Med 303 assignment

Reg # 2008-ag-2810
Roll # 603
DVM 6th
TOPIC

CLASSIFICATION
Kindom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Suborder Feliformia
Family Felidae

Body weight :
Male : 80-198 pounds
Female : 60-130 pounds
Litter size: 2-3
Gestation period : 90-195 days

 Nuritition : Mammals and some birds.

Rabbits would probably be the main diet in
the UK. They will also take Muntjak Deer
and Chinese Water Deer. Sheep are
sometimes taken.
Breeding season : non-seasonal
Distribution : British Isles. China, IndoChina, India, Southern Arabia and the
southern half of Africa.

Salient features
Leopards are famous for their ability to go
undetected.
They may live practically among humans and
still be tough to spot.
They are graceful and stealthy. Of all the big
cats, they are probably the most accomplished
stalkers.
They are agile climbers and can descend from a
tree headfirst

 They are mainly nocturnal but can be seen

at any time of day and will even hunt
during daytime on overcast days.
Leopards are solitary, avoiding one
another,
although at times they have been spotted
in groups of 3-4.

 Hearing and eyesight are the strongest of

these cats' senses and are extremely
acute.
When making a threat, leopards stretch
their backs,
depress their ribcages between their
shoulder blades so they stick out, and
lower their heads (much like our domestic
cats).

 Considered the most adaptable of the big

cats, it eats just about anything.
During the day they may lie in bush, on
rocks, or in a tree with their tails hanging
below the treetops so they can be seen.
Black leopards are actually born to spotted
parents

 The pregnant females find a cave, crevice

among boulders, hollow tree, or thicket to
give birth and make a den.
Cubs open their eyes after a period of 10
days.
The fur of the young tends to be longer
and thicker than that of adults

 Leopards' coloration is extremely effective.

Scientists have been unable to spot these
cats just a few yards away even knowing
that they were present.
Although a strong and competent hunter
the leopard is not without threat from other
carnivores
- because of this the leopard commonly
catches its prey high in the boughs of
trees away from packs of scavenging
hyenas and opportunistic lions.

 It is here that the leopard demonstrates its

huge strength - its powerful limb and neck
muscles enabling it to carry a fully grown
male antelope or even young giraffe,

often weighing up to three times its own

body weight, high into the tree tops.

 Black Leopards are not fussy eaters,

usually hunting at night or very early in the
morning. They prefer to remain hidden
during daylight hours, resting and
sleeping. A Black Leopard is a spotted
Leopard with black fur (see Melanistic).
The spots of the leopard can be seen
under the black colour in the right lighting
conditions.

 ...global distribution of Black Leopard

shown by red colour.

Referance
Reference- (Nowak,
1997, Guggisberg,
1975)

copyright 2000 Ian Wickison

Referance
Natural history or Second division of The
English Encyclopedia Volume 1page
778.
The leopard in India : a natural history J.C
Daniel.
Life in Abyssinia : being notes collected
during 3 years. Vol 2 page 290 by
Mansfield parkyns.