“Sher” in Persian means “a lion”. The geographic origin of the Panthera is most likely northern Central Asia. [142], Depending on the region, leopards may mate all year round. [137] Two cases of leopards killing cheetahs have been reported in 2014. Their pelage is also more gray in colour with less defined spots. The pard was a terrifying semi-mythological big cat with a … I'm trying to find more information on the cultural impact the animal could have. [28] As pointed out by the other answer, the first mythology about leopards definitely concerns the spotted cats’ association with the Greek god Dionysos. [11], In Europe, the leopard occurred at least since the Pleistocene. Trust your instincts to lead you to the right direction. [81], Leopard populations on the Arabian Peninsula are small and fragmented. In areas where leopard and tiger are sympatric, coexistence is reportedly not the general rule, with leopards being few where tigers are numerous. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but has a smaller, lighter physique, and its rosettes are generally smaller, more densely packed and without central spots. [27] It is able to take large prey due to its massive skull and powerful jaw muscles, and is therefore strong enough to drag carcasses heavier than itself up into trees; an individual was seen to haul a young giraffe, weighing nearly 125 kg (276 lb), up 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) into a tree. Going back to the African epics, it’s all part of the world. Between January 1996 and March 2009, leopards were photographed at 16 sites in the Malay Peninsula in a sampling effort of more than 1,000 camera trap nights. – wtorkowy raport aktualności", Illuminating the blind spot: A study on illegal trade in Leopard parts in India (2001–2010), "Apex predators decline after an influx of pastoralists in former Central African Republic hunting zones", "Medieval Lion Skulls Reveal Secrets of Tower of London 'Zoo, Ruhuna (Yala) National Park in Sri Lanka: Visitors, Visitation, and Eco-Tourism, "Estimation of leopard population size in a secondary forest within Malaysia's capital agglomeration using unsupervised classification of pugmarks", "Conservation and management prospects of the Persian and Malayan leopards", Leopard Anthology: Research and conservation of leopards in Asia, Asian Leopard Specialist Society: Research, conservation and management of Asian leopard subspecies, Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leopard&oldid=995940140, National symbols of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Articles with Latin-language sources (la), Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Old French (842-ca. [73] The leopard-lion clade diverged 3.1–1.95 million years ago. [45], In India, nine pale and white leopards were reported between 1905 and 1967. [119] Analysis of leopard scat in Taï National Park revealed that primates, except for chimpanzee and potto, are primary leopard prey during the day. Adults associate only in the mating season. [35], The maximum weight of a wild leopard is about 96 kg (212 lb), recorded in Southern Africa. [42] [26] In a South African reserve, a male was wounded in a male–male territorial battle over a carcass. There may be a few other fluctuating territories, belonging to young individuals. And all Samarkand’s flags and arms had an image of the leopard.” This legend is told by Abu-Sand Abdu-Rakhman Ibn Muhammad Idris. [98], In Java, leopards inhabit dense tropical rainforests and dry deciduous forests at altitudes from sea level to 2,540 m (8,330 ft). Perhaps the most extreme example is the amazing snow leopard which lives in the Himalayas. [68][69] This adaptability has allowed them to survive in various different geographic areas. In Manchuria and Siberia, they mate during January and February. Leopards have been observed walking 1–25 km (1⁄2–15 1⁄2 mi) across their range at night; they may even wander up to 75 km (47 mi) if disturbed. In classical mythology, Dionysus, the god of wine, wears a leopard skin and is accompanied by leopards as he travels the earth, teaching the art of wine-making. [101][102], Leopards are active mainly from dusk till dawn and rest for most of the day and for some hours at night in thickets, among rocks or over tree branches. Nicholas Reeves and Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings , 2008 . The leopard's rosettes differ from those of the jaguar, which are darker and with smaller spots inside. The leopard-lion clade was distributed in the Asian and African Palearctic since at least the early Pliocene. Of the 445 photographs of melanistic leopards, 410 were taken in study sites south of the Kra Isthmus, where the non-melanistic morph was never photographed. [154] During the Benin Empire, the leopard was commonly represented on engravings and sculptures and was used to symbolize the power of the king or oba, since the leopard was considered the king of the forest. I know, not the best source). [11], The English name 'leopard' comes from Old French: leupart or Middle French: liepart, that derives from Latin: leopardus and Ancient Greek: λέοπάρδος (leopardos). In Bible and Christianity. There is considerable potential for human-leopard conflict due to leopards preying on livestock. Leopard symbolism also conveys great physical strength as she can carry her kill which weighs two times her own weight, high up into the tree where she keeps it safe from other predators. In the mid-20th century, Amur leopards were absent or very rarely encountered in the Primorye region of the Russian Far East at places where Siberian tigers roamed. Although adaptable to human disturbances, leopards require healthy prey populations and appropriate vegetative cover for hunting for prolonged survival and thus rarely linger in heavily developed areas. [40] Interbreeding in melanistic leopards produces a significantly smaller litter size than is produced by normal pairings. While luxury establishments may boast the fact that wild animals can be seen at close range on a daily basis, the leopard's camouflage and propensity to hide and stalk prey typically make leopard sightings rare. [138][139], Nile crocodiles prey on leopards occasionally. [30], The largest skull recorded for a black panther from India, recorded in 1920, measured 28 cm (11 in) in basal length, and 20 cm (8 in) in breadth, and weighed 1,000 g (2 lb 4 oz). Since 1996, only eight subspecies have been considered valid on the basis of mitochondrial analysis. [67], Results of a phylogenetic analysis of chemical secretions amongst cats indicated that the leopard is closely related to the lion. These traditional lions passant guardant appear in the coat of arms of Dalmatia and the coat of arms of England and many of its former colonies; more modern naturalistic (leopard-like) depictions appear on the coat of arms of several African nations including Benin, Malawi, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon, the last of which uses a black panther. [123] A study in the southern Kalahari Desert showed that leopards meet their water requirements by the bodily fluids of prey and succulent plants; they drink water every two to three days, and feed infrequently on moisture-rich plants such as gemsbok cucumbers (Acanthosicyos naudinianus), tsamma melon (Citrullus lanatus) and Kalahari sour grass (Schmidtia kalahariensis). [157] The coat of the leopard has been popular decorative clothing and a symbol of power, wealth and the exotic, being worn by African chiefs, European queens, Hollywood film stars and burlesque dancers. [117] Kills are cached up to 2 km (1 1⁄4 mi) apart. [107] Small prey is eaten immediately, while larger carcasses are dragged over several hundred metres and safely cached in trees, bushes or even caves to be consumed later. [55], The leopard is a solitary and territorial animal. Spiritual and Symbolic Meaning of Leopards in Different Cultures and Religions. Surveys in the Central African Republic's Chinko area revealed that the leopard population decreased from 97 individuals in 2012 to 50 individuals in 2017. The leopard roamed about the streets, approved buildings and came back to the mountains. [92] The Northern Tenasserim Forest Complex in southern Myanmar is considered a leopard stronghold. [151], The leopard is primarily threatened by habitat fragmentation and conversion of forest to agriculturally used land, which lead to a declining natural prey base, human–wildlife conflict with livestock herders and high leopard mortality rates. The chromosomes include four acrocentric, five metacentric, seven submetacentric and two telocentric pairs. [3] As of 2020, the leopard population within forested habitats in India's tiger range landscapes was estimated at 12,172 to 13,535 individuals. It can run at speeds of up to 58 kilometres per hour (36 mph). [123], Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree, or thicket to make a den. It is considered to be extirpated in North Africa. Common Leopard Spirit Animal Meanings. In one myth, the god was captured by pirates but two leopards appear and rescue him. Geraldine Pinch, Magic in Ancient Egypt , 1994 [62], Results of an analysis of molecular variance and pairwise fixation index of 182 African leopard museum specimens published in 2017 showed that some African leopards exhibit higher genetic differences than certain Asian leopards which are recognized as subspecies. On the treacherous slopes of the Himalayas, no hunter other than the Snow Leopard would have a chance of catching such agile prey as the Markhor. [111] [162] Man-eating leopards are considered bold and difficult to track and may enter human settlements for prey, more so than lions and tigers. [31], The leopard is sexually dimorphic, males are larger and heavier than females. In Greek mythology, the leopard was a symbol of the god Dionysus; who was depicted wearing leopard skin and using leopards as means of transportation. All kinds of creatures, from fierce leopards to tiny spiders, play important roles in mythology. But one of the things that really struck me about Black Leopard, Red Wolf was precisely that lack of a gulf between reality and dream, or, I guess, what we would call dream. Snow leopards attack by the neck of its prey, i.e. [131][132] Lions occasionally fetch leopard kills from trees. [133] [50], The leopard was determined as the type species of Panthera by Joel Asaph Allen in 1902. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because leopard populations are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and are declining in large parts of the global range. [125], Resource partitioning occurs where leopards share their range with tigers. Oken's classification was not widely accepted, and Felis or Leopardus was used as the generic name until the early 20th century. In Greek mythology, maenads (/ ˈ m iː n æ d z /; Ancient Greek: μαϊνάδες) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue.Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Melanism in leopards is inherited as a recessive trait relatively to the spotted form. [153], Leopards have been known to humans throughout history, and have featured in the art, mythology, and folklore of many countries where they have historically occurred. [26][125], In parts of its global range, the leopard is sympatric with other large predators such as tiger, lion, cheetah, spotted hyena, striped hyena, brown hyena, African wild dog, dhole and up to five bear species. Fossil cat teeth collected in Sumatra's Padang Highlands were assigned to the leopard. There, the two species have high dietary overlap, and an increase in the tiger population resulted in a sharp decrease in the leopard population and a shift in the leopard diet to small prey (from 9% to 36%) and domestic prey (from 6.8% to 31.8%). [15] The word λέοπάρδος originally referred to a cheetah. However, no significant association were found between a conspicuous colour of tail patches and behavioural variables in carnivores. They were common near villages at the periphery of the park and outside the park. [26] The guard hairs protecting the basal hairs are short, 3–4 mm (1⁄8–5⁄32 in) in face and head, and increase in length toward the flanks and the belly to about 25–30 mm (1–1 1⁄8 in). May 7, 2013 - This Pin was discovered by Francine Smith. [152] [140] An adult leopard was recovered from the stomach of a 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) Burmese python. The spots on the stool’s leopard-skin seat are made of ivory, set in an ebony background. The symbol of leopard can be found not only in the architecture, but also in the handicrafts and national currency. [134] In tropical forests, they do not always avoid the larger cats by hunting at different times. "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group", "Population dynamics and threats to an apex predator outside protected areas: implications for carnivore management", "Open, Unregulated Trade in Wildlife in Morocco's Markets", "Potential benefits of impending Moroccan wildlife trade laws, a case study in carnivore skins", "Leopard shot in Bilaspur turns out to be a record breaker", "Molecular genetics and evolution of melanism in the cat family", "Mapping black panthers: Macroecological modeling of melanism in leopards (, "Mammal names proposed by Oken in his 'Lehrbuch der Zoologie, "Phylogeographic subspecies recognition in leopards (. 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