A leopard photographed in action during the night safari that Orient Express performs at Camp Khwai River Lodge by Orient Express in Botswana , within the Moremi Game Reserve Wild , Botswana. The leopard ( Panthera pardus ) is a carnivorous mammal of the Felidae family Like the other three big cats in the genus Panthera , the lion , tiger and jaguar are characterized by a change in the hyoid bone that allows them to roar. Also called a panther, when presented completely dark fur ( melanin ) . In antiquity , a leopard was considered a hybrid of a lion and a panther , as is reflected in its name, which is composed of the Greek words for λ ? Ων you ? N ( lion ) and π ? Ρδος brown ( male panther ) . It is also related to Sanskrit ? ? ? ? ? p ? d ? ku ( snake , tiger , panther ), and probably derives from the Mediterranean language and Egyptian . The leopard is one of the most adaptable big cats . Except in deserts , living in all kinds of habitats provided you have a place to hide and there is enough prey to survive, it is present in all types of forests, savannas , in fields and in rocky places . In some habitats , leopard develops other ways to evade larger or more numerous predators such as lion and hyenas in Africa and tigers in Asia. Really, the only factor limiting the leopard is people. Usually is often confused with the cheetah, with which it shares a very similar ( yellow fur with dark spots ) , but which differ greatly in both physical and behavioral characteristics , being distinctly less aggressive cheetah leopard , plus the leopard not have the characteristic black tear that frame the nose of the cheetah. The leopard has a pretty solid shape , with round head and long thin tail . Its legs are potent fingers 4 and 5 at the rear of the above , all of its claws 91 retráctiles.2 Reach m.de 1.91 cm length , over 58 to 110 cm of the tail, and a height in the cross of 45-78 cm.3 Adult males weigh between 37 and 90 kg , and females of 28-60 kg . His dental formula is as follows: 3/3, 1/1, 3/2, 1/1 = 30