Sunday Afternoon

Dreamy shot of a lazy leopard chilling on a Sunday afternoon.

Featured Red Bubble Home Page 5/6/2010.
Submitted to the Sold! group.
Sold 1 Laminated Print to Bonnie Robert 2/22/2010 (RB;RB Member)
Sold 1 Laminated Print to "RB, RB Member, Tweetybird)
Sold 1 Poster, (RB, Mystery Buyer)

Caon EOS 30D SLR; 100-300 f/5.6, Triopod used

Leopards are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae.

The leopard is a large carnivore of the cat family, Panthera pardus, widely distributed in Africa and Asia. It is commonly yellow, buff, or gray, patterned with black spots and rings. The rings, unlike those of the New World jaguar, never have spots inside them. Black leopards are commonly called panthers, a name sometimes used for all leopards. They are not a distinct species but merely a color variant caused by melanism, or excessive pigmentation. Close inspection reveals the typical spotting, which is obscured by the darkness of the background.

Leopards are somewhat smaller than lions and tigers; the largest males are about 7 ft (2.3 m) long, including the 3-ft (90-cm) tail. Leopards are solitary, largely nocturnal, and good climbers; they hunt both on the ground and in trees. They prey mostly on small animals such as monkeys, rodents, and birds. Leopards are found in much of Africa south of the Sahara and in parts of Asia from Israel to Korea and Indonesia. They are listed as threatened or endangered throughout their range, owing primarily to loss of their natural habitat and to illegal killing for Oriental folk medicine.

Be sure to check out these other wild cat images: