The Leopard Wallpaper

Description: The leopards are dispersed over a wider area today, than that of any of the other large cats. Ranging across most of the African continent, with the exception of the Sahara Desert rgeion. Throughout parts of Asia Minor and the Middle East to India, Pakistan, China, Siberia, much of mainland southeast Asia, and the islands of Java and Sri Lanka.... ( +expand to view full text )

Description: The leopards are dispersed over a wider area today, than that of any of the other large cats. Ranging across most of the African continent, with the exception of the Sahara Desert rgeion. Throughout parts of Asia Minor and the Middle East to India, Pakistan, China, Siberia, much of mainland southeast Asia, and the islands of Java and Sri Lanka. The leopards, with more than 20 subspecies described, are included in the genus Panthera on the basis of several features. It is one of the roaring cats, capable of producing a deep sawing roar similar to that of the jaguar. The leopard is also like the jaguar in coat pattern, with dark spots or rosettes. Although the size of the rosettes varies over geographical region, leopard rosettes remain empty of markings while jaguars generally have one to four dark spots inside the open spots. The background color of the leopard's coat varies from shades of yellow through a reddish brown, with some albino, although quite rare, specimines reported. A melanistic version, "black panthers", of the leopard is common in many populations, especially in Southeast Asia where the low light conditions of the tropical forests floors seem to have a selective advantage for darker coat coloration. The melanistic coloration is resultant from a recessive gene which may be present in either, or both parents. It is therefore common to have normal and melanistic offspring in the same litter. Of all the big cats, the leopard is most likely to show a melanistic coloration in the wild. Considering body composition, size and coloration, the leopards and jaguars appear to be the most closely related of the pantherines. The size of the leopard varies greatly in different geographical regions. There are subspecies of large leopards in Iran and West Africa and small subspecies in Somalia and Java. The leopard averages between five and eight feet in length and weighs from 60 to 210 pounds in the wild. Distribution of the leopard reflects the diverse adaptability of the group, extending throught the African continent and much of southeast Asia, including the Arabian peninsula and Indonesian islands. It is at home in woodlands, lowland forests and mountain heights, savannas, and even dry steppe habitats. The leopard's remarkable adaptability to different environments is an indication that it is basically an unspecialized animal, favoring forest and forest boundary habitats where it can utilize trees for protection and observation platforms. The leopard's lifestyle is a direct reflection of its environment, where it hunts a wide variety of prey species, being truly opportunistic in their feeding habits. Leopards catch and feed on everything from insects and rodents up to large ungulates such as giraffe and buffalo calves which may weigh in excess of 200 pounds. In areas where scavengers such as lions and hyenas are a threat, often stealing the prey, the leopard's remarkable strength and agility allow it to climb trees in search of a resting place, vantage lookout, or a place to store and protect dead prey animals. Its compact body, with graceful trademark tail dangling elagantly from a tree like a velvet rope, is the image that captures the essence of this most powerful carnivore. The ability to hoist large game up into the trees allows the leopard to hunt less frequently as compared to ground dwelling cats often sharing the same habitat, such as cheetahs, who often loose prey to merauding lions or hyenas. One of the most accomplished feline stalkers, the leopard's shadowy figure slinks from one patch of cover to another, inconspicious, infinitely patient in search of food. Because of its hunting technique, silent and solitary, the opportunistic leopard is able to live off a much broader spectrum of prey than the lion or cheetah. Leopards have no breeding season but to tend to mate in January and February. After maiting, the pair splits up, with the female caring for the resulting cubs. Litters average two cubs, born blind with each weighing one and a half to two pounds, after a gestation period of 90 to 105 days. The coat of the leopard cub is wooly with spots much like the adult pattern, although the background color on the adult is more subdued. The cubs are weaned by the age of three months when they begin to accompany their mother on hunts. The whitish tip of the mother leopard's tail is held upright during forays throughout the habitat. This erect tail posture apparently provides the cubs with an eyelevel visual marker, helping them follow their mother through the tall grasses and shrubs. The cubs ultimately remain with their mother for 18 to 24 months when, they leave to establish territories of their own. The average life expectancy for a leopard in the wild is 15 to 20 years with captive individuals often exceeding 25 years. Leopards seldom become man-eaters but a number of often exagerated tales of killer leopards is sprinkled in the literature. One particularly terrifying story involves the man-eating leopard of Rudyaprayag, which stalked and killed pilgrims en route to Hindu shrines in northern India. Reports of more than 115 attacks, over an eight year period, have all been attributed to a single leopard, although more than one leopard appears to have been involved and many missing person reports were indiscriminately attributed to this cat. Another less famous man-eating cat, the Panwar leopard, is reported to have killed and eaten more than 375 victims.