Information
The
leopard is a versatile hunter and generally nocturnal
in its pursuit of prey - however the increased frequency
of hunting found in the female raising young often leads
to more opportunist hunting during daylight hours. The
type of prey taken by the leopard is again dependant largely
upon its locale - in the open grasslands of Africa where
roaming herds of large to medium sized herbivores are
common the leopard will take young eland and wildebeest,
impala and gazelle.
However, in the same areas the leopard will also take
small mammals such as hares and rock hyrax, reptiles and
insects. In contrast, in the west and central forested
regions of Africa the leopards prey consists mainly of
the smaller antelope such as duiker, small monkeys and
various rodents such as rats, squirrels and porcupines.
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