- International calls: +27 13 750 1470
- Local calls: 013 751 2527
- [email protected]
The African Leopard (Panthera Pardus) is the nominate subspecies of the Leopard, native to many countries in Africa. The Leopard is a slender and muscular cat, with relatively short limbs and a broad head. They are part of the “Big Five”.
The Leopard has the largest distribution of all wild cats, occurring widely in Africa, the Caucasus and Asia, although populations are fragmented and declining, it is considered to be locally extinct in North Africa. It inhabits foremost savanna and rainforest, and areas where grasslands, woodlands and riverine forests remain largely undisturbed.
The African Leopard exhibits great variation in coat colour, depending on location and habitat. Coat colour varies from pale yellow to deep gold or tawny, and sometimes black, and is patterned with black rosettes while the head, lower limbs and belly are spotted with solid black. It is sexually dimorphic with males larger and heavier than females. Male Leopard, averaging 58 kg (128 lb) with 90 kg (200 lb) being the maximum weight attained by a male and females weighing about 37.5 kg (83 lb) on average.
The Leopard is a solitary and territorial animal. It is typically shy and alert when crossing roadways and encountering oncoming vehicles, but may be emboldened to attack people or other animals when threatened. Adults associate only in the mating season. Females continue to interact with their offspring even after weaning and have been observed sharing kills with their offspring when they cannot obtain any prey. They produce a number of vocalizations, including growls, snarls, meows, and purrs. The roaring sequence in Leopard consists mainly of grunts, also called “sawing”, as it resembles the sound of sawing wood. Cubs call their mother with an urr-urr sound.
The whitish spots on the back of its ears are thought to play a role in communication. It has been hypothesized that the white tips of their tails may function as a ‘follow-me’ signal in intraspecific communication. However, no significant association were found between a conspicuous colour of tail patches and behavioural variables in carnivores.
Leopard are mainly active from dusk till dawn and will rest for most of the day and some hours at night in thickets, among rocks or over tree branches. Leopard have been observed walking 1–25 km (0.62–15.53 mi) across their range at night; wandering up to 75 km (47 mi) if disturbed. In some regions, they are nocturnal. In western African forests, they have been observed to be largely diurnal and hunting during twilight, when their prey animals are active; activity patterns vary between seasons.
Leopard can climb trees quite skilfully, often resting on tree branches and descending headfirst. They can run at over 58 km/h (36 mph; 16 m/s), leap over 6 m (20 ft) horizontally, and jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) vertically.
Males occupy home ranges that often overlap with a few smaller female home ranges, probably as a strategy to enhance access to females. In the Ivory Coast, the home range of a female was completely enclosed within a male’s. Females live with their cubs in home ranges that overlap extensively, probably due to the association between mothers and their offspring. There may be a few other fluctuating home ranges belonging to young individuals. It is not clear if male home ranges overlap as much as those of females do. Individuals try to drive away intruders of the same sex.
The Leopard has an exceptional ability to adapt to changes in prey availability, and has a very broad diet. It takes small prey where large ungulates are less common. The known prey of Leopard ranges from dung beetles to adult Eland, which can reach 900 kg (2,000 lb). In sub-Saharan Africa, at least 92 prey species have been documented in Leopard scat, including rodents, birds, small and large antelope, Hyrax, Hare, and arthropods. Leopard generally focus their hunting activity on locally abundant medium-sized ungulates in the 20 to 80 kg (44 to 176 lb) range, while opportunistically taking other prey. Average intervals between ungulate kills range from seven to 12–13 days. Leopard often hide large kills in trees, a behaviour for which great strength is required. There have been several observations of Leopard hoisting carcasses of young Giraffe, estimated to weigh up to 125 kg (276 lb), i.e. 2–3 times the weight of the Leopard, up to 5.7 m (19 ft) into trees. The Leopard depends mainly on its acute senses of hearing and vision for hunting. It primarily hunts at night in most areas. Average daily consumption rates of 3.5 kg (7 lb 11 oz) were estimated for males and of 2.8 kg (6 lb 3 oz) for females. In the southern Kalahari Desert, Leopard meet their water requirements by the bodily fluids of prey and succulent plants; they drink water every two to three days and feed infrequently on moisture rich plants such as Gemsbok cucumbers, watermelon and Kalahari sour grass.
On average, females begin to breed between the ages of 2½ and three, and males between the ages of two and three. The female’s oestrous cycle lasts about 46 days, and she is usually in heat for 6–7 days. Gestation lasts for 90 to 105 days. Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2–4 cubs. The mortality rate of cubs is estimated at 41–50% during the first year. Lion and Spotted Hyena are the biggest cause for Leopard cub mortality during their first year. Male Leopard are known to cause infanticide, in order to bring the female back into heat. Intervals between births average 15 to 24 months, but can be shorter, depending on the survival of the cubs.
Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree or thicket. Newborn cubs weigh 280–1,000 g (9.9–35.3 oz), and are born with closed eyes, which open four to nine days after birth. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage is also more grey in colour with less defined spots. They begin to eat meat at around nine weeks. Around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year of age, cubs can probably fend for themselves, but will remain with the mother for 18–24 months. After separating from their mother, sibling cubs may travel together for months. Both male and female Leopard typically reach sexual maturity at 2–2⅓ years.
The generation length of the Leopard is 9.3 years. The average life span of a Leopard is 12–17 years. The oldest Leopard was a captive female that died at the age of 24 years, 2 months and 13 days.
The Leopard is adapted to a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to steppe, including arid and montane areas. It is an opportunistic predator, hunting mostly ungulates and primates. The African Leopard inhabits a wide range of habitats within Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannahs, excluding only extremely sandy desert.
Planning carefully is the key to a good Leopard taxidermy job. When tanning and oiling the hides, the best chemicals and methods in the world are used to make sure they will last for generations. At Lifeform Taxidermy, we carefully choose our forms to make sure they fit well, and we’ll even custom make the forms according to any instruction, you may have in mind, at no extra cost. Full-mount trophies come with standard natural habitat bases that are made just for them. We use only the best materials and our 40 years of experience in the field to give your trophies new meaning. The finished trophies look life-like. When repair is needed, every effort is made to repair cuts and scrapes while keeping bullet damage to a minimum. Skin preparation and storage tips for a flawless Leopard trophy.
Take care of your trophy before you bring it to the taxidermist – field preparation is the most important start. As soon as you take the hit on your trophy, it starts to rot, and the heat of Africa speeds up the decaying process. The hunter must not drag the body of the animal from the site where it was shot to the waiting hunting truck. The trophy should be protected from the hot metal bed of the hunting truck with a thick layer of cut grass or leaves.
So that nothing goes wrong, the skinning needs to start right away. Remove all of the meat, fat, dirt, and blood from the skin. Clean the skin well. After that, allow the skin to drip dry for a short time, it should then be salted. It is recommended to soak the skin in a salt solution for at least five hours and ideally overnight. Use about 20 kg of salt per 100 litres of water. After taking the skin out of the solution, salt it while it is still flat and flesh side up on a clean surface. To get the full effect of the salt, it needs to be absorbed into the skin all over, into all the crevice’s, especially around the facial features. Put the skin in the shade with a layer of salt on it. After 24 hours, dry the cape. Fold with the hair and ears in when it’s dry. To stop insect damage, pesticides must be sprayed on the skin and in the storage area.
Leopard hunting may be the most thrilling adventure imaginable if everything goes smoothly, or the most stressful, exhausting, tedious, and stinky hunt imaginable if things don’t go as planned. It’s a lot like playing chess, where the object is to trick your opponent into a bad situation. When you can’t actively pursue your target, waiting for them to come to you may be both frustrating and exhilarating. As many a hunter has learned the hard way, a wounded Leopard can move with lightning speed, so every shot needs to count.
Bait is typically used when hunting Leopard. This animal can easily ambush an impala if it is hanged from a tree where it can be seen from a nearby blind. The Leopard is primarily a nocturnal predator, making it quite challenging to get in position for the shot, as he must be killed during daytime hours in just about all African countries. Although he could be killed with a.270 or 7mm, the.375 is still the legal minimum in most of Africa . Many professional hunters prefer a large calibre rifle.
How you choose an Leopard taxidermy mount depends on things like your budget, wall space, and personal taste. When it comes to the creation of a full mount, we find that considerable discussion with the customer yields the best results. This is due to the fact that each form is given a distinct shape and arrangement.
Life-Form Taxidermy will make an exact copy of the skin as soon as they get all of your mounting instructions. All of the skins are tanned and oiled with high-quality products and methods to make sure they are preserved for years. Each skin is put on a manikin to make sure that it fits well. After the eyes and ears are expertly placed, the skin is sewn by a professional. Before making any last changes, the taxidermist waits until the animal is dry. They put the trophies in crates, and the shipping company hired by the client brings them to the client.
Every year, dust the mounts with a soft brush or compressed air to fluff up the hair. Trophies should be protected from common pests by spraying a light mist of normal aerosol surface pesticide around them. Think about preserving your trophy with Mount Medix Africa. This is a product that Life-Form Taxidermy offers.
Keep trophies in a cool, dry place. Daylight makes the mounts fade over time, so artificial light is better. If there’s too much humidity, open the windows or turn on a fan. Due to salt and tan residue, hair can make moisture beads when the humidity is high. Using a tissue that soaks up water will also soak up the salts.
The pricing of any trophy is subject to the costing stipulated per taxidermy order, quantity of trophies and preferred mounting options, along with additional requirements.
Should you wish to receive a quotation prior to the hunt, the taxidermist can generate such for you. Please contact [email protected]
Taxidermy is an art form that involves a complicated step-by-step process to make sure that each trophy looks just right and is of a high enough quality that it will last your whole life.
The time it takes a taxidermist to mount an animal might range from days to weeks, and possibly several months, depending on the quantity of trophies per taxidermy order, the display preferences, and volumes of client trophies to be produced, simultaneously, per production schedule.
This depends largely on the “what, how, when” factors. A taxidermy order also only becomes available for production scheduling upon receipt of the required deposit and trophy mounting instructions.
