Idea #544 – Observing the namibian Leopard
The Leopard of Africa (Panthera pardus pardus) is the most common subspecies of leopard. We can meet them in Kenya, in Tanzania, in Zambia, in Botswana, in South Africa, in Namibia, in Zimbabwe and in Malawi. It is particularly looked for by the amateurs of safari, being the most discreet Big Five.
The leopard can be confused with the cheetah because of their yellow dresses in the brown spots; nevertheless these two big big cats are rather different: the coat of the leopard is not speckled but “ocellé”, the shape of the head is similar to that of the lion, it has green eyes, and finally is more massive and less hurt than the cheetah. The female leopard is much smaller than the male.
The leopard is an agile hunter, the samllest of the big carnivorous. iIt can feed as much on big herbivores (impala, zebra) as of rodents or birds. It has for habit to approach discreetly very near its preys, on ground or sometimes since a tree, before launching the attack. It runs them after on a short distance, taking advantage of its speed with points at 80km / hour. It uses its muscular power to kill its preys, by suffocation on their neck.
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Parc National d’Etosha, Namibie