Representatives of the cat family have always attracted humanity. These animals are very graceful and agile, fast and have a magnificent color. Cats are kept at home, so there is no question of extinction of pets. But in the wild, animals are becoming smaller and smaller, and some species are generally on the verge of extinction. One of these is smoky leopard.
general characteristics
This representative of the feline genus occupies an intermediate position between large and small wild cats.
In most cases, the color of the animal is light yellow in color, but individuals are found and richly brown. On the skin, large spots of various shapes. The color of the spots may be solid or in the middle a little lighter. The color of the cat's chest and belly is light, with a small number of spots.
The average size of a smoky leopard (male in length, without a tail) is from 80 to 100 centimeters. The tail is long enough, up to 90 centimeters. The animal weighs about 20 kilograms, but some individuals reach 30. At the withers, an animal up to 50 centimeters high.
The mammal boasts magnificent fangs, the length of which is about 3.5 centimeters. For an animal of this size, these are quite large teeth.
The leopard's skull is elongated, the eyes are usually yellow, with oval pupils that are widely set on the muzzle.
Thanks to the long tail, the animal moves perfectly through the trees. The body of a leopard is strong. The animal searches for food mainly at night, looking for prey from tree branches and catching up on the ground. The diet is based on wild pigs and deer, sometimes the animal manages to catch cattle. Also feeds on birds and monkeys, reptiles and fish, porcupines. But in search of food in one day can go no more than 2 kilometers.
The cat has excellent vision, at dusk it also sees great. It is believed that the animal has 6 times better vision compared to humans.
In the zoo, animals live up to 20 years, how long they live in the wild is quite difficult to establish, since there is no way to watch them in the wild.
Area
To date, smoky leopard is found in the subtropics and tropics, in Southeast Asia. The cat lives in the foothills of the Himalayas, in Malacca and southern China, in Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The animal prefers rainforests, mainly at an altitude of up to 2 thousand meters above sea level. This beast can be found in dry forests, in wetlands.
Behavior
The animal leads an active lifestyle around the clock. It can hunt even during the day, but prefers night time. Leopard swims perfectly and moves along horizontal branches. At the same time, it can lower its head down, hang on a branch like a sloth.
The animal lives alone, except for the mating season. The occupied area by one individual can reach 45 square kilometers.
Breeding and offspring
A photo of an animal - a smoky leopard - will not leave anyone indifferent, especially if the baby is photographed. Almost no one has seen how animals reproduce in the wild, since a cat lives in hard-to-reach places and all information about the process was obtained only at the zoo. In captivity, the female leads offspring in the spring.
Puberty occurs in 20-30 months of life. A pregnancy lasts from 87 to 110 days.
As a rule, the female gives birth to two blind kittens. It is extremely rare for up to 5 babies. Kids weigh no more than 150 grams and at the beginning of life practically do not move. Eyes open only at 2 weeks of age. And after about 1 month, the kids are already very active and very playful. Until the 70th day, kittens eat exclusively breast milk, no meat. From the 5th month of life, the animal begins to eat meat. And already by the 9th month the animal can live and hunt completely independently.
Species and subspecies
Not so long ago in the scientific world there was an opinion that a smoky leopard is presented in a single form. Although there are three subspecies, one of which is considered completely extinct - the Taiwan subspecies.
2-year (2006-2008) studies have disproved this theory. As a result, a new species was distinguished - the Bornite smoky leopard.
Kalimantine view
This is the second name of the Bornean leopard, which is the most poorly studied feline species and annual reports on the study of this animal gradually open the veil of it. Researchers get most of the information in the process of observing captive animals. In wildlife, the Bornean smoky leopard is a very rare animal.
The name of the beast was given by the eponymous name of the island of Kalimantin or Borneo. This is the only island in the world that is not only marine, but is divided by three states:
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Brunei.
Also, this species was seen on the islands of Sumatra and in Asia.
The island of Borneo itself is occupied by huge tracts of equatorial forest. Here is a unique flora and fauna. Therefore, there is an assumption that it is here that it will be possible to meet a smoky leopard, the coloring of which will be unique and this will be a new type of cat.
To date, it has not been established how many Bornean leopards exist in the world. For example, in Malaysia, in the state of Sabah, there were only 9 individuals per 100 square kilometers. That is, we can conclude that this animal needs protection, since it is a vulnerable species.
General characteristics and differences
If we compare the Borneian and ordinary smoky leopards, the first has longer and thicker fangs, and the jaw is also much more massive. On average, individuals of the Kalimantian cat are from 75 to 100 centimeters. In males, sexual dimorphism is much more pronounced, that is, they are much larger than females.
The color is also slightly different: in the Bornean look, the spots on the skin are much smaller and have a darker color. Inside the spots, as a rule, there are even smaller spots. The coat is much darker and has a gray tint, and on the back there must be a dark strip. But the main difference is the DNA structure, the codes in both animals vary greatly.
Security status
There is very little information about how many smoky leopards live in the wild. The main threat is, of course, people, they cut down the rainforests, which are the habitat for this mammal. At such a pace, it is possible that our children can see only in the photo of a smoky leopard.
In addition to deforestation, people kill these cats because of the beautiful fur. And the teeth of cats are used by local tribes for the preparation of folk potions. Back in 1991, many skins and teeth of a mammal were sold on the black market in China. It is for this reason that the Taiwanese leopard species has disappeared from the face of the earth. Although, since 1975, CITES has banned the sale of this animal, its skin and teeth.
In most countries that are the natural habitat of this animal, it is protected by law. But, of course, that the law alone does not change the situation. The same farmers are sure that leopards pose a huge threat to their farming by attacking livestock, although there are very few such facts.
