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63-523: Members of the society would allegedly dress in leopard skins, waylaying travelers with sharp claw-like weapons in the form of leopards' claws and teeth and engaging in cannibalism , but such claims have been disputed. Scholar Vicky van Bockhaven writes: Reports that the Anyoto sometimes imitated leopard attacks, and the existence of their costumes, played on the European imagination. Reports often mention

126-553: A cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus ). "Panther" is another common name, derived from Latin panther and ancient Greek πάνθηρ ( pánthēr ); The generic name Panthera originates in Latin panthera , a hunting net for catching wild beasts to be used by the Romans in combats. Pardus is the masculine singular form. Felis pardus was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The generic name Panthera

189-415: A leopon was born in 1959 and 1961, all cubs were spotted and bigger than a juvenile leopard. Attempts to mate a leopon with a tigress proved unsuccessful. The leopard's fur is generally soft and thick, notably softer on the belly than on the back. Its skin colour varies between individuals from pale yellowish to dark golden with dark spots grouped in rosettes . Its underbelly is white and its ringed tail

252-1289: A 'follow-me' signal in intraspecific communication. However, no significant association were found between a conspicuous colour of tail patches and behavioural variables in carnivores. Leopards are mainly active from dusk till dawn and will rest for most of the day and some hours at night in thickets, among rocks or over tree branches. Leopards have been observed walking 1–25 km (0.62–15.53 mi) across their range at night; wandering up to 75 km (47 mi) if disturbed. In some regions, they are nocturnal . In western African forests, they have been observed to be largely diurnal and hunting during twilight, when their prey animals are active; activity patterns vary between seasons. Leopards can climb trees quite skillfully, often resting on tree branches and descending headfirst. They can run at over 58 km/h (36 mph; 16 m/s), leap over 6 m (20 ft) horizontally, and jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) vertically. In Kruger National Park , most leopards tend to keep 1 km (0.62 mi) apart. Males occasionally interact with their partners and cubs, and exceptionally this can extend beyond to two generations. Aggressive encounters are rare, typically limited to defending territories from intruders. In

315-430: A 2016 study revealed that the mitochondrial genomes of the leopard, lion and snow leopard are more similar to each other than their nuclear genomes , indicating that their ancestors hybridized with the snow leopard at some point in their evolution . The oldest unambiguous fossils of the leopard are from Eastern Africa, dating to around 2 million years ago. Leopard-like fossil bones and teeth possibly dating to

378-539: A 66–102 cm (26–40 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 60–70 cm (24–28 in). Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb). The leopard was first described in 1758, and several subspecies were proposed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, eight subspecies are recognised in its wide range in Africa and Asia . It initially evolved in Africa during

441-470: A South African reserve, a male was wounded in a male–male territorial battle over a carcass. Males occupy home ranges that often overlap with a few smaller female home ranges, probably as a strategy to enhance access to females. In the Ivory Coast , the home range of a female was completely enclosed within a male's. Females live with their cubs in home ranges that overlap extensively, probably due to

504-719: A leopard was reportedly a male eland weighing 900 kg (2,000 lb). A study in Wolong National Nature Reserve in southern China demonstrated variation in the leopard's diet over time; over the course of seven years, the vegetative cover receded, and leopards opportunistically shifted from primarily consuming tufted deer to pursuing bamboo rats and other smaller prey. The leopard depends mainly on its acute senses of hearing and vision for hunting. It primarily hunts at night in most areas. In western African forests and Tsavo National Park, they have also been observed hunting by day. They usually hunt on

567-471: A low of −25 °C (−13 °F). The leopard is a solitary and territorial animal. It is typically shy and alert when crossing roadways and encountering oncoming vehicles, but may be emboldened to attack people or other animals when threatened. Adults associate only in the mating season. Females continue to interact with their offspring even after weaning and have been observed sharing kills with their offspring when they can not obtain any prey. They produce

630-413: A number of vocalizations, including growls, snarls, meows, and purrs. The roaring sequence in leopards consists mainly of grunts, also called "sawing", as it resembles the sound of sawing wood. Cubs call their mother with an urr-urr sound. The whitish spots on the back of its ears are thought to play a role in communication. It has been hypothesized that the white tips of their tails may function as

693-472: A tree. It is a solitary animal outside the mating season and when raising cubs. Females usually give birth to a litter of 2–4 cubs once in 15–24 months. Both male and female leopards typically reach sexual maturity at the age 2–2.5 years. Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List , leopard populations are currently threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and are declining in large parts of

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756-742: Is a carnivore that prefers medium-sized prey with a body mass ranging from 10–40 kg (22–88 lb). Prey species in this weight range tend to occur in dense habitat and to form small herds. Species that prefer open areas and have well-developed anti-predator strategies are less preferred. More than 100 prey species have been recorded. The most preferred species are ungulates , such as impala , bushbuck , common duiker and chital . Primates preyed upon include white-eyelid mangabeys , guenons and gray langurs . Leopards also kill smaller carnivores like black-backed jackal , bat-eared fox , genet and cheetah. In urban environments, domestic dogs provide an important food source. The largest prey killed by

819-603: Is a sister taxon to a clade within Panthera , consisting of the lion and the jaguar. Results of a phylogenetic analysis of chemical secretions amongst cats indicated that the leopard is closely related to the lion. The geographic origin of the Panthera is most likely northern Central Asia. The leopard-lion clade was distributed in the Asian and African Palearctic since at least the early Pliocene . The leopard-lion clade diverged 3.1–1.95 million years ago. Additionally,

882-605: Is a slender and muscular cat, with relatively short limbs and a broad head. It is sexually dimorphic with males larger and heavier than females. Males stand 60–70 cm (24–28 in) at the shoulder, while females are 57–64 cm (22–25 in) tall. The head-and-body length ranges between 92 and 183 cm (36 and 72 in) with a 66 to 102 cm (26 to 40 in) long tail. Sizes vary geographically. Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb). Occasionally, large males can grow up to 91 kg (201 lb). Leopards from

945-445: Is able to take large prey due to its powerful jaw muscles, and is therefore strong enough to drag carcasses heavier than itself up into trees; an individual was seen to haul a young giraffe weighing nearly 125 kg (276 lb) up 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) into a tree. It eats small prey immediately, but drags larger carcasses over several hundred metres and caches it safely in trees, bushes or even caves; this behaviour allows

1008-471: Is abundant food and vegetation cover. Otherwise, they appear to be less common where tigers are numerous. The recovery of the tiger population in Rajaji National Park during the 2000s led to a reduction in leopard population densities. In some areas, leopards mate all year round. In Manchuria and Siberia , they mate during January and February. On average, females begin to breed between

1071-472: Is also more gray in colour with less defined spots. They begin to eat meat at around nine weeks. Around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year of age, cubs can probably fend for themselves, but will remain with the mother for 18–24 months. After separating from their mother, sibling cubs may travel together for months. Both male and female leopards typically reach sexual maturity at 2–2⅓ years. The generation length of

1134-519: Is caused by a recessive allele and is inherited as a recessive trait . In India, nine pale and white leopards were reported between 1905 and 1967. Leopards exhibiting erythrism were recorded between 1990 and 2015 in South Africa's Madikwe Game Reserve and in Mpumalanga . The cause of this morph known as a "strawberry leopard" or "pink panther" is not well understood. The leopard

1197-483: Is dominant only over the cheetah while the others have the advantage of size, pack numbers or both. Lions pose a great mortal threat and can be responsible for 22% of leopard deaths in Sabi Sand Game Reserve . Spotted hyenas are less threatening but are more likely to steal kills , being the culprits of up to 50% of stolen leopard kills in the same area. To counter this, leopards store their kills in

1260-728: Is shorter than its body. Its pupils are round. Leopards living in arid regions are pale cream, yellowish to ochraceous and rufous in colour; those living in forests and mountains are much darker and deep golden. Spots fade toward the white underbelly and the insides and lower parts of the legs. Rosettes are circular in East African leopard populations, and tend to be squarish in Southern African and larger in Asian leopard populations. The fur tends to be grayish in colder climates, and dark golden in rainforest habitats. Rosette patterns are unique in each individual. This pattern

1323-399: Is thought to be an adaptation to dense vegetation with patchy shadows, where it serves as camouflage . Its white-tipped tail is about 60–100 cm (23.6–39.4 in) long, white underneath and with spots that form incomplete bands toward the end of the tail. The guard hairs protecting the basal hairs are short, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) in face and head, and increase in length toward

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1386-692: The Brahmaputra River basin and hills in Northeast India . In Nepal's Kanchenjunga Conservation Area , a melanistic leopard was photographed at an elevation of 4,300 m (14,100 ft) by a camera trap in May 2012. In Sri Lanka, leopards were recorded in Yala National Park and in unprotected forest patches, tea estates , grasslands, home gardens, pine and eucalyptus plantations. In Myanmar, leopards were recorded for

1449-600: The Cape Province in South Africa are generally smaller, reaching only 20–45 kg (44–99 lb) in males. The heaviest wild leopard in Southern Africa weighed around 96 kg (212 lb), and it measured 262 cm (103 in). In 2016, an Indian leopard killed in Himachal Pradesh measured 261 cm (103 in) with an estimated weight of 78.5 kg (173 lb); it was perhaps

1512-763: The Early Pleistocene , before migrating into Eurasia around the Early– Middle Pleistocene transition. Leopards were formerly present across Europe, but became extinct in the region at around the end of the Late Pleistocene -early Holocene . The leopard is adapted to a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to steppe , including arid and montane areas. It is an opportunistic predator, hunting mostly ungulates and primates . It relies on its spotted pattern for camouflage as it stalks and ambushes its prey, which it sometimes drags up

1575-814: The Pliocene were excavated in Perrier in France , northeast of London , and in Valdarno , Italy . Until 1940, similar fossils dating back to the Pleistocene were excavated mostly in loess and caves at 40 sites in Europe, including Furninha Cave near Lisbon , Genista Caves in Gibraltar , and Santander Province in northern Spain to several sites across France, Switzerland , Italy, Austria , Germany , in

1638-612: The Qinling Mountains during surveys in 11 nature reserves between 2002 and 2009. In Java, leopards inhabit dense tropical rainforests and dry deciduous forests at elevations from sea level to 2,540 m (8,330 ft). Outside protected areas, leopards were recorded in mixed agricultural land, secondary forest and production forest between 2008 and 2014. In the Russian Far East, it inhabits temperate coniferous forests where winter temperatures reach

1701-765: The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren , Belgium, acquired a sculpture by Paul Wissaert commissioned by the Belgium Ministry of Colonies depicting a leopard man preparing to attack a victim. The scene in the sculpture was appropriated by Hergé in Tintin au Congo . The sculpture is depicted by Congolese artist Chéri Samba in Réorganisation (2002), commissioned by the Royal Museum, at

1764-524: The article wizard to submit a draft for review, or request a new article . Search for " Black Talons " in existing articles. Look for pages within Misplaced Pages that link to this title . Other reasons this message may be displayed: If a page was recently created here, it may not be visible yet because of a delay in updating the database; wait a few minutes or try the purge function . Titles on Misplaced Pages are case sensitive except for

1827-834: The Anyoto killing innocent victims without any apparent reason. The cannibalistic aspect also receives a great deal of attention in the reports, even if it does not generally seem correct. During field research in the 1960s among the Mano people in north-central Liberia , the American anthropologist James Riddell collected detailed statements about the Leopard and Crocodile Societies that had been active in that area, including from former members of these societies. They had comprised men from different towns and their primary purpose had been to organize trade between these towns, which were otherwise independent political units. Only men who could command

1890-962: The Late Pleistocene were found in Biśnik Cave in south-central Poland . Fossil remains were also excavated in the Iberian and Italian Peninsula , and in the Balkans . Leopard fossils dating to the Pleistocene were also excavated in the Japanese archipelago . Leopard fossils were also found in Taiwan . In 1953, a male leopard and a female lion were crossbred in Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya, Japan . Their offspring known as

1953-678: The Leopard Society appears in the Nsibidi Script series by Nnedi Okorafor . Robert E. Howard mentions them in his horror/detective short story " Black_Talons ". A different take of the Leopard Men appears in The Legend of Tarzan . This version of the group are actually leopards that were magically uplifted by La . A fictional incarnation of the society also appears in the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan . In 1913

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2016-419: The Leopard Society confessed that he had been present when a girl donated by another member of the society had been murdered and that he had eaten of her flesh. In this case, the victim was a purchased slave, not a relative of the donor. The child was killed and beheaded by her owner, who then divided the corpse into four parts by cutting it "down the centre and across the middle". The flesh was cooked and eaten by

2079-475: The ages of 2½ and three, and males between the ages of two and three. The female's estrous cycle lasts about 46 days, and she is usually in heat for 6–7 days. Gestation lasts for 90 to 105 days. Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2–4 cubs. The mortality rate of cubs is estimated at 41–50% during the first year. Predators are the biggest cause for leopard cub mortality during their first year. Male leopards are known to cause infanticide , in order to bring

2142-476: The association between mothers and their offspring. There may be a few other fluctuating home ranges belonging to young individuals. It is not clear if male home ranges overlap as much as those of females do. Individuals try to drive away intruders of the same sex. A study of leopards in the Namibian farmlands showed that the size of home ranges was not significantly affected by sex, rainfall patterns or season;

2205-403: The average size for a leopard kill was 37.6 kg (83 lb) compared to 91.5 kg (202 lb) for tigers and 43.4 kg (96 lb) for dholes. At Kui Buri National Park , following a reduction in prey numbers, tigers continued to feed on favoured prey while leopards and dholes had to increase their consumption of small prey. Leopards can live successfully in tiger habitat when there

2268-1017: The basis of mitochondrial analysis. Later analysis revealed a ninth valid subspecies, the Arabian leopard . In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group recognized the following eight subspecies as valid taxa: The Balochistan leopard population in the south of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan is separated from the northern population by the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts. Results of an analysis of molecular variance and pairwise fixation index of 182 African leopard museum specimens showed that some African leopards exhibit higher genetic differences than Asian leopard subspecies. Results of phylogenetic studies based on nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that

2331-446: The center of a tug-of-war between Africans trying to remove the sculpture from the museum, and whites trying to keep it there. Leopard See text 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

2394-464: The connection between the victim and the man who had chosen to sacrifice them. The cannibal feasts, on the other hand, were real, according to several old members of the society interviewed by Riddell. In the 1920s, Lady Dorothy Mills spoke with several district commissioners who tried to juridically prosecute members of the Leopard Society engaged in cannibal murders. She noted: "The members will offer and help to procure some one of their own family for

2457-511: The day. The leopard's range in West Africa is estimated to have drastically declined by 95%, and in the Sahara desert by 97%. In sub-Saharan Africa , it is still numerous and surviving in marginal habitats where other large cats have disappeared. In southeastern Egypt , an individual found killed in 2017 was the first sighting of the leopard in this area in 65 years. In West Asia ,

2520-434: The female back into heat. Intervals between births average 15 to 24 months, but can be shorter, depending on the survival of the cubs. Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree or thicket. Newborn cubs weigh 280–1,000 g (9.9–35.3 oz), and are born with closed eyes, which open four to nine days after birth. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage

2583-1304: The first time by camera traps in the hill forests of Myanmar's Karen State . The Northern Tenasserim Forest Complex in southern Myanmar is considered a leopard stronghold. In Thailand, leopards are present in the Western Forest Complex , Kaeng Krachan - Kui Buri , Khlong Saeng - Khao Sok protected area complexes and in Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary bordering Malaysia. In Peninsular Malaysia , leopards are present in Belum-Temengor , Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin National Parks . In Laos, leopards were recorded in Nam Et-Phou Louey National Biodiversity Conservation Area and Nam Kan National Protected Area. In Cambodia, leopards inhabit deciduous dipterocarp forest in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and Mondulkiri Protected Forest . In southern China, leopards were recorded only in

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2646-456: The flanks and the belly to about 25–30 mm (1.0–1.2 in). Juveniles have woolly fur that appear to be dark-coloured due to the densely arranged spots. Its fur tends to grow longer in colder climates. The leopard's rosettes differ from those of the jaguar , which are darker and with smaller spots inside. The leopard has a diploid chromosome number of 38. Melanistic leopards are also known as black panthers . Melanism in leopards

2709-590: The global range. Leopards have had cultural roles in Ancient Greece , West Africa and modern Western culture. Leopard skins are popular in fashion. The English name "leopard" comes from Old French leupart or Middle French liepart , that derives from Latin leopardus and ancient Greek λέοπάρδος ( leopardos ). Leopardos could be a compound of λέων ( leōn ), meaning ' lion ' , and πάρδος ( pardos ), meaning ' spotted ' . The word λέοπάρδος originally referred to

2772-508: The ground. In the Serengeti, they have been seen to ambush prey by descending on it from trees. It stalks its prey and tries to approach as closely as possible, typically within 5 m (16 ft) of the target, and, finally, pounces on it and kills it by suffocation. It kills small prey with a bite to the back of the neck, but holds larger animals by the throat and strangles them . It caches kills up to 2 km (1.2 mi) apart. It

2835-863: The higher the prey availability in an area, the greater the leopard population density and the smaller the size of home ranges, but they tend to expand if there is human interference. Sizes of home ranges vary geographically and depending on habitat and availability of prey. In the Serengeti , males have home ranges of 33–38 km (13–15 sq mi) and females of 14–16 km (5.4–6.2 sq mi); but males in northeastern Namibia of 451 km (174 sq mi) and females of 188 km (73 sq mi). They are even larger in arid and montane areas. In Nepal's Bardia National Park , male home ranges of 48 km (19 sq mi) and female ones of 5–7 km (1.9–2.7 sq mi) are smaller than those generally observed in Africa. The leopard

2898-406: The labour of many dependents were allowed to join, as the trade organization and the transport and protection of trade goods were labour-intensive. Those who wanted to join had to sacrifice a member of their "own domestic group in a cannibalistic feast" to prove that they had sufficiently many dependents whose services they could contribute. The supposed waylaying of travellers was only a trick to hide

2961-404: The largest distribution of all wild cats, occurring widely in Africa and Asia, although populations are fragmented and declining. It inhabits foremost savanna and rainforest , and areas where grasslands , woodlands and riparian forests remain largely undisturbed. It also persists in urban environments, if it is not persecuted, has sufficient prey and patches of vegetation for shelter during

3024-475: The largest known wild leopard in India. The largest recorded skull of a leopard was found in India in 1920 and measured 28 cm (11 in) in basal length, 20 cm (7.9 in) in breadth, and weighed 1 kg (2.2 lb). The skull of an African leopard measured 286 mm (11.3 in) in basal length, and 181 mm (7.1 in) in breadth, and weighed 790 g (28 oz). The leopard has

3087-413: The last common ancestor of the Panthera and Neofelis genera is thought to have lived about 6.37  million years ago . Neofelis diverged about 8.66  million years ago from the Panthera lineage . The tiger diverged about 6.55  million years ago , followed by the snow leopard about 4.63  million years ago and the leopard about 4.35  million years ago . The leopard

3150-786: The leopard inhabits remain in the areas of southern and southeastern Anatolia . Leopard populations in the Arabian Peninsula are small and fragmented. In the Indian subcontinent , the leopard is still relatively abundant, with greater numbers than those of other Panthera species. Some leopard populations in India live quite close to human settlements and even in semi-developed areas. Although adaptable to human disturbances, leopards require healthy prey populations and appropriate vegetative cover for hunting for prolonged survival and thus rarely linger in heavily developed areas. Due to

3213-1117: The leopard is 9.3 years. The average life span of a leopard is 12–17 years. The oldest leopard was a captive female that died at the age of 24 years, 2 months and 13 days. Black Talons Look for Black Talons on one of Misplaced Pages's sister projects : [REDACTED] Wiktionary (dictionary) [REDACTED] Wikibooks (textbooks) [REDACTED] Wikiquote (quotations) [REDACTED] Wikisource (library) [REDACTED] Wikiversity (learning resources) [REDACTED] Commons (media) [REDACTED] Wikivoyage (travel guide) [REDACTED] Wikinews (news source) [REDACTED] Wikidata (linked database) [REDACTED] Wikispecies (species directory) Misplaced Pages does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Black Talons in Misplaced Pages to check for alternative titles or spellings. You need to log in or create an account and be autoconfirmed to create new articles. Alternatively, you can use

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3276-544: The leopard to store its prey away from rivals, and offers it an advantage over them. The way it stores the kill depends on local topography and individual preferences, varying from trees in Kruger National Park to bushes in the plain terrain of the Kalahari. Average daily consumption rates of 3.5 kg (7 lb 11 oz) were estimated for males and of 2.8 kg (6 lb 3 oz) for females. In

3339-437: The leopard's main competitors are tigers and dholes . Both the larger tiger and pack-living dhole dominate leopards during encounters. Interactions between the three predators involve chasing, stealing kills and direct killing. Tigers appear to inhabit the deep parts of the forest while leopards and dholes are pushed closer to the fringes. The three predators coexist by hunting different sized prey. In Nagarhole National Park ,

3402-463: The leopard's stealth, people often remain unaware that it lives in nearby areas. As of 2020, the leopard population within forested habitats in India's tiger range landscapes was estimated at 12,172 to 13,535 individuals. Surveyed landscapes included elevations below 2,600 m (8,500 ft) in the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains , Central India and Eastern Ghats , Western Ghats ,

3465-410: The members of the society; some who had not been able to be present during the ceremony also received their parts and ate them later. In another trial a few years later, a man stated that another member of the society had volunteered his niece for sacrifice. After the girl had been stabbed to death with a large knife and cut into pieces, all her flesh was roasted over an open fire and eaten by members of

3528-675: The north up to Derby in England , in the east to Přerov in the Czech Republic and the Baranya in southern Hungary . Leopards arrived in Eurasia during the late Early to Middle Pleistocene around 1.2 to 0.6 million years ago. Four European Pleistocene leopard subspecies were proposed. P. p. begoueni from the beginning of the Early Pleistocene was replaced about 0.6  million years ago by P. p. sickenbergi , which in turn

3591-403: The sacrifice. A man will offer up his wife or his child or his young brother". To avoid suspicions, the chosen victim was usually kidnapped outside their home, but Mills also spoke with a man who had witnessed how a group of "Leopards" raided a house, carrying away a man and a boy who had been sleeping there, supposedly as victims for their next feast. In a criminal trial in the 1900s, a member of

3654-730: The society seem to have been adult men, the eaten victims were usually "young boys and girls". Encounters with suspected remnants of the Leopard Society in the post-colonial era have been described by Donald MacIntosh and Beryl Bellman. Fictionalized versions of the Leopard Society feature in the Tarzan novel Tarzan and the Leopard Men , in Willard Price 's African Adventure , in Hergé 's Tintin au Congo and in Hugo Pratt 's Le Etiopiche . An alternate, more egalitarian version of

3717-557: The society, including the witness. The most important members could choose their preferred parts, while the others had to be satisfied with the remainders. Everything was eaten, including the edible organs; only the girl's bones and skull, picked clean of all flesh, were left behind when the feast was finished. Due to this testimony and other evidence, the girl's uncle was found guilty of murder and later executed. Other trials showed similar patterns of men volunteering dependents, often relatives, for sacrifice and consumption. While all members of

3780-501: The southern Kalahari Desert , leopards meet their water requirements by the bodily fluids of prey and succulent plants ; they drink water every two to three days and feed infrequently on moisture-rich plants such as gemsbok cucumbers , watermelon and Kalahari sour grass . Across its range, the leopard coexists with a number of other large predators. In Africa, it is part of a large predator guild with lions, cheetahs, spotted and brown hyenas , and African wild dogs . The leopard

3843-409: The trees and out of reach. Lions have a high success rate in fetching leopard kills from trees. Leopards do not seem to actively avoid their competitors but rather difference in prey and habitat preferences appear to limit their spatial overlap. In particular, leopards use heavy vegetation regardless of whether lions are present in an area and both cats are active at the same time of day. In Asia,

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3906-655: Was first used by Lorenz Oken in 1816, who included all the known spotted cats into this group. Oken's classification was not widely accepted, and Felis or Leopardus was used as the generic name until the early 20th century. The leopard was designated as the type species of Panthera by Joel Asaph Allen in 1902. In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock also subordinated the tiger ( P. tigris ), lion ( P. leo ), and jaguar ( P. onca ) to Panthera . Following Linnaeus' first description, 27 leopard subspecies were proposed by naturalists between 1794 and 1956. Since 1996, only eight subspecies have been considered valid on

3969-545: Was replaced by P. p. antiqua around 0.3 million years ago. P. p. spelaea is the most recent subspecies that appeared at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene and survived until about 11,000 years ago and possibly into the early Holocene in the Iberian Peninsula . Leopards depicted in cave paintings in Chauvet Cave provide indirect evidence of leopard presence in Europe. Leopard fossils dating to

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