What kind of trackes do leopard make?

Answer 1

I'll focus on leopard specifically..

All cats have three "lobes" on the base of the "Pad".

Four toes show in the tracks of the front and back feet.

Aside from Cheetah, all cats keep their claws sheathed when walking.

So, three lobes on pad + no claw marks = cat.

Next, the size of an animal's footprint is proportional to the size of the animal. Big track=big animal and of course big cat track = big cat.

What big cats are there aside from leopards sharing the same habitats?

Well, in Sub-Saharan Africa where the largest populations exist, lions are also found.

We have already established that big cat track = big cat so how big are leopards compared to lions?

Lions are a lot bigger! The average leopard in the Cape area of South Africa is only (male) 28kgs and 58kg in the Hwange National Park area of South Africa. The average male lion on the other hand ways around 200kg, depending on the area.

An average large male leopard of around 50kg will have a track length (the track being the paw impression not the stride length!) of around 90mm whilst a a lion of around 225kg will have a track length of around 180mm.

The fact that the tracks are so different different doesn't mean the two species can't be confused. For example a lion cub track can be the same size as a leopard track. The difference is that front lion tracks especially are "messy" and more elongated; not neatly rounded in shape and symmetric as in the case of leopards.

lions' toes are less rounded and more elongated than leopards' toes.

To tell the whether it is a male or female leopard look at the straddle. The straddle is how widely or narrowly a human or animal places their feet when walking. This is usually measured by drawing a line from the heel of the right fore foot track to the heel of the right rear foot track and doing the same with the left feet. The distance between the two lines is the straddle.

A male leopard has a wider straddle than a female leopard. Imagine a fashion model walking down the ramp placing her feet in front of each other and compare that to a big guy walking along with his thighs and crotch area getting in the way...

Now look down at your own feet. Notice how your toes are pointing in the same general direction that you are pointing? Well the same applies to leopards. The pad points to the rear and the toes point to the front, so, unless the animal is walking backwards, it moves in the direction its toes are pointing.

You can also tell whether a leopard is walking forwards, backwards or sideways, the height and weight, condition, speed, how long ago it was there and many other details.

I won't go into that now. I am busy writing a book on the subject of tracking men and animals and how to determine or estimate all these different facts with real accuracy.