Leopards – Majestic Felines – 8 pics
An old Swahili proverb says that “What belongs to a lion, not even a leopard can take away.” There is no doubt that the lion is a bigger feline and more powerful than a leopard but the leopard, being more adaptable, has managed to adapt to a wider range of habitat and it has spread on 2 continents. The leopard is a big feline with a huge success all over the world. Pumas are the only “big cats” that are more adaptable than leopards (pumas are also called cougars or mountain lions). The leopard can be found in deserts, jungles and forests but also on hills and mountain areas, in Africa over the Middle East and all the way to Eastern Asia.
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Why are leopards so spread? The answer lies in their incredible capacities to adapt and change their lifestyle as to explore habitats that cannot be lives by other big felines. Leopards are the only felines that often climb trees. It is an excellent climber because of his strong shoulders that give his the power to jump from one branch to another. It has long and sharp claws which allow his to get a firm grip and stick them into the branches of a tree, offering stability. Lions and other big felines do not have the same ability and this is way leopards can hide safely in trees during a chase, keeping them safe from the hands of danger. Some of them are so comfortable with climbing trees that there have been numerous leopards spotter chasing birds and scaring some of them so badly that they would fall on the ground and die.
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Leopards use trees not only to get rid of enemies or as a hunting place but they even use it as storage Believe it or not, the leopard is capable of carrying an antelope or another animal which has its same weight and drag it all the way up in a tree. Once up there, the pay is kept safe from lions or tigers, hyenas, jackals and other animals that may devour it and the leopard can leave and then return for its meal anytime. Leopards are also capable of living next to humans and he is really not affected by population spreading and by new villages on its territory. Even so, there have been cases of leopards attacking human or eating their farm animals.
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