Photos (c) Art Wolfe www.artwolfe.com
 

Leopard - Panthera pardus

Weight: 90-150 lbs
Head/Body: 48 in
Tail: 24 in
Subspecies: 15

The leopard or panther is a large, graceful cat with a long, lithe build. Its coat is pale brown to yellowish-brown with dark brown spots in rosettes. Some individuals are very dark brown, almost black, effectively masking their spots and producing the famous black panther.

The leopard may be found in all parts of Africa south of the Sahara, Asia east of the Indus and south of Mongolia, and Indonesia, where it hunts by night, by twilight, and by day in late afternoon and early morning, from the ground or from trees, often dropping silently on its prey, and seeks large or small game of almost any type.

Where most large cats can pull five times their weight in trained human athletes, the leopard can pull seven times its weight. It often displays this amazing strength by a heart-stopping run up the side of a tree with a full grown antelope in its jaws for an undisturbed meal.

Hear a leopard.