A melanistic jaguar in a forested area during daytime with green foliage and brown tree trunks. 16:14
The Lion Whisperer channel icon The Lion WhispererOriginal creator 2M views Save

Inside the enclosure with two black leopards

When Kevin Richardson comes through the gate, the two black leopards are already sitting side by side like a pair of palace guards. Duke and Khan are brothers, and the lesson he has come to give is about touch. more

Kevin is better known as the Lion Whisperer, but these two aren't the type to run up for a hug, and they have their own ideas about the lesson. Within a minute or two they are tussling, and one settles who is in charge by sitting on the other. "Certainly a lot of touch going on there," Kevin says.

He wants to start with whiskers. A leopard has them on his face and above his eyes, and from tip to tip they span the width of his body. If they do not touch on either side of a gap, he knows his head and body will fit through. For a cat that is out mostly at night, in bush where he can't always see, that matters.

Then comes the tongue, which is rough on every big cat. Kevin is explaining how it works meat off a bone when one of the brothers starts working on his arm. Some people take that as love. Kevin says the leopard does like him, or he would not be in there, but the licking is mostly about dead skin and the salt in his sweat.

A melanistic jaguar in a forested area during daytime with green foliage and brown tree trunks. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
When Kevin Richardson comes through the gate, the two black leopards are already sitting side by side like a pair of palace guards.

Pawing is next, and one brother shows it off by reaching for something Kevin won't let him have. Leopards are curious. When they find something new in the bush, they think twice, then touch it again and again to see what it does. They're also very quick. If you think you can outrun a leopard, Kevin says, "you've got another thing coming."

Kevin Richardson, a man with gray hair and a beard, stands near a wall and looks down. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Kevin explains how quick a curious leopard can be.

Then the brothers get cranky with each other again, and this time the other one gets his own back. Their noises are less roar than gargle. Kevin says this is normal for cats. Leopards usually live alone, but these two have lived together so long that they have become very tolerant.

In the middle of the scuffle, Kevin points out their paws. A leopard can move each toe in a way other big cats cannot, so the paws feel and grab almost like hands. "Like little fingers," he says.

Kevin Richardson, with short hair and a beard, looks toward the camera outdoors near a wall and trees. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Kevin points out how a leopard can move each toe, almost like a hand.

As a reward for being good sports, they get their favorite treat, and it comes in a can. Every cat alive knows the sound of a can opening, and these two are no different. Getting the empty can back is the hard part. Grabbing food from a leopard isn't smart, so Kevin uses a decoy. Normally a rock works, and it does.

Duke gets a little catnip next. This is a lesson on touch, but now he is using smell, taste and touch all at once, and he's getting very happy about it. While he rubs against it, Kevin talks about the coat. Leopard fur is far softer than a lion's or a hyena's. "It's like silk," he says.

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A little catnip, and a lesson on touch turns into a lesson on all five senses.

Khan gets catnip too. Soon he is grooming himself all over, right where the catnip went, and Kevin tells him he is a lovely animal. Khan is too busy to answer.