Did you know if you were in Africa or Asia, you might be very close to a leopard and not even know it was there? Leopards live alone, and their spots make perfect camouflage. They are probably the best stalkers of the big cats and can move very quietly through the grass. In addition, they are good swimmers and excellent climbers.
When they can be seen, leopards use their bodies to communicate. If leopards aren’t hunting, they can move through a herd of antelope without alarming them by flipping their tails over their backs to show the white underneath. This is a message to the antelope that they are not looking for prey. Leopards also have spots on the backs of their ears that look like eyes so they can trick predators that might try to attack them from behind.
When a leopard is looking for prey, almost anything goes. They will eat small rodents, fish, jackals, baboons, antelope or even wildebeests. They are so strong, they can pull animals even larger than themselves up into a tree. This helps them keep their meal safe from lions or hyenas that might try to steal it.
Even though leopards can live in a wide variety of places and eat a wide variety of things, they are still endangered. They are hunted for their fur, and they are killed because they prey on livestock and have occasionally attacked humans.