leopards

an essay by Liam

Leopards are amazing animals! Their skin color is yellowish-orangish with black spots. An adult leopard's shoulder height is about 55-70 cm. A baby, like most big cats, is a cub. However, a male is called a prowl. A female is called a leopardess.

Leopards live in very many places. Some live in Africa. Some live in Asia, and some in Australia. They can live in trees, caves, and tunnels. The trees also help leopards rest and live.

Leopards eat a lot of different things. They are also called carnivores. They eat impala, deer, wild beast, monkeys, rodents, and in special occasions, birds. Their favorite food is deer.

The leopard has a lot of enemies. Some of them are lions, tigers, hyenas, baboons, pythons, and wild dogs. They fight back by hiding in caves, climbing up in trees, or fight the enemy.

Leopards only have a few ways to communicate. They might roar, growl, or scent. That is when they yawn, but not the tired kind.

Leopards have a lot of cat relatives. Some are lions, cheetahs, tigers, jaguars, and cougars. They even had a relative that was around when the dinosaurs were! They were very fierce, but not much bigger than your pet cats. All of them are similar, only different patterns in their fur.

Leopards are unusual in some ways. You may think leopards aren't shy, but they are! They only come out if they are fighting off predators, or if they are hunting.

Leopards aren't good pets. Unless you like to be hunted, killed, and eaten. Leopards do that, you know.