The scientific name of the Indian leopard is Panthera pardus fusca, which is a species of P. Pardus leopard. Apart from India, they are also found in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. People kill it because of its skin, due to which the number of Indian leopards has reduced considerably.
The Indian leopard is a nocturnal creature. They are an expert in seeing and hunting at night. Its light and thin body is beneficial for easily climbing and descending any type of tree. Indian leopards are good swimmers, and can even run at 60 kmph. This is almost twice as much as a professional runner. In Rajgir Zoo Safari you will see leopards mostly resting on trees. However, leopards rest on trees in a way that makes them difficult to see.
Indian leopards like to live in caves. Females are responsible for bringing food and males are responsible for protecting the territory. Indian leopards can breed in all seasons of the year and the cubs remain dependent on their mother for 3 years and then start hunting alone. The lifespan of a healthy Indian leopard is 12 to 18 years.
You must have seen that some leopards come to rural areas due to which people remain in panic. The tiger is considered to be the reason for the leopard to enter among the people. Due to the increase in the number of tigers in the last few years, leopards are leaving the forest areas and entering the rural areas. Leopards do not hunt in the hunting grounds occupied by tigers.
Every year about 500 leopards are killed by humans because of their valuable skin. In some places, it is also seen that leopards coming to rural areas are killed by the villagers. For their conservation, countries like India and China have made many plans, but they are also failing.