Big Cat- Leopard

The Leopard is a medium-sized wildcat that is  a member of the "Big Cat" family,  The African Leopard populations are stable because of their natural environment but it is different for the remaining sub-species that are often isolated. The dark, ring-like patterns that cover the Leopard's coat are called rosettes, but these turn to solid spots on the face and limbs and rings on the tail and provide the Leopard with camouflage into the surrounding environment.   The Leopard is able to draw their claws into folds of skin on their paws to ensure that they are not blunted while the animal is walking about.  

 The reasons that they are still surviving successfully throughout much of their natural range is that Leopards have adapted to the growing presence of people and are known to both live and hunt in areas close to urban activity.   The Leopard is a solitary and nocturnal hunter that hunts both on the ground and on the trees. They are excellent climbers and spend much of the daytime hours resting in the shade of the branches in the trees or under a sheltered rock.  Once caught and killed, the prey is then dragged to a safe place either into dense vegetation or up a tree trunk and into the branches. Due to the fact that the Leopard is a stealthy in its nature, the biggest threat to adult Leopards is other Leopards, along with the  Lion or Tiger that can get close enough. Leopard was originally thought to be a hybrid of the Lion and the Jaguar. The Leopard has been the subject of much genetic confusion one of the confusion is thought to come from the BlackPanther which is a Leopard that has a completely black coat of fur, with occasional faint markings.