BOO!

A BLACK LEOPARD

The cat with the scary name, Boo Leopard was born in August, 1991 and bought as a pet from a breeder in Texas. The little cub was kept locked in a small closet whenever he "misbehaved" or when his owners were away. The man who owned him would also put on heavy gauntlets and wrestle with the young leopard, which is never a smart thing to do with a growing predator! Dismayed that their pet was destroying their lovely beach house, Boo's owners sought a new home for him, and he joined us at Shambala on January 4, 1992. This malnourished, very aggressive animal was given the name Masharufu, but quickly became known simply as Boo. Because of his early mistreatment he quite understandably dislikes and mistrusts humans, and so he is not part of our public safari tour.

The leopard (Panthera Pardus) is a highly adaptable species able to exist wherever it finds enough food and sufficient cover. It occupies a wide range of habitats, and can be found in Africa, Asia Minor, Central Asia, and the Far East. Within its enormous area of distribution throughout the African continent, there are very few habitats in which it has not successfully established itself. Closely related to the lion and tiger, leopards vary greatly in size and markings. They weigh, on average, from 60 to 200 pounds (27 to 90 kilograms) and are about 84 inches (213 centimeters) long, excluding the 36-inch (91-centimeter) tail. Some leopards, however, can grow much larger. In captivity, the leopard can live over 20 years.

The leopard climbs with perfect ease and agility, running up a tree trunk like a huge cat and usually coming down head first. The young Boo, for example, was a noted escape artist before his handlers put him in compounds that were securely covered! Leopards are strong swimmers, but do not lie in the water as tigers often will, and display all the domestic cat's dislike for water.

There's an old saying that the leopard cannot change his spots, and yes, Boo does have them. His spots, or "rosettes," are on a black background instead of the golden one usually associated with leopards, and so are almost invisible except in bright sunlight. The pattern isn't just on the fur; the spots are also "skin deep." This black, or melanistic form of the leopard is very rare on the African continent except in the Ethiopian highlands. They are most commonly found in the dark rain forests in India, Java, and Malaysia, and were once thought to be a separate species called the "black panther."

Leopards have long been hunted for their skins. T he International Union for the Conservation of Nature and The World Wildlife Fund have had to list several subspecies as in imminent danger of extermination. Latest figures indicate the total estimated number of leopards in the vicinity of 10,000 in the wild.

Would you like to "adopt" Boo, or one of the other "Wild Ones?"
Check out Shambala's exciting "Adopt-a-Wild One" program!