Amur Leopard

Fact sheet

• Kingdom Animalia

• Phylum Chordata

• Class Mammalia

• Order Carnivora

• Family Felidae

• Genus Panthera

• STATUS:

• Endangered in Asia and parts of Africa. Threatened south of, and including, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Uganda, Kenya in Africa.

• DESCRIPTION:

• Leopards are medium-sized cats found in a range of colors from pale yellow to gray to chestnut.

• A leopard’s shoulders, upper arms, back and haunches are marked with dark spots in a rosette pattern, while the head, chest and throat are marked with small black spots.

• Large black spots cover the leopard’s white belly. Black, or melanistic, leopards are common, especially in dense forests.

• SIZE:

• Leopards are 1.5 to 2.6 feet tall at the shoulder.

• They are three to six feet long, with a tail that is two to 3.5 feet long.

• Males weigh between 82 and 200 pounds, females are slightly smaller.

• LIFESPAN:

• Leopards live for up to 20 years.

• RANGE:

• Leopards are found throughout most of Africa and Asia from the middle east to the Soviet Union, Korea, China, India, and Malaysia.

• HABITAT:

• Leopards are found in a variety of habitats including forests, mountains, grassland and deserts.

• FOOD:

• Leopards eat small hoofstock such as gazelle, impala, deer and wildebeast.

• On occasion, they may also hunt monkeys, rodents and birds.

• BEHAVIOR:

• Leopards are nocturnal animals, meaning they are active at night.

• During the day, they rest in thick brush or in trees.

• Leopards are solitary, preferring to live alone.

• They are very agile and good swimmers. They are able to leap more than 20 feet.

• OFFSPRING:

• Following a 90 to 105 day gestation, one to six kittens are born.

• The average litter size is two or three.

• Kittens weigh about one pound when they are born.

• They will stay with their mother for 18 to 24 months.

• DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:

• The big cats, especially the spotted cats, are easy to confuse for those who see them in captivity or in photographs.

• The leopard is closely related to, and appears very similar to, the jaguar; it is less often confused with the cheetah. The ranges, habitats, and activities of the three cats make them easy to distinguish in the wild.

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