Category: Panthera
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Leopard buried with 12,000-year-old shaman
Found in the North of Israel, here is a shaman buried 12,000 years ago, with some significant grave offerings: 50 tortoise shells A leopard pelvis A human foot Right! The leopard does not seem in very good company, but it must have been quite a burial. Source: Science Blog.
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Sabertooth cats were social
The Sabertooth cat (Smilodon fatalis) is definitely the most famous fossil big cat. Armed with impressive canines, it was certainly quite a sight. These teeth were probably powerful weapons. But they don’t tell us anything about other non-fossilized issues, like the colour of its coat or its social behaviour. But, here comes a little surprise.…
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Profiles of a male lion
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them Lion (Panthera leo, Lion, León), Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.
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Rarest big cat caught for a check-up
When you are the rarest wild big cat, you deserve some unusual attention. This is what explains the special treatment of the Amur Leopard or Far Eastern Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). It is widely considered as the single most endangered species of big cats with less than 50 individuals living in the wild (and only…
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Fossil big cats
The big cats that we know today are but an image of the species appeared then disappeared during the last 60 million years. Of course, I think of the famous saber-toothed tiger of our youngest years, but it is not alone. “The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives” of Alan Turner, illustrated by Mauricio Anton,…
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The lionness and the gnu
This fable is actually balanced heavily in favor of the lion. She was able to hunt this gnu (wildebeest) and we found her while she was eating. Other images of this series on www.roumazeilles.net. Lion (Panthera leo, Lion, León), Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.