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Scientific name for a leopard is Panthera Pardus.
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Leopards are in the cat family.
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Leopards are mammals.
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Leopards live mostly in Africa with some living in India, Malaysia and China.
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Leopards are solitary animals meaning they like to live alone.
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A male leopard is called a leopard.
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A female leopard is called a leopardess.
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A baby is called a cub.
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Leopards can be 4.5 ft. – 6ft long with a tail that is 3.5-4.5 long.
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Leopards are between 2-3 ft tall.
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They weigh between 80-200 pounds. Females are slightly smaller than males.
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Leopards range in color from a pale yellow to a deep gold. Melanistic leopards are black and often referred to as black panthers.
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Leopards have rosettes (rose-like markings) patterns on their fur.
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Leopard’s color and rosettes patterns go with their habitat.
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Leopards with paler coats live in desert habitats.
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Leopards with more rounder rosettes live in East Africa and leopards with squarer rosettes live in South Africa.
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Leopards are great climbers and great swimmers.
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They can leap up to 20ft.
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Leopards are agile meaning they are able to move quickly and easily. They are fast runners and can run 36 miles per hour.
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Leopards like to spend a lot of time in trees.
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Leopards are carnivores meaning they eat meat.
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Leopards hunt whatever they can catch. Some animals they eat are boars, deers, impalas, gazelles. Sometimes they will eat fish, birds and rodents.
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Leopards mostly stay away from people but have attacked humans and dogs.
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Leopards are mostly nocturnal meaning they are more active at night.
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During the day leopards are often seen resting in trees.
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Leopards hunt for food at night.
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Often times they will watch their prey from up in the trees where they can blend in with leaves. Then they will pounce down to surprise their prey.
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After a leopard catches their prey they will sometimes carry it back up the tree to hide it in the leaves. They do this to keep it away from scavengers in between feedings.
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Female leopards give birth to usually 1-2 cubs.
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Cubs are born a grey color with very faint rosettes.
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Cubs are born blind and start to see in 10 days.
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Cubs live with their mothers for 2-4 years.
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Mother leopards teach their cubs to swim, climb, hunt and how to protect themselves from predators.
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Predators to leopards are adult chimpanzees and gorillas.
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Leopards are a threatened species in Africa and endangered in other parts of the world.
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Loss of habitat and hunting for their fur are big threats to the leopard.
Also Check out Snow Leopard Facts for Kids