Leopards in Serengeti national park
Leopards in Serengeti national park: Leopards are vulnerable animals as listed by IUCN Red List occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and small parts of western and Central Asia including Tanzania. In Tanzania leopards occur in large numbers in Serengeti national park.
Serengeti national park is one of the great wildlife watching destinations in the world, Serengeti national park is a renowned Tanzania safari destination for the annual wildebeest migration and the big five. The wildebeest migration is a natural wonder and the largest movement of animals on planet earth involving the movement of 1.5 million wildebeests accompanied by thousands of zebras and Thomson gazelles. Serengeti national park is located in the northwestern Tanzania bordering the international border of Kenya and Tanzania in the north, the park covers an area of 14,763 square kilometers consisting of rolling grassland, savannah, riverine forest and woodlands.
Serengeti national park is a remarkable and recognized home for the big five animals on the continent of Africa including leopards, leopards are one of the five extant species of the genus Panthera and a member of the Felidae family.
Leopards are closely related to lions, tigers and jaguars and amongst these big cats, they are the graceful and powerful among them. When compared to other big cats, leopards have relatively short legs, a long body and a large skull, the skin of the most leopards are light colored with distinctive dark spots referred to as rosettes because of the striking resemblance to the shape of shapes. There also black leopards which are rare species, black leopards appear to have one distinctive color and their sports are hard to distinguish a reason to why they are called black panthers.
Leopards are very strong swimmers and noticed to be comfortable in waters where they rest to eat fish and crabs, leopards are also good hunters and they are noticed to express impressive hunting skills. Leopards are strong and comfortable while tree branches and amble to ambush and kill its prey from there, the spotted coat of their bodies allow them to camouflage into the tree branches and blend into the leaves and they attack heir predators without being noticed. After hunting, leopards drag the bodies of the animals to the tree branches in hopes of keep them safe from other predators such as lions, hyenas and scavengers.
Leopards mostly attack small animals such as predators, deer, bush pigs, dogs, kobs and many more, leopards also hunt in the tall grass where they smoothly hide and ambush their prey with a deadly pounce.
Breeding in leopards
A female leopard can give birth at any time of the year and they usually give birth to two greyish cubs, the cubs are born with clear skin with visible spots. After the birth of the cubs, the mother hides her cubs from one safe location to another for safety purposes until they are old enough to begin playing and learning how to hunt. Cubs stay with their mother for about 2 years and they turn into solitary animals as their nature is.
Leopards in Serengeti national park
Leopards in Serengeti national park are recorded to be over 1000 individuals living in the savannah plains of the park, these leopards are clear seen throughout the savannah plains of the park but commonly seen in Seronera and lobo valley in large numbers.
Leopards in Seronera valley, Seronera valley also known as central Serengeti in Serengeti national park is the best area on the African continent to view carnivore animals including the leopard. Seronera valley lies in the heart of Serengeti national located in the south – central region, leopards in Seronera valley are best sighted along Seronera River which crosses through the valley.
Leopards in the Lobo Valley, Lobo valley in Serengeti national park is an impressive area in the northern Serengeti hosting a huge population of wildlife species and great site of Tanzania wildlife tours in Serengeti national park. Leopards in Lobo Valley are seen resting in the shadowy branches of yellow barked acacia trees lining up the banks of river and springs dominating the valley.
Apart from Leopards, there are other animals which call Serengeti national park a home such as lions, African elephants, cape buffaloes, rhinos, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, wildebeests, hartebeests, topi, waterbucks, masai giraffes, eland and many more.
