Leopard (Panthera pardus)

This mammal forms part of the fauna that inhabited the lands around Gibraltar’s caves during the Middle Palaeolithic. It is a feline that has adapted very well to different landscapes. The surrounding forests, scrub and wetlands that dotted the coastal plain (now submerged due to rising sea levels) at the base of the Rock of Gibraltar would have been its hunting grounds – stalking prey in the undergrowth and consuming them up in trees where they would shelter away from other carnivores, such as lions and hyaenas. The many rocky areas in Gibraltar would have also made good hunting grounds for this species.

The leopard has the widest prey range of all the felines, so a landscape which holds great biodiversity, as we know was the case in Gibraltar, is well suited for it. These leopards would have had deer, wild boar and aurochs in forested areas, ibexes in rocky areas and even monk seals along the coastline. Their opportunistic nature would also not let them reject smaller prey such as terrestrial birds, rodents or amphibians. There is no doubt that their main competitors in this area would have been the spotted hyaenas and Neanderthals, which they would have avoided.