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The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant cat species in the genus Panthera.It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes.Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of 92–183 cm (36–72 in) with a 66–102 cm (26–40 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 60–70 cm (24–28 in).
Leopards inhabiting the mountains of the Cape Provinces appear smaller and less heavy than leopards further north. [18] Leopards in Somalia and Ethiopia are also said to be smaller. [19] The skull of a West African leopard specimen measured 11.25 in (286 mm) in basal length, and 7.125 in (181.0 mm) in breadth, and weighed 1 lb 12 oz (0.79 kg).
Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae, and one of two extant genera in the subfamily Pantherinae.It contains the largest living members of the cat family. There are five living species: the jaguar, leopard, lion, snow leopard and tiger, as well as a number of extinct species, including the cave lion and American lion.
The Leopard of the Caucasus, illustration by Joseph Smit, 1899. Felis tulliana was the scientific name proposed by Achille Valenciennes in 1856, who described a skin and skull from a leopard killed near Smyrna, in western Anatolia. [2] In the 19th and 20th centuries, several naturalists described leopard zoological specimens from the Middle East:
The leopard population has decreased drastically in Arabia as shepherds and villagers kill leopards in retaliation for attacks on livestock. In addition, hunting of leopard prey species such as hyrax and ibex by local people and habitat fragmentation, especially in the Sarawat Mountains, made the continued survival of the leopard population ...
The snow leopards arrived ahead of the opening of a new habitat at the zoo, containing more than 600 tonnes of scree and rocks to recreate the terrain of the Himalayan mountains where they live in ...
Leopardus species have spotted fur, with ground colors ranging from pale buff, ochre, fulvous and tawny to light gray. [5] Their small ears are rounded and white-spotted; their rhinarium is prominent and naked above, and their nostrils are widely separated. [6]
However, alleged leopard sightings are still being reported, and islanders believe that the Zanzibar leopard is still alive. [16] By the mid-1990s, the Zanzibar leopard population was considered extinct. [17] In 1997 and 2001, rumors circulated about the discovery of leopard scat, but both samples were lost before they could be analyzed. [5]