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Concept
Indian leopard
Summary
The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species Panthera pardus is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching for the illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to conflict situations.
The Indian leopard is one of the big cats occurring on the Indian subcontinent, along with the Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, snow leopard and clouded leopard.
In 2014, a national census of leopards around tiger habitats was carried out in India except the northeast. 7,910 individuals were estimated in surveyed areas and a national total of 12,000–14,000 speculated.
Felis fusca was the scientific name proposed by Friedrich Albrecht Anton Meyer in 1794 who described a black leopard from Bengal that was on display at the Tower of London. Leopardus perniger proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1863 were five leopard skins from Nepal, out of which three were black. He mentioned Sikkim and Nepal as habitat.
Panthera pardus millardi proposed by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1930 was a single leopard skin and skull from Kashmir. It differed from typical P. p. fusca skins by longer hair and a more greyish colour.
Since leopard populations in Nepal, Sikkim and Kashmir are not geographically isolated from leopard populations in the Indian subcontinent, they were subsumed to P. p. fusca in 1996.
The Indian leopard has strong legs and a long, well-formed tail, broad muzzle, short ears, small, yellowish-grey eyes, and light-grey ocular bulbs.
Its coat is spotted and rosetted on a pale yellow to yellowish-brown or golden background, except for the melanistic forms; the spots fade toward the white underbelly and the insides and lower parts of the legs. Rosettes are most prominent on the back, flanks and hindquarters. The pattern of the rosettes is unique to each individual. Juveniles have woolly fur, and appear dark due to the densely arranged spots.
Official source
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