Big Cats 24/7: Fun Facts About Leopards

In Season 1 of “Big Cats 24/7,” we met Xudum, a clever female leopard determined to be a mother. While she struggled to protect her kills and raise her cubs, she proved to be an amazing hunter, leaping on prey from high above in trees.

In Season 2, we meet a new leopard, Lediba. With two cubs of her own, her story may look a lot like Xudum’s at first glance — but with the huge Xudum Pride on the horizon and dangerous male leopards closing in, she has a lot to teach us about survival on the Okavango Delta.

Pounce into Season 2 of “Big Cats 24/7” and learn some fun facts about leopards like Lediba and her babies!

Leopards Don’t Have Spots

They say a leopard can’t change its spots, but that might be because these big cats don’t have spots at all. Instead, they’re covered in two-tone rosettes — yellowish patches of fur surrounded by black splotches. From a distance, they look like spots and help leopards blend expertly into their surroundings.

Males Are Twice the Size of Females

Males weigh between 130 and nearly 200 pounds, while females weigh only about 88 pounds. This is called “sexual dimorphism,” meaning there are significant differences between the males and females of the species.

Males have exclusive territories, fiercely patrolling and defending them from the other boys. Female territories may overlap with one another and with the males. Sometimes, mothers and daughters even share space — but because leopards are solitary, they don’t exactly hang out.

Leopards Have the Most Varied Diet of Any Big Cat

Leopards eat protein in almost any form, including carrion (dead animals). In fact, they have the most varied diets of all cat species, regularly munching on:

• Impala and other hoofed animals.
• Small and medium mammals like monkeys.
• Fish and crabs.
• Reptiles.
• Birds.
• Beetles.

Unlike other big cats, they also snack on other carnivores, including wild dogs, cheetahs, jackals and lion cubs. They may even eat from another leopard’s carcass.

Leopards Can Eat Over 10 Pounds of Meat per Day

Leopards eat an average of about 4.5 to 11 pounds of meat per day. Experts estimate that cubs consume:

• 25% as much as an adult female when 1-3 months old.
• 50% between 3 and 8 months.
• The same amount between 10 months and independence.

In general, females without cubs and males will hunt every three days. However, for moms like Lediba, hunting every other day is the best way to keep everyone fed.

Leopards Jump Out of Trees to Ambush Prey

Most hunts occur at night, although late afternoon and early morning kills are common, too. This gives leopards the chance to stalk their prey in thick cover or even from the branches of a tree, sometimes going unnoticed for several hours. When the moment is right, they ambush with a pounce before the animal can react. 

A leopard’s maximum speed is 37 miles per hour, and they can kill prey three to four times their own weight — so they’re certainly fearsome hunters. But that doesn’t mean they’re always well-fed.

Most Leopard Hunts Fail

Like lions, leopards are often called fairly unsuccessful hunters. In some places, their success rate is as low as 16%. On average, less than one in five hunts ends in a kill, with failure more common during the day.

However, females with cubs tend to be more successful hunters, which is good news for Lediba and her two cubs. They’re between three and four months old when we first meet them in Season 2, so they’ll rely on her hunting prowess for a while yet — and she’ll share up to 27% of her food with them now that they’re eating meat.

Leopards Hide Their Prey in Trees

To avoid other predators, leopards haul their prey up into the trees — the only cat to have evolved this strategy. They can haul their snacks almost 40 feet in the air, even if the kill weighs up to 140% of their body mass. 

If they’re lucky, the leopards can munch on the carcass for up to six days. However, lions can sometimes climb into trees and steal the snack — a technique you may see from the clever lionesses of the Xudum Pride.

Cubs May Get Left Alone for up to Six Days

Moms like Lediba leave their cubs alone when hunting, stashing them away to keep them safe. The babies won’t start eating meat until around two months old, and they won’t be weaned off milk until four months.

When the cubs are 10 months old, they’ll start going hunting with their mothers. They stick to her side and hunt together until they head out on their own.

Males Kill Cubs

Male leopards are infamous for killing cubs they suspect aren’t theirs. They’re also aggressive toward females and babies when competing for resources, and they don’t stick around to provide any parental support. However, male leopards will fiercely defend their territory from rival males and tolerate cubs that they suspect may be their offspring.

Female leopards mate with multiple males, making them unsure which cubs are theirs and helping prevent infanticide. 

Leopard Moms Move Cubs up to a Mile Every Day

Moms like Lediba keep their babies in dens until they’re between six and eight weeks old. 

When they’re big enough, these babies find themselves traveling up to a mile a day, constantly finding new hideouts to help avoid predators and male leopards.

Less Than Half of Leopard Cubs Survive to Adulthood

Only 37% of cubs survive to independence, as we learned from Xudum in Season 1 — so Lediba will have her work cut out for her in Season 2. Her babies stayed in a den until they were about eight weeks old, when they started eating meat, but they’ll stay with her until they’re at least a year old. In the meantime, they’ll start helping her hunt at about 10 months old.

Leopards Make a Sound Called “Sawing” to Mark Territory

“Sawing” is a hoarse, rasping noise that sounds like sawing wood. Leopards do this to mark territory, advertise their presence and sometimes even communicate with offspring. You can hear this mighty racket from nearly two miles away!

Check out our article on the Sounds of the Savannah to hear what "sawing," lion roars, and cheetah chirps sound like for yourself! 

Learn More About Leopard Life

Want to see Lediba and her furry family in action? They’ll face plenty of challenges this season, with the growing Xudum Pride nearby and the constant threat of male leopards like the mysterious Bongwe. 

Catch up on Xudum’s adventures in Season 1 and get ready for Season 2 of “Big Cats 24/7” on PBS!

Can't get enough of these elusive cats? Check out our leopard fact sheet!