leopard

The leopard is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera; the other three are the tiger, lion and jaguar. Once distributed across southern Asia and Africa, from Korea to South Africa. There are fragmented populations in Pakistan, India, Indochina, Malaysia, and China. The leopard has relatively short legs and a long body, with a large skull. Although it is usually smaller and of slighter build. The species' success in the wild owes in part to its opportunistic hunting behaviour, its adaptability to a variety of habitats and its ability to move at up to approximately 60 kilometres an hour. The leopard consumes virtually any animal it can hunt down and catch. Its preferred habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains. Its ecological role and status resembles that of the similarly-sized cougar in the Americas.