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A Leopard (Panthera pardus) inviting me to come a little closer...
Best viewed LARGE.
Martin
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All things beautiful in Nature Group
Sometimes couples have some problems. But the snow leopards of the Basel zoo only have small problems, don't worry!
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Marwell Zoo, UK.
I liked Marwell Zoo. I struggled with the weather on the day, and never really had enough light for any fast exposures. For that reason, I got very few photos that I was happy with. For me, the highlight of Marwell is their snow leopards, and amur leopards. I'm biased though - they're two of my favourite animals in the world.
The snow leopard (Uncia uncia or Panthera uncia) is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia. The classification of this species has been subject to change and its exact taxonomic position will not be resolved until further studies are conducted.
Snow leopards live between 3,000 and 5,500 metres (9,800 and 18,000 ft) above sea level in the rocky mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. Their secretive nature means that their exact numbers are unknown, but it has been estimated that between 3,500 and 7,000 snow leopards exist in the wild and between 600 and 700 in zoos worldwide.
Snow leopards are smaller than the other big cats but, like them, exhibit a range of sizes, generally weighing between 27 and 55 kg (60 and 120 lb), with an occasional large male reaching 75 kg (170 lb) and small female of under 25 kg (55 lb). Body length ranges from 75 to 130 centimetres (30 to 50 in), with the tail adding a further 80 to 100 cm (31 to 39 in) to that length. These cats stand about 60 cm (24 in) at the shoulder.
Snow leopards have long thick fur, and their base color varies from smoky gray to yellowish tan, with whitish underparts. They have dark gray to black open rosettes on their body with small spots of the same color on their heads and larger spots on their legs and tail. Unusually among cats, their eyes are pale green or gray in color.
Snow leopards show several adaptations for living in a cold mountainous environment. Their bodies are stocky, their fur is thick, and their ears are small and rounded, all of which help to minimize heat loss. Their paws are wide, which distributes their weight better for walking on snow, and have fur on their undersides to increase their grip on steep and unstable surfaces; it also helps to minimize heat loss. Snow leopards' tails are long and flexible, helping them to maintain their balance, which is very important in the rocky terrain they inhabit. Their tails are also very thick due to storage of fats and are very thickly covered with fur which allows them to be used like a blanket to protect their faces when asleep.
The snow leopard has a short muzzle and domed forehead, containing unusual large nasal cavities that help the animal breathe the thin, cold air of their mountainous environment.
Snow leopards cannot roar, despite possessing partial ossification of the hyoid bone. This partial ossification was previously thought to be essential for allowing the big cats to roar, but new studies show that the ability to roar is due to other morphological features, especially of the larynx, which are absent in the snow leopard. Snow leopard vocalizations include hisses, chuffing, mews, growls, and wailing.
Of all the 'big' cats the Leopard is the most adaptable; it can survive in semi-arid areas, in rocky uplands and grasslands as well as forests. It is able to feed on a wide variety of prey species up to the size of antelopes.
At Thrigby Hall in Norfolk they breed the rarest sub-species, the Amur Leopard from the Amur-Ussuri region linking Russia, China and Korea. There may be fewer than thirty left in the wild. These animals are a part of an international breeding programme.
This beauty is the resident female at Marwell Zoo near Winchester, Hants.
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera; 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 due to hunting and loss of habitat, and the leopard now chiefly occurs in sub-Saharan Africa. There are fragmented populations in Pakistan, India, Indochina, Malaysia, and China.
Due to the loss of range and declines in population, it is graded as a "Near Threatened" species. Its numbers are greater than other Panthera species, all of which face more acute conservation concerns.
The leopard has relatively short legs and a long body, with a large skull. It resembles the jaguar, although it is smaller and of slighter build. Its fur is marked with rosettes which lack internal spots, unlike those of the jaguar. Leopards that are melanistic, either completely black or very dark, are one of the big cats known as black panthers.
The species' success in the wild owes in part to its opportunistic hunting behaviour, its adaptability to habitats and its ability to move at up to approximately 36 mph.