Cats originated 37 million years ago. Their ancestors were some animals as big as foxes and looked like cats. In the long process of evolution, some super-large species, such as saber-toothed tigers, have emerged. But more than 10 thousand years ago, these big guys were extinct. Modern cats vary greatly, from 0.8kg small black-footed cat to 400kg Northeast Tiger (also called Northeast Tiger in China). They are also widely distributed, from tropical forests to mountainous areas with snow all year round.

Modern big cats include lions, tigers and leopards. There are three kinds of lions, African lions and Asian lions and cougars. Among them, African lions are distributed in most parts of Africa, and Asian lions are only found in India now, with more than 300 lions. Pumas can be found everywhere in America. Tigers are mainly distributed in Asia, and their subspecies are chaotic. At present, there are eight subspecies recognized in the world: Lihai Tiger (extinct in11940s), Balihu Tiger (extinct in11970s), Java Tiger (extinct in11980s), Northeast Tiger, Bengal Tiger (also known as Indian Tiger), Southeast Asian Tiger (also known as Indian zhina Tiger), and so on. China is the country with the largest distribution of tiger subspecies, including Northeast Tiger, South China Tiger, Bengal Tiger and Indian zhina Tiger. There are many kinds of leopards, which are widely distributed. Common cheetahs, leopards, leopards, leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards.

Cheetah is a carnivore, living in Africa, the Middle East and India. It feeds on deer and zebras. It is generally believed that cheetah is the fastest animal among mammals, and its speed can reach 120- 130 km per hour. In fact, cheetahs are docile, so there is a legend that cheetahs were raised in ancient times for hunting.

So why can cheetahs run fast? Because, its body grows high before and low after, with thin waist, wide chest, big crotch, slender front and rear limbs, and thick meat pads on the front and rear soles. Moreover, its spine is soft and flexible, and its nostrils are relatively large, so it can breathe more air to meet the needs of strenuous exercise. Because of these conditions, it can run very fast, but such a fast speed can't last long, and it will slow down if it only lasts for 500-800 meters. Although hunted animals such as deer and zebra can only run at a speed of about 80 kilometers per hour, they can keep running at the same speed for a long time, so as long as they keep a certain distance from cheetahs, they can not be eaten by cheetahs. Therefore, cheetahs will attack as close as possible to their prey.

There are many kinds of leopards. Cheetah is a kind of leopard, including leopard, clouded leopard living in tropical and subtropical alpine jungle and snow leopard living in snow-capped mountains thousands of meters above sea level.

Leopard is widely produced in China and Asia, so there are China leopard and Asian leopard. It is also produced in large quantities in Africa, so there are also African leopards. However, Europe does not produce leopards, and Australia (home of marsupials) does not produce leopards; Leopard production in North America and South America is even lower. Some readers may ask: What did I hear about Jaguar? The author replied: the so-called jaguar, sometimes called jaguar, is actually neither a leopard nor a tiger, but another big cat. It is smaller than a tiger and bigger than a leopard. It is produced in Central and South America and southern North America. Its English name is Jagure and its scientific name is Panthera onca. It is also fierce and can eat people. Therefore, if the title only mentions the leopard in China and the leopard in the world, it will be fine; But if leopards are produced in large quantities around the world, it would be too reluctant. ?

However, whether writing about China or foreign leopards, we should first "clean up" the names and types of leopards and present them to readers for careful identification, otherwise it is inevitable to "read the wrong house number" and "find the wrong object". ?

From the point of view of mammalian taxonomy, leopard is a species of leopard and leopard. Its scientific name is Panthera pardus, its English name is Leopard, and its Chinese name is a simple word: Leopard. It should also be pointed out here that this refers to the model species of leopard. Some people may ask, this refers to the model species of leopards. Are there any other species? This question has been bothering me for a long time. It's really a problem! To tell the truth, the types of leopards are indeed multipolar, but it is hard to say that there are too many kinds and too complicated. ?

Dr. A.Shoemaker, editor-in-chief of the International Atlas of the Leopard, was deeply touched by this (see 1992 International Atlas of the Leopard): "The leopard can be said to be one of the most widely distributed large mammals on the earth, and its distribution area is still expanding, which is Cape Town, the southernmost part of South Africa. In this vast land, there are no fewer than 27 leopard subspecies recognized by experts and scholars! " Due to the limited space, it is impossible and unnecessary to list all the names of 27 leopard subspecies here. But some of them are considered as outstanding representatives of leopards by some internationally renowned zoologists. Although they are not qualified as biological species, they are at least "important" subspecies. Dr Shu Ke Mei of the United States compiled these "most important" subspecies into a genealogical table (book). Gave me a part. There are several such watches in the author's bookcase. ?

In mid-April, 1986, led by the Cat expert group of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), held a seminar on tiger world protection strategy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. As members of the cat expert group, Shu and I both participated. During the chat, he heard me say that he was collecting information about leopards, so he decided to send me the genealogy tables (books) of several leopards, including China leopards. What needs to be explained here is that the so-called China leopard is called China Leopard in English, formerly known as Huabei Leopard or Beijing Leopard. It was first discovered in two mountains in Beijing (1862), but its scientific name is japonensis, which is completely wrong! Made in China, how can it be made in Japan? It turned out that Gray, who named the leopard, saw the leopard skin in Japan at 1862. He didn't know that leather was brought from Beijing and thought it was made in Japan. Moreover, the origin of this leopard is also confused. According to the international view, China leopard has a wide range of producing areas, including not only North China, but also Northwest China (Gansu), Central Plains (Henan) and East China (Anhui). Some foreign zoologists even confused several subspecies with different names, saying that they are all Chinese leopards. For example, in Germany, a professor, Professor H.Hemmer, is the head of the famous German Society for Nature Conservation of Species and Populations. He published a paper on March 1983 entitled "Taxonomy of China Leopard".

According to him, according to the famous Zhoukoudian fossil remains, the Chinese leopard first appeared in the middle Oligocene, which means that this animal has lived for at least 500,000 years. 500 thousand years? ! This is nonsense. It's incredible. ?

First of all, I would like to ask: which living mammals may have a history of 500 thousand years? Take some "living fossils" that people often say. What about China's "national treasure" giant panda? What are the only remaining "four elephants" (elk) in Royal Hunt Park in Nanhaizi? Also, not too long ago, wild horses could be found in the most desolate places in Mongolia and Xinjiang? In my opinion, the survival history of these animals is far less than 500 thousand years.

Secondly, it is doubtful whether there are any existing leopard bones in Zhoukoudian's fossil remains. ?

However, this question reminds me of another thing. 198 1 In winter, a leopard was found in Huangcaoliang Township, Mentougou District, Beijing, not far from Zhoukoudian. The cadres of the brigade asked the team members to pay attention to the safety of people and animals, and not to clip, dig holes or shoot leopards. This leopard is not far from Zhoukoudian town. Could it be that there have been leopards here since ancient times?

However, the above are all leopard species that people used to call "Leopard" (North China and South China) and "Yin Bao" (Northeast China). In addition, there are other kinds of leopards, some of which are still very famous and important. Let me introduce it to the readers.

The first thing that comes to mind is snow leopard. For many years, it, like ordinary leopards, belongs to Panthera. But later, some scholars thought that its skull was different from that of lions, tigers and leopards, so they ordered another genus for it, called Anxi, so its scientific name became Anxi. However, some other scholars suggested changing Uncia to Yaju, which still belongs to Panthera. Regardless of the skull, the snow leopard is obviously different from the ordinary leopard in its big shape.

In terms of body shape, snow leopard looks similar to ordinary leopard (the actual weight is similar), but the body hair of snow leopard is much longer than ordinary leopard, so it looks much bigger. Moreover, its tail is much longer than ordinary leopards, and its tail hair is richer and thicker, which is the absolute difference between snow leopards and other leopards. Secondly, judging from the color and stripes, the snow leopard's fur is light blue and gray, slightly cream-colored, the lower body is pure white, and there are large black spots on the upper body and limbs, but the spots are almost blurred because of its long and thick hair. Its coat color and spots have a good camouflage effect, especially in mountainous and snowy areas. When it is still, it is difficult for other animals and even hunters to find it.

Snow leopard is basically a special animal in the alpine plateau of Central Asia. It is produced in China, India and Nepal, as well as in the Soviet Union and Mongolia. In China, it is mainly produced in Kangzang Plateau, reaching the Himalayas in the south, Altai Mountain in the north, and western Sichuan and southern Gansu in the east. Generally speaking, they can be found in almost all mountainous areas in western China. For example, Kunlun Mountain, Jishi Mountain, Qilian Mountain and Helan Mountain can all be considered as the origin of snow leopards, even on Yinshan Mountain in Inner Mongolia. However, although the origin is so extensive, the number is not necessarily large. Because the leopard is a very lonely animal, the population density is very low. It is understood that over the past 30 years, more than 50 live snow leopards/kloc-0 have been collected in Qinghai, and nearly 50 have been poached (mainly from Qilian, Tianjun, Dulan, Maduo and Zaduo counties), which means that although they belong to a class of protected animals, poaching continues. Internationally, it has also been designated as an E-class international protected animal by the Red Book.

Snow leopards prey on all kinds of alpine animals above the alpine snowline for most of the year, such as small burrowing rabbits, prairie dogs, Dayuan sheep and rock sheep. It is better to eat large ungulates, but these animals have horns and strong self-defense ability. Snow leopards are often difficult to catch food, so they often take risks to steal livestock grazing by herders on the mountain. ?

Snow leopards have little to do with human social life. Their habitats are generally far away from humans, and there are few residents in the mountains. As long as the gate is well guarded, the pen will be strong and basically safe. Snow leopards are not particularly fierce and aggressive animals. People don't provoke it, and it generally doesn't take the initiative to attack humans. So far, there is no record of snow leopard eating people. There are several snow leopards in Beijing Zoo, which look far less aggressive than the leopard. ?

Both farmers and hunters like snow leopard skin very much. It's freezing in the cold, so it's good as a mattress or a cloak, and of course it can also be sold in the market. Snow leopard skin is commonly known as "earth leopard skin" or "mugwort leopard skin" in leather goods stores. Visitors who have been to northwest China can easily find snow leopard skins for sale in markets or street stalls. People may be surprised that although snow leopard skin has many advantages, its price is often only half or a little more than that of leopard skin. It is said that this is because the fur of snow leopard skin is too long, and the pattern after making clothes is not as good as leopard skin. ?

But there is another situation that the author knows very well: that is, in zoos around the world, the value of live snow leopards is higher than that of leopards. Because the number of living snow leopards is far less than that of leopards, in addition, in terms of living conditions, snow leopards have higher and stricter requirements, can not cope well, and are more likely to die.

This is another animal, the clouded leopard. Clouded leopards are very different from snow leopards. It is neither an alpine animal nor a cold animal, but it is one of the "famous" animals in China. The origin of clouded leopard is Southeast Asia, and it is produced in several big islands in Indonesia, Malaya and Myanmar. Neither Hainan nor Taiwan Province Province produces common leopards, but clouded leopards. In Taiwan Province Province, the clouded leopard is called the "Cloud Tiger". ?

The reason why it is called a clouded leopard or a clouded tiger is that the pattern on its body is not like a coin or plum blossom of an ordinary leopard, but like a cloud. In the fur industry, it also has different names such as tortoise leopard, tortoise shell leopard or lotus leaf leopard. ?

According to animal taxonomy, clouded leopard belongs to its own genus, and its scientific name is Neafeeis nebueosa. South Asian subspecies is native to Taiwan Province Province and Southeast Asia, and its scientific name is N.nebueosa macroseides. ?

As tropical and subtropical rainforest animals, South Asian subspecies should have a large number, but unexpectedly, its number is far lower than that of Chinese mainland's model subspecies. According to the survey, clouded leopards are found not only in Guangdong and Guangxi in South China, Yunnan and Guizhou in East China, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, but also in the Qinling Mountains (Shaanxi and Gansu) in the northernmost part of the subtropical zone. ?

In terms of body shape, clouded leopards are much smaller than ordinary leopards, with shorter limbs, but their tails are long and fat, and the length is equal to the body length (which can exceed 1 m). There is a black circle of 12 ~ 14 at the tail. As for the fur, it is brown-gray, looks less beautiful than a leopard, and the hair is short, so the fur is not excellent. In morphology, another famous feature of clouded leopard is its extremely huge canine teeth. Although it can't be compared with the thick canine teeth of a big lion or a big tiger, in the mouth of such a small animal, the extremely long canine teeth once made a zoologist sigh: "Luck reminds me of the saber-toothed tiger that was extinct in ancient times." ?

Because of its dexterity (weighing less than 30 kilograms), the clouded leopard likes arboreal very much and spends most of its time in trees every day. It is said that their ability to climb trees is among the best among carnivores. Clouded leopards prey on arboreal monkeys and birds, and of course they can catch deer in the fields. But there is no news that clouded leopards steal large livestock or hurt villagers. ?

The above leopards are all from China, so it is not difficult to see them in zoos. The one to be introduced below is not made in China, and it is not easy to see even in the zoo. That's a cheetah. Its scientific name is Acinonyx jubatus. ?

Due to the particularity of morphology, cheetahs are not only different from ordinary leopards in species and genera, but even call themselves a subfamily. One of the most important features is that its claws are not like cat claws but like dog claws. Its claws are straight, have no hooks, cannot be retracted in the palm of your hand, and have no claw sheath. Among cats, cheetahs are the only animals with such claws. ?

Why is it called cheetah? It turns out that this leopard was raised by someone to help hunt. In addition, a few cheetahs are produced in India and the Middle East (such as Iran and Palestine) (maybe another kind, A.Venaticus). The nobles in these areas used it to help hunting. Before hunting, they said they would starve it for a day. When hunting, they will cover their heads with cloth. When they arrive at the hunting area and find wild animals (such as deer or antelope), they will let it chase. Almost any quadruped can't escape it.

In fact, cheetahs are the fastest animals in the world. Someone once recorded its running speed with a stopwatch. In a short distance (such as1~ 2km), their top speed can reach110km. For example, it only takes 3 seconds to run 80 meters. So in the vast grassland (or sand), no quadruped can run away. When you catch up with him, you jump up from the side and slam it, knocking down the prey and biting its throat. ?

In terms of morphology, cheetahs are obviously different from ordinary leopards except for the specialization of claws mentioned above. Its body is thin, its limbs are slender, and its whole body is covered with small black spots. Later, a small number of new populations were discovered in Zambia, South Africa, with rows of round spots, which were called "King Cheetah". At first, I thought it was a new species or subspecies, but later I knew it was a variety. Recently, the author read a travel brochure published in London in the 1980s, which said that cheetahs are close to the end of the road in Asia, such as India, and have not seen cheetahs since 1948. Experts believe that there are only a few survivors in Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan in Asia, and that's all.

Here's the panther. I think the first thing to say is that panther is neither a unique species or subspecies, nor a variety, but only a color type. Just like there are Hei Hu and White Tiger among tigers. But there is no Bai Bao among leopards. It may have happened before, but I don't know. ?

It should also be noted that the panther in the photo in the manual does not represent the overall image, because the panther as a whole is not so pure black, but a pure inner ring pattern emerges on the dark brown fur. ?

Panthers are mainly produced in Southeast Asia, such as Malaya and Thailand, and are often a litter of cubs, half black and half yellow. There are also rumors that Panther's temper is much worse than Huang Bao's, irritable and troublesome. It is said that panthers kept in circuses and zoos often hurt people. ?

It is uncertain whether China produces panthers, because it was rumored several years ago that a panther was caught in Yunnan, but it was not a leopard after inspection, but a black and gold cat (the golden cat also has black and yellow colors, and the older one is easily mistaken for a leopard). ?

The above mainly introduces the species and origin of leopards. Let's start with the relationship between leopards and humans. ?

This problem may have a long history. At this point, the author thinks that the rulers of the ancient Roman Empire (Catholic Church) once got a large number of wild leopards from Africa and transported them to Italy through North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea to deal with unyielding prisoners. Those beasts who have been ill-treated after being hungry for a few days, at the sight of people who made me undress, run around on the ground and crawl around (it is said that there are other beasts such as bears and wolves in the hall sometimes), they immediately flew into a rage, caught up, grabbed and bit, and at that time the beasts roared in the hall, and the prisoners cried and scolded. The author believes that no one has the opportunity to learn from it in any era, regardless of ancient and modern times, except the ancient Roman Empire. ?

Now I want to ask a question, do leopards eat people? This seems to be an understandable problem that lacks facts. It's hard to say.

Leopards eat people. In the author's childhood, it seems to be heard from people, as if it were the theory of an old mother. However, if you want people to tell you when, where and who, you really can't, so you have to look through foreign newspapers. There are indeed many abroad. An example of "ready-made". ?

I checked my old notebook, and it was recorded as follows: 1926, India shot and killed a notorious "Joudelat Prayag" and ate 125 people in three years! During World War I, two man-eating leopards ate or killed nearly 500 people in the Kukumang area near Nepal! Such an extreme case is unprecedented in China. Why? According to zoologists, the only question is whether the people are organized and whether they have self-defense weapons in their hands. I believe there have been leopards that hurt people in China before, but it is estimated that at the beginning of its evil deeds, someone will come out and kill it soon. On the other hand, the leopard has long been listed as a pest by the China government. It was not until 198 1 Revised Regulations on the Protection of Wild Animal Resources (Draft) that the leopard was listed as the second-class protected animal in China for the first time. Before that, if a leopard was killed somewhere, it might be praised by the press as a pest control measure, and even as a "hero". ?

I remember that a few decades ago (1960s ~ 1970s), there was an old man named He who was 70 or 80 years old in northern Henan and southern Hebei. He is an old hero who claims to be good at catching live leopards. In the English newspaper in Beiping, there was also a photo of him holding a live leopard. It is said that in those years, he and his three sons captured dozens of leopards alive, of which at least 23 were given to zoos in Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Shangqiu and Xuchang, Kaifeng.

Tibetan transliteration: Sabus

Nicknames: leopard, leopard, leopard

English name: Panthera pardus

Scientific name: leopard spider

Main features: It is similar in size to a tiger, but smaller, and it is a large and medium-sized carnivore. It weighs about 50 kilograms, its body length exceeds 1 m, and its tail length exceeds half of its body length. Weight is 90- 140kg. Round head, short ears, strong limbs, pointed claws and strong flexibility. Leopard has bright body color, brown fur, black spots and ring patterns all over the body, forming ancient money-shaped stripes, so it is called "leopard". Its back is black and its abdomen is milky white.

Distribution: Geelong, Nyalam, Dingri, Bomi, Bianba, Qamdo, Jiangda, Mangkang, Gongjue, Chayu and Medog in Tibet. And mountainous forest areas in Guangdong.

Habit and Habitat: Habitat is 2000-3500m above sea level. Often live in subtropical forests, shrubs, tropical rainforests and temperate coniferous forests in mountainous areas. The leopard has a variety of habitats, from low mountains and hills to alpine forests and shrubs, with fixed nests and strong concealment. Leopards are extremely strong in physical fitness, extremely sensitive in sight and smell, and alert in temperament. It can swim and climb trees, which makes it a bold and fierce carnivore with a wide range of eating habits. Females compete fiercely during reproduction. They mate in estrus from March to April and give birth in June to July, each giving birth to 2-3 cubs. The cubs left the mother leopard that autumn and lived independently.

Status: National first-class key protected animals.