rosette-shaped markings. The rosettes on the leopards coat do not contain spots, unlike those of their new world relative the Jaguar. The average lifespan of African Leopard is 10 to 12 years in the wild.

African Leopards are predominantly nocturnal, solitary animals and spend most of their time in trees, out of the way of other predators which may pose a threat. Their diet tends to adapt to prey availability and the presence of competitors – they hunt a wide variety of animals which can range from small mammals to large ungulates, reptiles to birds and sometimes even insects.

Where competitors are present, leopard will hide their prey under thick vegetation or hoist it into the branches of a tree. They are very strong climbers, with shoulder blades that have a special attachment site for stronger climbing muscles. A female typically gives birth to a litter of two or three cubs, which stay with her for about two years as she teaches them how to hunt.

Native to more than 35 African countries, leopards occur in the widest variety of habitats among any of the Old World Cats – from desert to grasslands and tropical forest. In Cameroon, leopard are found in northern and southern sections of the country, but their distribution is thought to be scattered due to habitat fragmentation and illegal hunting for bushmeat.

African Leopard have suffered from habitat loss and fragmentation, increased illegal wildlife trade, decline in prey and poorly managed trophy hunting.

Prey species are increasingly under threat from an unsustainable bushmeat trade across large parts of Africa’s savannas. Leopards are also killed illegally for their widely sought-after skins and other body parts used for ceremonial purposes.

African Leopard have limited levels of ecological resilience to human-caused habitat fragmentation, and as a result are more restricted to conservation areas – future decline is anticipated unless conservation efforts are undertaken.

African leopards inhabited a wide range of habitats within Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannahs, excluding only extremely sandy deserts. They used to live in most of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying both rainforest and arid desert habitats. African leopards successfully adapted to altered natural habitats and settled environments in the absence of intense persecution and they have often been seen close to major cities. But already in the 1980s, they have become rare throughout much of West Africa. Now, African leopards remain patchily distributed within historical limits. During surveys in 2013, they were recorded in Gbarpolu County and Bong County in the Upper Guinean forests of Liberia. They are rare in North Africa. A relict population persists in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, in forest and mountain steppe, where the climate is temperate to cold. In 2016, an African leopard was recorded for the first time in a semi-arid area of Yechilay in northern Ethiopia.

African Leopard have suffered from habitat loss and fragmentation, increased illegal wildlife trade, decline in prey and poorly managed trophy hunting.

Prey species are increasingly under threat from an unsustainable bushmeat trade across large parts of Africa’s savannas. Leopards are also killed illegally for their widely sought-after skins and other body parts used for ceremonial purposes.

African Leopard have limited levels of ecological resilience to human-caused habitat fragmentation, and as a result are more restricted to conservation areas – future decline is anticipated unless conservation efforts are undertaken.

African leopards inhabited a wide range of habitats within Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannahs, excluding only extremely sandy deserts. They used to live in most of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying both rainforest and arid desert habitats. African leopards successfully adapted to altered natural habitats and settled environments in the absence of intense persecution and they have often been seen close to major cities. But already in the 1980s, they have become rare throughout much of West Africa. Now, African leopards remain patchily distributed within historical limits. During surveys in 2013, they were recorded in Gbarpolu County and Bong County in the Upper Guinean forests of Liberia. They are rare in North Africa. A relict population persists in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, in forest and mountain steppe, where the climate is temperate to cold. In 2016, an African leopard was recorded for the first time in a semi-arid area of Yechilay in northern Ethiopia.

In Kruger National Park, male African leopards and females with cubs were more active at night than solitary females. In general, leopards spend their time singly and most active between sunset and sunrise, and kill more prey at this time. They maintain home ranges that usually overlap with each other. Thus, the home range of a male can often overlap with the territories of multiple females. Females live with their cubs in home ranges that overlap extensively and continue to interact with their offspring even after weaning; females may even share kills with their offspring when they can not obtain any prey. Leopards usually hunt on the ground and depend mainly on their acute senses of hearing and vision for hunting. They stalk their prey and try to approach it as closely as possible, typically within 5 m (16 ft) of the target, and, finally, pounce on it and kill it by suffocation. Leopards are known to be excellent climbers and often rest on tree branches during the day, dragging their kills up trees and hanging them there, and descending from trees headfirst. Leopards are also powerful swimmers. They are very agile and can run at over 58 km per hour (36 mph), leap over 6 m (20 ft) horizontally, and jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) vertically. They produce a number of vocalizations, including grunts, roars, growls, meows, and purrs.