World ShowBiz Repost: Meow! Nicki Minaj Goes Wild in Leopard at the Grammys: Love It or Hate It?

Nicki Minaj’s wild-at-heart ensembles always keep fans on their toes — and Grammy night was no exception as the rapper prowled the red carpet in head-to-toe leopard. “This outfit is a masterpiece by Givenchy and what they made for me is a miraculous piece of lioness meets her cub meets fierce-osity meets fabulosity meets fashionista meets runway meets everything, darling!” Nicki told Ryan Seacrest onE! Live from the Red Carpet. Nicki was just as enthusiastic when she talked to PEOPLE on the red carpet, saying, “I saw it, I loved it, I had to have it.” She rocked the wildcat print “Pardalis” silk satin dress with matching leopard-print belt, gloves, leggings and shoes, and topped off her look with a hairstyle that would give the Bride of Frankenstein a run for her money, featuring an ebony-streaked bleached bouffant accented with leopard spots. And while the Grammy-nominated artist (for best rap performance by a duo or group) may not have walked away with a win on Sunday night, she certainly succeeded in grabbing everyone’s

-http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com-

Mr. Leppard, The Leopard Man!

Formerly considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the world’s most tattooed man, Tom Leppard, now 73 years old, fled society years ago after spending £5,500 to have his body covered in leopard-like spots. He lived in a small cabin on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Once every week, the ex-soldier travelled by canoe to buy supplies and pick up his pension. However, in 2008 he moved into a small house on Skye after a friend offered to move him by boat. “I’m getting too old for that kind of life,” he said.

Reblog : 150 Leopard Pelts- Trader Gets Off Scot-Free

The Shembe wear leopard regalia during their worship sessions. A trader caught with 150 leopard pelts was found to supply ceremonial regalia to members of the Shembe church. (Mike Hutchings, Reuters)

Conservationists are infuriated that a KwaZulu-Natal muti trader caught in possession of 150 leopard pelts has been let off the hook. Figures indicate that, at most, 450 of the endangered cats are left in the province.

And, after it emerged that the trader supplies ceremonial regalia to members of the Shembe church, differences have emerged over who is entitled to wear the spotted skins. Mlungu Ngubane was charged with 252 offences under the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Ordinance after police raided his Maputaland home in August 2008.

In addition to 92 leopard skins, they said they found parts of several other protected game species and a container of Temik, a toxic pesticide they believed was used to kill wildlife.

This was not Ngubane's first run-in with the law. In late 2007 he was convicted of the illegal possession of 58 leopard skins and was given a suspended sentence and community service. When his case came to court in late January after several delays, magistrate Paul David ruled the police did not have a warrant to search his premises and threw it out.

Conservation NGOs that became aware of the ruling only this week said it was based on a flimsy technicality. They suspected political pressure because Ngubane tailors leopard skins into the traditional outfits worn by Shembe believers.

"After his first conviction, the church asked that Ngubane be allowed to do community service rather than go to jail on condition that he was not caught again. He continued trading in spite of this," said Rynette Coetzee, of the Endangered Wildlife Trust's law and policy programme.

The Shembes

Tristan Dickerson, a scientist working with the Munyawana Leopard Project in northern KwaZulu-Natal, pointed out that leopards are listed as threatened and are protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Asked to do DNA analysis on Ngubane's skins, he discovered they were going to the Shembes. He attended several Shembe events, where he saw more than 2 000 members wearing real leopard skins.

"Leopard skin represents royalty and everyone wants to feel like royalty," said Bandile Mkhize, the chief executive of the regional authority, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. "Before we know it, there won't be any animals left. We can't allow a free-for-all."

Kings and chiefs, including President Jacob Zuma, were required to follow certain procedures and obtain permits if they wanted to wear the pelts of protected species, Mkhize said. His organisation had issued 15 such permits for a ceremony last December.

But although Zulu royalty appeared happy to follow the rules -- King Goodwill Zwelethini gets the crane feathers for his headdress from conservation organisations -- Ngubane was supplying the Shembes illegally. "He certainly didn't get any permits from us," said Mkhize.

A ceremonial outfit made of leopard skin, which includes an apron, headdress and armbands, costs more than R6 000. Zulu royal spokesperson Prince Mbonisi said the leopard skins date back to the 1960s and it is impossible to source new ones. "There are no markets where you can buy leopard skins. Ask the Shembe; they wear them all the time," he said.

Pointing fingers

Presidential spokesperson Zanele Mngadi could not say where the Zuma household sources ceremonial leopard regalia, saying that they could be fake. She failed to answer further questions.

Enoch Mthembu, the spokesperson for the Shembe church, saw nothing wrong with Ngubane supplying church members. "God gave us the environment and control over the animals. We wear leopard skins to worship God, not to enrich ourselves," he said.

The Shembes wear leopard regalia for dancing ceremonies, not for traditional purposes in the manner of Zulu nobility, he said. "It's wrong to point fingers at the Shembe; this is part of our culture."

The religion, with an estimated 4,5-million followers, was based on reverence for nature and used various animal skins for positive, peaceful purposes, Mthembu said. They were sourced from all over the continent.

Asked about the risk that leopards could become extinct, Mthembu replied that stock owners in Port Elizabeth were complaining the cats were killing their livestock.

This blog repost from BIGCAT NEWS.

Diet & Hunting

Leopards are versatile, opportunistic hunters. In the open savanna, they are most successful when hunting between sunset and sunrise, though they may hunt during the day, especially in forest areas when they have the advantage of being hidden by dense brush or cloudy skies. The leopard stalks its prey silently and at the last minute pounces on its prey and strangles its throat with a quick bite. Leopards often hide their kills in dense vegetation or take them up trees, and are capable of carrying animals up to three times their own weight this way. The leopard is the only big cat known to carry its prey up into a tree.

Leopards have relatively flexible dietary needs and generally feed on a greater diversity of prey compared to other members of the Panthera species. Although mid-sized animals are preferred, the leopard will eat anything from dung beetles to 900 kg (1,984 lb) male giant elands. Their diet consists mostly of ungulates and monkeys, but rodents, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds, and fish are also eaten. One survey of nearly 30 research papers conducted by Hayward et al. (2006) found preferred prey weights of 10 to 40 kg (22–88 lb), with 25 kg (55 lb) most preferred. Along with impala and chital, a preference for bushbuck and duiker was found. Other prey selection factors include a preference for prey in small herds, in dense habitat, and those that afford the predator a low risk of injury.

In Africa, mid-sized antelopes provide a majority of the leopard's prey, especially impala and Thomson's gazelles. In Asia, the leopard preys on deer such as chital sand muntjacs, as well as various Asian antelopes and ibex. Prey preference estimates in southern India showed that the most favored prey of the leopard was the Chital. A study at the Wolong Reserve in China revealed how adaptable the leopard's hunting behaviour is: over the course of seven years, the vegetative cover receded, and the animals opportunistically shifted from primarily consuming tufted deer to instead pursuing bamboo rats and other smaller prey.

Physical Characteristic

The leopard is an agile and stealthy predator. Although smaller than other members of the Panthera genus, the leopard is still able to take large prey given its massive skull that facilitates powerful jaw muscles. Its body is comparatively long for a cat and its legs are short. Head and body length is between 125 and 165 cm (49 and 65 in) and the tail reaches 60 to 110 cm (24 to 43 in). Shoulder height is 45 to 80 cm (18 to 31 in). The muscles attached to the scapula are exceptionally strong, which enhances the leopard's ability to climb trees.

Leopards show a great diversity in size. Males are about 30% larger than females, weighing 30 to 91 kg (66 to 200 lb) compared to 23 to 60 kg (51 to 130 lb) for females. Large males of up to 91 kg have been documented in Kruger National Park in South Africa; however, males in the South Africa's coastal mountains average a much smaller 31 kg. This wide variation in size is thought to result from the quality and availability of prey found in each habitat. Smaller sized leopards also are known in the deserts of the Middle East.

Leopards may sometimes be confused with two other large spotted cats, the cheetah, with which it may co-exist inAfrica, and the jaguar, a neotropical species that it does not naturally co-exist with. However, the patterns of spots in each are different: the cheetah has simple spots, evenly spread; the jaguar has small spots inside the polygonalrosettes; while the leopard normally has rounder, smaller rosettes than those of the jaguar. The leopard is larger and much more muscular than the cheetah, but slightly smaller and more lightly built than the jaguar.

Leopards show a great diversity in physical appearance, particularly because of the wide variations in color coat and rosette patterns. The leopard's rosettes are circular in East Africa but tend to be squarer in southern Africa and larger in Asian populations. The leopard's yellow coat tends to more pale and cream colored in desert populations, more gray in colder climates, and of a darker golden hue in rainforest habitats. Overall, the fur under the belly tends to be lighter colored and of a softer, downy type. Solid black spots in place of open rosettes are generally seen along the face, limbs and underbelly.

Rear view of female leopard. Note ocelli (white spots on the back of the ears), used to communicate with other leopards.

Some of Leopard clip.

A video of a Snow Leopard climbing tree

You can directly press play from here or click below link for external browser. Hope you guys enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4wqP386Gzo&feature=related

Panthera Pardus

Leopards are graceful and powerful big cats closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India, and China. However, many of their populations are endangered, especially outside of Africa.

The leopard is so strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kills into the branches. By dragging the bodies of large animals aloft it hopes to keep them safe from scavengers such as hyenas. Leopards can also hunt from trees, where their spotted coats allow them to blend with the leaves until they spring with a deadly pounce. These nocturnal predators also stalk antelope, deer, and pigs by stealthy movements in the tall grass. When human settlements are present, leopards often attack dogs and, occasionally, people.

Leopards are strong swimmers and very much at home in the water, where they sometimes eat fish or crabs.

Female leopards can give birth at any time of the year. They usually have two grayish cubs with barely visible spots. The mother hides her cubs and moves them from one safe location to the next until they are old enough to begin playing and learning to hunt. Cubs live with their mothers for about two years—otherwise, leopards are solitary animals.

Most leopards are light colored with distinctive dark spots that are called rosettes, because they resemble the shape of a rose. Black leopards, which appear to be almost solid in color because their spots are hard to distinguish, are commonly called black panthers.

Image Description: When it's time for a rest, leopards like to climb trees and sprawl out on the branches. They are the largest of the cats that climb trees regularly.

Source: AWF Gallery.