Animal Traits of a Leopard

leopard traits

In the wild, one of the most fascinating animal traits of a leopard is its propensity for climbing trees and dismounting from them with its front paws first. You may have seen leopards in trees, or even the traces of their kills dragged up into the branches. These are just some of the ways in which leopards are able to hide from the lions and tigers that live in the same areas as the leopard.

This cat’s fur is decorated with spots that serve a dual purpose: as a means of camouflage and as a means of identification. They are small rosettes, shaped like petals, and change shape according to the region where they live. For example, leopards in the east of Africa tend to have circular spots, whereas those in the south are square. The color of leopard spots is darker in the desert and paler in the forest.

Despite their small size, male leopards are much larger than females. Male leopards stand 60-70 cm, while females are only slightly shorter. They weigh between 28-60 kg, and their bodies are shorter than those of lions or tigers. In contrast to the other two cat families, leopards are the smallest of the big cats. In fact, they are so small and agile that they are even capable of carrying up to 50 kilograms of prey.