Mitsuaki Iwago / Leopard (Panthera pardus) lounging in a tree, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Pete Oxford / Tibetan man at the Horse Racing Festival or 'Heavenly Steed Festival' wearing endangered wild leopard cat skins, Zhongdian, Deqin Tibetan Autonymous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China 2006

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) female lying at den, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) laying in tree, Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) female leaping, winter, Malamala Game Reserve, South Africa

Shin Yoshino / Leopard (Panthera pardus) resting in Whistling Thorn (Acacia drepanolobium) acacia tree, Masai Mara, Kenya

Ingo Arndt / Leopard (Panthera pardus) wading through shallow water, Namibia

Ingo Arndt / Leopard (Panthera pardus) resting on rocks, Namibia

Ingo Arndt / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait, Namibia

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) snarling, Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) two females fighting, Sabi-sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Patricio Robles Gil / Leopard (Panthera pardus) resting in shade, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Pete Oxford / Leopard (Panthera pardus) climbing down a tree, Africa

Pete Oxford / Leopard (Panthera pardus) ten month old cub resting in the shade, Africa

Pete Oxford / Leopard (Panthera pardus) ten month old cub resting in the shade, Africa

Pete Oxford / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking, Africa

ZSSD / Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) close-up portrait, native to southeast Asia

Keith Scholey / Leopard {Panthera pardus} 'Half Tail' on location for Big Cat Diary, Masai Mara NR, Kenya

Nick Garbutt / Adult Leopard Cat {Felis / Prionailurus bengalensis} portrait resting in tree, riverine forest, banks of Kinabatangan River, Sukau, Sabah, Borneo.

Nick Garbutt / Adult Leopard Cat {Felis / Prionailurus bengalensis} resting in a tree, riverine forest, banks of Kinabatangan River, Sukau, Sabah, Borneo.

Jane Burton / Black domestic cat kitten standing on garden wall with black jaguar/leopard shadow in background(digitally enhanced). UK

Rod Williams / Amur leopard cat {Prionailurus bengalensis euptailura} male, captive, Critically endangered

Marguerite Smits Van Oyen / Leopard with Wildebeest kill. Masai Mara, Kenya. 'Safi' from Big Cat Diary 2000

Karl Ammann / Illegal wildlife products for sale including tiger and leopard skins, Tachileh, Burma

Marguerite Smits Van Oyen / Leopard with Wildebeest kill, Masai Mara, Kenya. 'Safi' from Big Cat Diary 2000

Michael Durham / Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) portrait, native to the Amur River Valley, Siberia, Manchuria and Korea

Shin Yoshino / Leopard (Panthera pardus) carrying prey, Masai Mara, Kenya

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) running over open ground, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) licking its lips, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) licking its lips, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) close up portrait, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) stalking the camera, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) climbing a tree, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking through dry grass, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking over sand, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking over dune, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) silhouette at sunset, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) on savannah, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) reclining on rock, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) climbing down rocks, possibly approaching some prey, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) jumping, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking through dry grass, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) leaping over photographer, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) leaping over photographer, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait licking lips, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) looking up, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking in sand, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) cub, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus), Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait showing teeth, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking, Africa

Winfried Wisniewski / Leopard (Panthera pardus) silhouette at sunset

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) adult pouncing on a Mouse in the grass, spring, Sabi-sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) adult peering through tall grass, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) adult female snarling, summer, Moremi Wildlife Reserve, Botswana

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) female and cub resting, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) cub silhouetted against orange sky at sunset, summer, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) juvenile yawning, summer, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) juvenile, summer, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Richard Du Toit / Leopard (Panthera pardus) snarling female, Moremi Wildlife Reserve, Botswana

ZSSD / Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) cub snarling, native to Iran and Afghanistan

ZSSD / Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia) portrait, native to mountainous regions of central Asia

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Leopard (Panthera pardus) in tree, Durstenbrook, Namibia

Shin Yoshino / Leopard (Panthera pardus) walking through green grass, Masai Mara, Kenya

Mitsuaki Iwago / Leopard (Panthera pardus) resting in tree, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Mitsuaki Iwago / Leopard (Panthera pardus) in tall grass, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Shin Yoshino / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Pete Oxford / Leopard (Panthera pardus) lounging in tree, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Pete Oxford / Leopard (Panthera pardus) in tree searching for prey, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Gerry Ellis / Leopard (Panthera pardus) female, scent marking a tree, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Leopard (Panthera pardus) large male peeking from behind bushes, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Leopard (Panthera pardus) large male resting after hunting and devouring its kill, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Leopard (Panthera pardus) large male resting after hunting and devouring its kill, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Leopard (Panthera pardus) well camouflaged male walking through grass, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Leopard (Panthera pardus) male threatens intruder with lips curled and canine teeth bared, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Leopard (Panthera pardus) female sleeping in shade during mid-day heat on massive fig tree branch, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait of female, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) growling, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) leaping, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Leopard (Panthera pardus) on rocks, Okonjima Game Ranch, Namibia

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Leopard (Panthera pardus) curiously approaching camera, Okonjima Game Ranch, Namibia

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Leopard (Panthera pardus) alert, sitting on rocks, Okonjima Game Ranch, Namibia

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Leopard (Panthera pardus) resting in tree, Dirstenbrok, Namibia

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Leopard (Panthera pardus) on rocks, watching, Okonjima Game Ranch, Namibia

Norbert Wu / Leopard (Panthera pardus) stores kill of antelope in Acacia tree in middle of savannah, up where other predators can't get it, Kenya

Gerry Ellis / Leopard (Panthera pardus) female, portrait, Moremi Wildlife Reserve, Botswana

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) camouflaged in tall in grass, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Shin Yoshino / Leopard (Panthera pardus) standing guard over kill, Masai Mara, Kenya

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) in grass country, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus), Etosha National Park, Namibia

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) running through grass at dusk, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) in grass at dusk, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) portrait, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Konrad Wothe / Leopard (Panthera pardus) leaping from tree, Etosha National Park, Namibia