The Lion Who Didn't Want To Look Like A Giraffe!
SA4x4|November 2019
If lions are the ‘king of the jungle’, then leopards have got to be its ‘prince regent’!
Lorraine Doyle
The Lion Who Didn't Want To Look Like A Giraffe!

Powerful, athletic, graceful and stealthy, they are the epitome of an apex predator. Leopards are one of the most adaptable of all cats, having a wider distribution than any other large carnivore. The fact that it is the most common large predator found in southern African fossil deposits, which date back 1-1.8 million years ago, pays tribute to this adaptiveness. The word ‘leopard’ stems from the Greek words leōn (lion) and pardos (panther), and the ancient belief is that it is a hybrid of both. Such an idea is, of course, the stuff of legend, with the lion and the leopard having diverged from a shared common ancestor some 2-3 million years ago. The modern leopard emerged 470 000 to 825 000 years ago in Africa (different fossil dating methods give different results) with Asian populations believed to be descended from African leopards, founded in an out of-Africa dispersal event.

Globally their range spans both hemispheres, where they can be found in at least 80 countries. They are able to occupy a highly diverse array of habitats, occurring at elevations ranging from sea level to 5 700m. Their ability to inhabit such a variety of habitats is attributed primarily to their Catholic diet. Leopards are not fussy eaters. They will prey on anything from relatively large antelope, to rodents, fish and even dung beetles.

Bu hikaye SA4x4 dergisinin November 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye SA4x4 dergisinin November 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

SA4X4 DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
SA4x4

Uganda The Pearl Of Africa

This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters

time-read
10+ dak  |
March 2020
Chewy, But Edible
SA4x4

Chewy, But Edible

Take another look at those garden pests

time-read
4 dak  |
March 2020
Auto Perfection?
SA4x4

Auto Perfection?

Adding a six-speed auto to Mahindra’s workhorse ups the game for this value proposition

time-read
3 dak  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Defenders On Tour

The second 2019 Defender Trophy event kicked off in Limpopo and was unique in that participants camped in three different countries…

time-read
9 dak  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Rad Rig The Dream Catcher

Motorhome world’s one-of-a-kind luxury globetrotter

time-read
4 dak  |
March 2020
The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader
SA4x4

The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader

A very important distinction needs to be made between the offroader and the overland traveller; often the two are thought to be the same.

time-read
5 dak  |
March 2020
Steelmate TP-S9
SA4x4

Steelmate TP-S9

Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)

time-read
3 dak  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Light on the dark side

VW AMAROK DARK LABEL

time-read
4 dak  |
March 2020
Monkey business!
SA4x4

Monkey business!

Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are the most widespread of the African monkeys; occurring from the Ethiopian Rift Valley, highlands east of the Rift, and southern Somalia, through the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia (east of the Luangwa Valley), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and all nine provinces in South Africa.

time-read
3 dak  |
March 2020
SA4x4

GREAT ZOOKS

There are a few mishaps as a bunch of Jimnys tackle one of Lesotho’s premier off-road challenges, Baboon’s Pass

time-read
10 dak  |
March 2020