The leopard is found over nearly the whole of Africa south of the Sahara, in Northeast Africa, and from Asia Minor through Central Asia and India to China and Manchuria.

There is no definite breeding season; the female produces from two to four, usually three, cubs after a gestation period of about three months.

Adaptation

The leopard is a solitary animal of the bush and forest and is mainly nocturnal in habit, although it sometimes basks in the sun. It is an agile climber and frequently stores the remains of its kills in the branches of a tree. It feed upon any animals it can overpower, from small rodents to waterbuck, but generally preys on the smaller and medium-sized antelopes and deer; it appears to have a special liking for dogs as food and, in Africa, for baboons. It sometimes takes livestock and may attack human beings. The animal takes to water readily and is a good swimmer.

Sounds

The calls of the leopard vary, includes a series of harsh coughs, throaty growls, and deep, purring sounds.

They vary greatly in size and markings. The average size is from 50 to 90 kilograms (110 to 200 pounds) in weight, 210 centimetres (84 inches), excluding the 90 centimetres tail, in length, and 60 to 70 centimetres in shoulder height. They can grow much larger. The ground colour is typically yellowish above and white below. Dark spots are generally arranged in rosettes over much of the body. The ground colour within the rosettes is sometimes a darker yellow, and the size and spacing of the spots vary greatly. As a result of these differences in pattern, several races of leopard have been named.