The Leopards, as obligate carnivores, require approximately 1.6 to 5 kg of meat per day to maintain their body mass, depending on their size and activity level.
Leopards eat on average about a third of the carcass of the animal they kill and this works out at roughly 400kg of meat per leopard each year. This means that leopards probably need just over a kilogram of meat a day.
While the carnivores preferred food sources are ungulates like antelope, gazelles, and impalas, they feed on many animals that might surprise us. Baboons, hares, rodents, birds, lizards, porcupines, warthogs, fish, and dung beetles are all part of the leopard’s extensive menu.
The leopard is a carnivore that prefers medium-sized prey with a body mass ranging from 10 – 90 kg of Prey species in this weight range tend to occur in dense habitat and to form small herds. Species that prefer open areas and have well-developed anti-predator strategies are less preferred.
Leopards sleep for an average of 12 to 16 hours per day after its meal, which is on par with other big cats like lions and tigers. They typically sleep during the day and are most active at night. Leopards are also very efficient sleepers, and they can fall asleep quickly and deeply.
They are nocturnal animals and do most of their hunting at night. Their large eyes and dilated pupils allow them to see well in dark conditions. Leopards are incredibly athletic and known for their climbing ability. They often carry food into trees to avoid losing it to scavengers like lions and hyenas.
The biggest enemy of the leopard is the bigger and stronger lion. Although the leopard has the advantage of dexterity, the lion has been known to climb up a tree after a leopard. The Lion is probably the biggest enemy of the Leopard and a fight to the death will ensue when they come into contact.
.Like the other big cats, leopards are exceptional hunters who prey on other animals in their ecosystem. Leopards often kill and eat small and medium-sized animals weighing between 10 and 90 kilograms. These include many antelope’s species such as gazelles, impalas, Uganda kobs, oribi and other animals like warthogs, hares and much more. When the need arises, a leopard will hunt a bigger animal such as zebras elands and young giraffes but this is on very rare occasions.
Similarly, a shortage of prey can lead a leopard to hunt smaller prey such as rodents, hares and even some crawling arthropods like dung beetles even birds like helmeted guinea fowl.
On average, a male leopard eats about 3.5 kilograms of meat per day while a female leopard eats 2.8 kilogram of meat per day. Leopards often meet their water requirements through the body fluids of their prey as well as some succulent plants. A leopard will drink water every 2 to 3 times in one week.
Leopards often eat their prey in the tree because they are trying to hide it from the other predators that are stronger and would steal it- maybe even killing the leopard. Leopards are quite small compared to other predators such as lions and hyenas, try to avoid confrontation with them. The leopard has very strong neck muscles and can carry prey that is 2 to 4 times its weight up to tree to be safe. In case when other predators are not very common, leopard enjoys their prey on the ground.
A leopard can run at a speed of up to 60 kilometres per hour. While this is fast by human standards, this is slow compared to cheetahs, lions and other animals such as gazelles and impalas. Because they are very good at stalking their prey up to about 5 meters, leopards have the strength to pounce once and take down an animal several times bigger in size than itself. With a leap 6 meters high, leopard is well equipped to survive with a slightly lower running speed.
Leopards rely on the incredible senses of hearing and vision for hunting. They typically hunt at night but have been observed to hunt during the day in some places such as Murchison falls National park, Queen Elizabeth national park and all parks where leopards are used to hunt even in forested parks. Leopards pounce on the animal and suffocating it, while smaller animals are easier to kill with a bite to the back of the neck, bigger animals have to be held for longer and struggle.
During this time, a male and a female will travel together for a few days and copulate. The female is typically pregnant for 93-110 days before retiring to a sheltered den site and giving birth to her cubs in June or July. The diligent mother raises her offspring alone, providing food and shelter for her cubs.
In captivity, snow leopards have been known to live for as long as 22 years. Life in the wild is much harder, so the life expectancy of wild snow leopards is more likely to be 10 to 12 years.
