To: African Tour Guides

From: Miles Butler

Subject: Leopard Information for Tour Guides
Action Required: Teach tour groups about Leopards
Distribution List: Tour Guides at NC Zoo.

Report Purpose
The purpose of this report is to inform you about the African Leopard. There are many people
who may know about the Leopard, but not in a way that is conducive to a learning
environment, especially people who may frequent zoos. The information of this report will
contain various subjects on Leopards, such as differences that Leopards exhibit in comparison
to other large cats, explaining cultural significance of Leopards in Africa, and explain some key
caveats when it comes to Leopard conservation. For the purposes of this report, we will be
focusing solely on the African Leopard sub-species, which is shown below.

Research Methods
In addition to reading Leopards by Desmond Morris, I have also read information collected from
panthera.org, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened
Species and the World Wildlife Fund.

Pictured above: African Leopard near Lake Panic in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Leopard Taxonomy
Leopards (Panthera Pardus) are an interesting species in comparison to other big cats (such as
Tigers, Jaguars, Lions, and Snow Leopards) for several reasons. Unlike the Lion, Tiger, or Jaguar,
they are not as strong. They are built for stealth. Unlike other members in their family, the
leopard has a variety of sub-species thanks to its extremely adaptable nature. According to the
IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list, there are nine different
subspecies of Leopard. Despite widely held belief, the Snow Leopard is not a Leopard from a
taxonomic point of view.
Hunting Habits
The leopard is a very solitary hunter, and due to their nature, are very non-confrontational.
Instead of trying to hunt down prey through lengthy chases and burn a lot of energy, Leopards
will usually lie in wait in either underbrush or in trees, then pounce down onto their target.
Theyll usually go for the back of the neck or some other kind of extremely vulnerable area and
strike it decisively. Leopards do not try to fight off competition for food, or try to fight off
scavengers. To combat any competition it may have, the Leopard will stow their kill away in
trees. Leopards eat a wide variety of animals. It is an obligate carnivore, and usually eats
medium-sized animals such as warthogs or deer. However, they have been shown to eat
smaller-sized prey as well, such as rodents, birds, and even dung beetles. According to A
through Z animals, it seems like they have this kind of hunting as to not try to compete against
larger predators (Lions and Hyena) for food.
Mating Habits
As for mating, the Leopard usually takes a single mate whose territory crosses their own.
Leopard cubs are incredibly vulnerable in the wild and so remain hidden in dense vegetation
until they can follow their mother around at between 6 and 8 weeks of age, camouflaged by
their dark, woolly fur and blurry spots. Weaned at around three months old, Leopard cubs will
remain with their mother for another 18 months until she is ready to mate again and
encourages her young to independently establish their own territories.
Overall Species Habits
The three biggest difference between Leopards and other large cat breeds are as followed.
1. They are very widespread in terms of geological area. They can be found anywhere
from sub-Saharan Africa to Russia, and into Eastern Asia.
2. They have many different sub-species, which makes it difficult to consider the
Leopard as its own classification, in contrast to other large cat species.
3. They are very stealthy, solitary hunters, preferring to kill their prey very quickly in
sudden, sneaky attacks, rather than try to go for a lengthy chase.
Cultural Significance of Leopards
Leopards have a long and storied significance in African culture. According to Desmond Morris
in his book Leopards, the first recorded image of a Leopard was in the Chauvet-Pont-dArc
Cave in France. It is at least 23,000 years old. There are many other cave paintings around that
time, but thats the only cave painting of that era that accurately shows a Leopard. At the
excavation of Catal Huyuk (in modern day Turkey), there have been shown to be paintings and
carvings of Leopards within the city. Many older hunting tribes, especially in Africa, seem to
revere and fear the Leopard.
Western African Leopard Significance
In West Africa, there has been a long history of tribes in that area having made wooden,
bronze, and ivory carvings of Leopards. There are many bronze-and-ivory statues within Benin
City, which was one of the crown jewels of Africa, before it was destroyed in the late 19 th
century by the British. According to legends that were salvaged from Benin, the Leopard was
chosen for kingship over other animals for its strength and beautiful skin (according to
Desmond Morris). The Zulu people also considered the Leopard as a sort of sacred animal. They
used the Leopards skin as a shawl of sorts to show strength as a tribal leader. Its clear that,
within Africa at least, that the Leopard is extremely important to the indigenous people. One of
the Leopard statues are shown below.

Leopard Conservation
It is incredibly important to conserve the
Leopard species. Not only do they play a
crucial role in a myriad of ecologies due to
how widespread the species is, they also
provide historical and cultural significance
around Africa. Leopards, according to the
IUCN, are considered Vulnerable. This is up
from the Near Threatened state they were
in (according to a 2008 report from the
IUCN). Leopards are threatened by illegal
killing for their skins

Ivory and Bronze Leopard, Benin City

and other body parts used for ceremonial
regalia, conflict with local people, rampant bushmeat
poaching, and poorly managed trophy hunting ( panthera.org). They have also had massive
habitat loss thanks to human expansion into their hunting zones and habitats. Leopard
distribution in North Africa has been restricted by 97% of their former range with only remnant,
isolated populations remaining (IUCN). According to panthera.org, the leopard is extinct in six
countries and possibly extinct in six additional countries, leopards have vanished from at least
49 percent of their historic range in Africa. Thankfully, due to tour guides (like yourself), more
and more people are coming to Africa to try and see Leopards. As such, it led to leopards
becoming more protected to try and save one of Africas natural resources. Leopards, as stated
earlier, are solitary and sneaky, so they are rather unobtrusive to human settlements. That
doesnt mean that they wont attack someone by themselves, so keep that in mind. There have
also been many wildlife reserves and sanctuaries erected for Leopards and other big cats to
ensure that they can be kept somewhat safe from hunters.

Conclusion
The African Leopard has had a tremendous impact on various aspects of Africa, whether it be
from an ecological or cultural view. In comparison to other animals, they are rather
unobtrusive, so they do not encounter humans often. Due to their impact both culturally and
ecologically, they need to be protected to an extensive degree from the habitat loss and
hunting practices that besiege them. As a tour guide, I hope that you share this information so
that people can gain an understanding, and hopefully an adoration, for this African big cat.

Recommendations
1. Keep people informed about the Leopard populations in your area.
2. Try to convince everybody on the tour to donate or volunteer at a local wildlife reserve
for Leopards and other large cats.
3. Try to convince anyone interested in Leopard pelts to stop going after leopards and use
artificial pelts.
References

Leopard | Panthera. Panthera.org, www.panthera.org/cat/leopard. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017

Morris, Desmond. Leopard. London, UK, Reaktion Books LTD, 2014.

Panthera pardus . Panthera pardus (Leopard), www.iucnredlist.org/details/15954/0. Accessed
3 Oct. 2017.
Animals, A-Z. Leopard. A-Z Animals - Animal Facts, Pictures and Resources, a-z-
animals.com/animals/leopard/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017
Benin Leopards Archives. Benin Leopards Archives,
www.hamillgallery.com/BENIN/BeninLeopards/BeninLeopards.html. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

African Leopard, Panthera Pardus Pardus, near Lake Panic, Kruger National Park, South Africa
Wikipedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard#/media/File:African_leopard,_Panthera_pardus_pardus,
_near_Lake_Panic,_Kruger_National_Park,_South_Africa_(19448654130).jpg. Accessed 3 Oct.
2017