From the same series as the wild dogs photography book. The leopards are just absolutely gorgeous, a feast of beauty for your eyes. Stunning photos all round. I learned there’s eight recognized subspecies. Majority of the photos depict the African leopard. Some of the others are so rare and elusive there’s only one photo of each in this book: Arabian, Persian, Javan and Indochinese leopards. There’s a few more pictures of Amur, Sri Lankan and Indian leopards, including some melanistic ones (black panthers). I learned there’s another uncommon color morph, the “strawberry” leopard that has a reddish hue to its coat and dark brown spots. I don’t think there was a photo of one in here- if so it wasn’t identified as such- but I found some pictures online. They don’t look so different from regular black-and-gold leopards until you put the pictures side by side, then it really stands out. Also in this book are photos of snow leopards (actually more closely related to tigers) and clouded leopards (which diverged from other big cats in ancient times). Some of the stop-action photos of two leopards leaping around each other- in conflict or play- are just astonishing. They’re all so beautiful, and the cubs are especially endearing. As with Remembering African Wild Dogs, I had to page through this three times to fully immerse myself in appreciating the images.
Borrowed from the public library. Completed on 4/9/24.
