9 Facts about Leopards: The Pink Panther Really Exists!

The leopard is a member of the Panthera genus, making it a big cat, but it's the smallest among its relatives. Despite being widely spread, it remains in a vulnerable status. We'll reveal how it is connected to Alan Turing, the mathematician, and what animal the real Pink Panther is!

In the following, you’ll get to know the characteristics, external features, evolution, and cultural role of the leopard.

1.) It looks very similar to the jaguar

Jaguars and leopards are often confused and indeed have similarities. However, there are distinctive physical traits to tell them apart. Jaguars are bulkier with shorter legs. Usually, their rosettes are larger with a distinct spot in the middle. Despite numerous similarities, genetic analysis reveals that leopards are not closest to jaguars but rather to lions.

2.) Lion and leopard hybrid

In 1953, attempts were made to crossbreed a male leopard and a female lion in Hanshin Park, Nishinomiya. The offspring, known as leopons, were born in 1959 and 1961. The cubs were spotted and larger than young leopards. Attempts to mate leopons with tigers were unsuccessful. Fortunately.

3.) Leopard in Hungary, Baranya county

Leopard-like bones and teeth have been discovered at various European sites from the Pleistocene era (2.58-0.0117 million years ago). Notably, in France, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, and even in Hungary, Baranya county.

4.) Strawberry leopard, the pink panther

Among leopards, there are melanistic individuals, entirely black. This trait is inherited recessively, meaning both parents must carry the gene for it to appear in offsprings. Pale and white individuals have also been observed in the wild in India.

What’s even more interesting is that there are leopards with fur displaying an interesting reddish tone. This shade can be caused by genetic mutation or even diet. Leopards with reddish tones are also known as strawberry leopards or pink panthers. The exact cause of the red coloration in their case is not fully understood yet.

5.) Alan Turing was also interested in them

Alan Turing, the English mathematician, had a huge impact on computer science, credited with breaking the Enigma code, developing the concept of algorithms, and officializing the concept of computer data processing. Well, this incredible mind devised a theory about why leopards have spots and how patterns occurring in nature could be explained with mathematics. In 1952, he published a paper titled “The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis,” which concluded that the apparent randomness of patterns found on animals and plants is not real, and he devised an elegant mathematical formula for it.

6.) Most widespread among big cats, but…

Among wildcats, leopards have the widest distribution, occurring widely in Africa, the Caucasus, and Asia. In contrast, according to the Red List, leopards are in a vulnerable status. The disappearance of their habitat, poaching, hunting, and the strong fragmentation of the population weigh heavily on them. In North Africa, they are practically considered extinct.

7.) Weekend dads

Leopards, like most wildcats except lions, are solitary, territorial animals. Males and females only come together during mating season. However, it has been observed that male leopards engage with their partners and offspring. These interactions can sometimes extend to 2 generations.

8.) Forced to share

Leopards have a sympatric relationship with several other large predators such as lions, tigers, or cheetahs, meaning they share their hunting grounds with these species. To protect their prey from them, leopards typically haul their larger kills up into trees to consume them, leaving the remains there and returning to feast on them later. Surprisingly, though rare, adult leopards are also preyed upon by lions and tigers, and the Nile crocodile often considers them as prey.

9.) Leopards killed instead of ancient Romans

In Greek mythology, Dionysus, the god of wine and religious ecstasy, was symbolized by the leopard. He was regularly depicted wearing a leopard skin and used the animals to transport himself. During the Benin Kingdom, leopards were depicted several times in engravings and statues, used to symbolize the king’s power, as leopards were considered the kings of the forest. Ancient Romans often kept leopards captive, hunted them, and even used them for a peculiar execution method. During the damnatio ad bestias, the condemned were killed by wild animals, most commonly big cats.

Numerous leopards and other big cats were also kept in the Tower Menagerie as symbols of power and wealth, originally established by King John of England in the 13th century. Based on the findings, although these animals were admired, their living conditions left much to be desired. They lived in such small cages that there was barely enough space to lie down, and the quality of their food could have been appalling. Experts determined this from the animals’ deformed skeletons.