Leopard prints

Description:

Prints of a young adult leopard, fore feet about 90mm (photo 1 & 2), hind feet about 115mm long (photo 3), but as the ground was a little soft the actual feet may be slightly smaller. Front feet noticeably round in outline which is typical for the species. No claws again typical of leopard who keep their claws sheathed when not in use. Stride about 1m. Hind foot print behind fore print which suggests this leopard was not in a hurry, just sauntering past !!

Habitat:

by cattle kraals (pens) on cattle ranch, 3km from local village, subtropical bushveld.

Notes:

there were no cattle in the pen that night. Our usual policy is to keep new born calves and their mothers in the pens for 2 weeks and then let them out together. All cattle come in during the day to drink and rest. Traditionally calves are kept in for a couple of months with the mother feeding them during the day and leaving at night to feed herself but the calves don't grow so well so I let mine out from an early age. It's a risk but there again the last calf to be taken by a leopard was 7 months old. I think its worth forfeiting the odd calf and have Leopard on the farm but I would prefer them to stick to Impala as their staple diet or better still Wildebeest - see spotting 1957150 !!