The leopard Leopards are powerful big cats which are closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India, and China. However, many of their populations are endangered, especially outside Africa. By 2019 the species had lost up to 75 percent of its former range. Several large pockets, however, remained throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Iran, and the Himalayas, with smaller pockets scattered throughout Central Asia, India, Southeast Asia, eastern China and Manchuria, and the Korean peninsula. In addition, and one tiny pocket of leopards persists in the Atlas Mountains Leopards are very strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kills into the branches. By dragging the bodies of large animals aloft it hopes to keep them safe from scavengers such as hyenas. Leopards can also hunt from trees, where their spotted coats allow them to blend with the leaves until they spring with a deadly pounce. These nocturnal predators also stalk antelope, deer, and pigs by stealthy movements in the tall grass. When human settlements are present, leopards often attack dogs and, occasionally, people. In addition, Leopards are strong swimmers and very much at home in the water, where they sometimes eat fish or crabs. Reproduction; Female leopards can give birth at any time of the year, the gestation period of about three months. The calls of the leopard vary and include a series of harsh coughs, throaty growls, and deep purring sounds. They usually have two grayish cubs with barely visible spots. The mother hides her cubs and moves them from one safe location to the next until they are old enough to begin playing and learning to hunt. Cubs live with their mothers for about two years. However, leopards are solitary animals of the bush and forest.
Beauty; leopards are light colored with distinctive dark spots that are called rosettes, because they resemble the shape of a rose. Black leopards, which appear to be almost solid in color because their spots are hard to distinguish, are commonly called black panthers.