| North Chinese Leopard | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | P. pardus |
| Subspecies: | P. p. japonensis |
| Trinomial name | |
| Panthera pardus japonensis (Gray, 1862) |
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The North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) is a leopard subspecies native to northern China, and has been classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN since 2002.[1]
Its prey base consists of deer and wild boar, but like any leopard it will eat almost anything it can catch including birds, rodents and even insects.
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About the same size as its northern cousin the Indochinese leopard, the North Chinese leopard also has similar fur coloration and density, although it is a little darker and shorter. The average weight in the wild is 50 kg (110 lb) for adult males and 32 kg (70 lb) for females.
This range of this subspecies is well fragmented today but it once ranged from Central China from Lanzhou, north to the mountains south of the Chinese Gobi Desert, and east through Harbin.
The North Chinese leopard mates in January and February and after a gestation period of 105-110 days two to three young are born. The cubs weigh about one pound at birth, and open their eyes when they are about 10 days old. They will stay with their mother until they are about 20-24 months old.
Like all leopards, the North Chinese leopard is a solitary cat except for mating pairs and females with cubs. Adult males and females usually maintain territories. A male's territory will overlap the territory of more than one female.