Animal Central: Even MORE On Leopards

Today, read book on leopards, and got some big-cat data too.

Leopards
There are three big cats with spots. And they're different from each other. Leopards have "rings" (called rosettes for their rose-like look) with no spots in them. Jaguars have rosettes with spots in them. Cheetahs don't have rosettes at all... just solid spots.
Leopards are highly adaptable. It doesn't matter if the climate's hot or cold. As long as the leopard has hiding and hunting spots, they adapt to their location. Even some sub-urban places got them!
And black leopards do have spots! They're a darker color than the coat, which is black. The "black panther" we all know is usually a black mountain lion or a black jaguar.
Leopards are endangered. It's clear that their numbers are dropping, even though they're hard to find, and, therefore, hard to count. In some parts of Asia, they're almost extinct!
A lot of it is the usual stuff: poaching for furs and parts for traditional medicine, habitat loss, killings by farmers and ranchers (since the leopard hits there when it's got to hunt and there's no where else to go). But get this: some parts of Africa allow leopard-hunting! Now, the hunters get a permit that limits how many leopards they can kill, but it's still killing, and, let's face it, poachers don't have permits, so it just helps the killing numbers. Especially since we're not sure how many leopards can be killed "safely", since there's not a good way of telling their numbers!
If a top predator of an area goes out, the ecosystem goes out of whack! Without something hunting the prey, the prey multiplies, and eats up the plant life. There's starving, and the plant life becomes endangered itself. Plus, predators help keep a herd strong by taking out the weak ones. And since there's the danger of a predator, the prey herd also stays moving, and therefore fit. They're also alert, and ready to flee from any spots they see, since it may be a leopard or other predator.
Luckily, people are starting to help. They're turning against hunting, and there are national parks to help protect leopards. Conservation groups sometimes pay for farm animals killed by leopards to keep the cats alive!