Leopards are adaptable and widespread big cats, operating as solitary, opportunistic predators whose diet spans over a hundred different species across their vast range, allowing them to thrive in diverse habitats. Leopards can and do eat wildebeest, but this large bovine is not considered a regular or preferred target in their day-to-day hunting strategy.
The Leopard’s Typical Diet
The leopard’s dietary profile is defined by a preference for medium-sized prey, which minimizes the risk of injury and provides a favorable energy return for a lone hunter. Scientific studies indicate that leopards preferentially target animals weighing 10 to 40 kilograms, with the preferred mass being around 25 kilograms. This size category includes common species like impala, bushbuck, warthogs, and small primates.
This strategy reflects the leopard’s solitary nature, as they lack the cooperative hunting ability needed to tackle massive animals. Targeting prey within this size band allows for efficient use of energy during the stalk and attack, ensuring the kill is completed quickly. Leopards also consume very small prey like rodents, birds, and reptiles, demonstrating a broad dietary breadth.
Wildebeest as Prey
A healthy, full-grown wildebeest presents a significant challenge, weighing several times the mass of an average leopard and possessing powerful horns and hooves. Leopards generally only attempt to take a wildebeest under specific circumstances, targeting vulnerable individuals such as newborn calves or sub-adults that lack the herd’s defensive coordination.
The leopard focuses on isolating a weaker member of the herd, such as a sick or injured adult, or a calf separated from its mother. The attack is an explosive ambush where the cat aims for the throat to deliver a suffocating bite, a technique necessary for dispatching large prey. Successfully taking down an adult wildebeest is a rare feat of strength and opportunism, often involving an attack on a sleeping animal.
Handling the Kill
Once a leopard secures a large carcass, such as a sub-adult wildebeest, a logistical challenge begins. Leopards hoist their kills into trees to protect the food from ground-based competitors like lions, hyenas, and jackals. By dragging the meal onto a high branch, the leopard secures its meal.
Moving a heavy carcass requires immense physical effort, often involving the leopard dragging a weight comparable to or exceeding its own body mass up a tree trunk. This necessity to defend the kill influences prey selection; a smaller animal is consumed quickly, but a large animal requires successful caching and significant subsequent energy expenditure.