The leopard is the most widespread cat in Asia and Africa. Highly adaptable, it roams in almost every environment from mountains, deserts, forests, plantations to cultivated lands and even stalks right through villages.

The only big cat in Africa to exploit an arboreal habitat, it sleeps, mates, moves and sometimes stalks prey in trees. The leopard usually drags its kill up trees for undistributed feeding or to cache the kill. One individual was seen carrying a young giraffe weighing 100 kg (heavier than itself) up a tree before feasting on it.

Rather difficult to spot, the leopard is secretive, solitary and nocturnal. It is also highly intelligent, cunning, quick and extremely dangerous. Leopards have been indiscriminately poached for their beautifully marked coat, making them one of the world’s most endangered cats.