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Travel Namibia |
Introduction - 
Leopards lie up in hiding during the day and hunt at night. Their hunting technique entails stalking and pouncing, killing larger prey with a holding bite to the throat which suphocates larger prey. Smaller prey are killed by a bite to the back of the neck which usually severs the spinal cord. They pluck fur off the carcass before starting to feed on the softer parts of the body.
The remains of the catch and stomach contents will be covered with grass and sand. They are agile climbers and when there is competition from other predators the carcass will be cached out of reach in the fork of a large tree. Males defend large territories which overlap the territories of two or even three females. Females defend their territories against other females.
Although no other wild cat has such a wide spread range and diverse prey base as the leopard, it is still under threat in many regions. Once common in all parts of Africa apart from the deserts of the Sahara, it has now gone from most parts of northern Africa, apart from a few widespread areas of the Atlas mountains and is scarce in the extreme west of the continent. There are numerous places where one can view leopard in their natural environment while travelling in Namibia. Several places offer conservation projects which are worth a visit, accommodation at Okonjima Bush Camp or Okonjima Main Lodge offers the opportunity to view the work done by the Africat Foundation in Namibia. Another options is to join the Game Extravaganza day trip from Windhoek which offers amazing opportunities to photograph leopards.
Diet - A varied diet ensures that the Leopard is able to adjust to just about anything. Although Leopards generally feed on medium and small antelopes, they have also have been known to feed on Hyrax, Baboon, Fox, fish and reptiles. There are even accounts of Leopards living off a diet of insects and rodents in times of scarcity.
Colouring - Leopards have black spots arranged in rosettes, contrasted on a yellow-golden background. They have single black spots on their limbs and head. Their tails are white tipped on the underside.
Breeding - Young are born any time of the year as they are non-seasonal breeders. Leopard cubs are born after a gestation period of three and a half months and females usually give birth to two or three cubs in hidden lairs of natural holes or thick bush.
Size - Their head and body length is 1.6 – 2.1 m, and the tail is 0.68-1.1 m.