The leopard (latin term: Panthera pardus) is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four “big cats” in the genus Panthera with the other three being the tiger, lion and jaguar. Once distributed across southern Asia and Africa, from Korea to South Africa, the leopard’s range of distribution has decreased radically over time due to hunting and loss of habitat, and the leopard now chiefly occurs in sub-Saharan Africa.

A full grown leopard will vary in body weight between 37 and 91 kg with male animals about 30% larger than females. One of many spotted cats, a leopard may be mistaken for a cheetah or a jaguar. The leopard has rosettes rather than cheetah’s simple spots, but they lack internal spots, unlike the jaguar. The leopard is larger and more muscular than the cheetah but slightly smaller than the jaguar. The leopard’s black, irregular rosettes serve as camouflage. They are circular in East Africa but tend to be square-shaped in southern Africa.