Caucasian leopards are solitary and very shy — they almost never let humans see them. They are mostly active at night, padding silently through the forest on large paws. Their spotted coats break up their outline perfectly against dappled forest light and rocky shadows, making them almost invisible even when they are close.
In Georgia, the leopard lives mainly in protected areas such as Vashlovani and Borjomi-Kharagauli national parks. Scientists use camera traps — cameras that take a photo automatically when an animal walks past — to count them and study their movements. Each leopard has a unique pattern of spots, just like a human fingerprint, which helps researchers tell individuals apart.
Caucasian leopards eat deer, wild boar, and smaller animals. They are excellent climbers and often drag their prey up into trees to eat safely away from other animals. A leopard is strong enough to carry an animal heavier than itself straight up a tree trunk — one of the most impressive feats of strength in the animal world.
Conservation projects in Georgia are working hard to protect these leopards. Some leopards have even been released back into the wild from breeding programmes, and camera-trap pictures occasionally catch a leopard with cubs — always a cause for celebration among conservationists. Every individual born in the wild is a hopeful sign for the species.