POWERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL, THE iconic leopard is one of the most glamorous of wild animals, living in a diversity of geographical territories and represented by numerous subspecies. It also varies greatly in appearance, from the long-haired Amur leopard of snowy regions to the black panther, the famous melanistic Indian leopard portrayed by Bagheera in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
What are leopards?
Leopards are large carnivores belonging to the cat family. They are part of the, which comprises four other large cat species – the tiger, lion, jaguar and snow leopard. Leopards have rosettes (rose-like markings) on their coats, as do snow leopards and jaguars – the latter can be differentiated by the black spots in the middle of some of their rosettes.
