Classic Moments in the Forest


Indian Peafowl | Blackbuck | Elephant | Spotted Deer | Common Langur
Wild Boar | Indian Gaur | Tiger | Sambar | Sloth Bear | Leopard
Nilgiri Tahr




Photograph by Krupakar / Senani

Leopard (Bandipur National Park, Karnataka )

» SCIENTIFIC NAME: Panthera pardus
» KANNADA NAME: Chirate

The leopard is a beautiful creature: blue, green or golden eyed, with black rosettes sprinkled over a pale ochre body and a long tail for balance. Amazingly strong, it can climb a tree with a full-grown chital stag in its mouth. Many save their partly eaten kills in trees for future consumption, hidden from other carnivores and scavengers. Their stomachs easily expand to accommodate huge meals.
The leopard is a survivor, comfortable in many types of terrain; in extremes of heat and cold; and eating a wide variety of food. Leopards, tigers and lions belong to the same species called panthera, but African cheetahs are of a different species. A black leopard is also called a panther; both normal and black cubs can be born in the same litter.

Description: Average length and weight: about 7’ (215 cm.) and 150 lb.
(68 kg.) for male, about 6’ (185 cm.) and 110 lb. (50 kg.) for female. Colour varies across India. Cubs usually dark with close set, indistinct spots.

Distribution: All over India.

Habits and habitat: Thrives in a range of habitat. Undeterred by proximity to human habitation.

Natural enemies: Jungle predators like tigers, wild dogs and hyenas; disease and man.

Food: Carnivore, hunts by day and night. Common prey include deer, monkeys and smaller animals like birds, reptiles, larger rodents and even crabs. Will prey on livestock and domestic animals like dogs and goats.

Breeding habits: In captivity leopards breed all year round and have been known to produce 3 litters in 3 1/2 years. No record of their breeding patterns in the wild. Gestation period about 13 weeks. Two to four cubs in a litter.