Editing Leopard (section)

==Human relations==
===Cultural significance===
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=right|image1=Sousse museum Smirat-retouched.jpg|caption1=Leopards on the [[Magerius Mosaic]] from modern [[Tunisia]] |image2=Leopard head hip ornament, Nigeria, Court of Benin, Edo people, late 18th century, bronze, copper, iron - De Young Museum - DSC01037.JPG|upright|caption2=Leopard head ornament from the Court of Benin}}

Leopards have been featured in art, mythology and folklore of many countries. In [[Greek mythology]], it was a symbol of the god [[Dionysus]], who was depicted wearing leopard skin and using leopards as means of transportation. In one myth, the god was captured by pirates but two leopards rescued him.<ref name=reaktion>{{cite book |author=Morris, D. |year=2014|title=Leopard|publisher=Reaktion Books|pages=23–24, 31–33, 62, 99, 102, 111 |isbn=9781780233185}}</ref> Numerous Roman mosaics from North African sites depict fauna now found only in [[tropical Africa]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Decline of North Africa Since the Roman Occupation: Climatic or Human? |last1=Murphey |first1=R. |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume= XLI |issue=2 |year=1951 |pages=116–132 |doi=10.1080/00045605109352048 |url=http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/courses/geog347/articles/decline_human.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060914061431/http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/courses/geog347/articles/decline_human.pdf |archive-date=2006-09-14 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[Benin Empire]], the leopard was commonly represented on engravings and sculptures and was used to symbolise the power of the king or ''[[Oba (ruler)|oba]]'', since the leopard was considered the king of the forest.<ref name=britishmuseum>{{cite web |publisher=British Museum |place=London |title=Benin: an African kingdom |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/british_museum_benin_art.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805130342/http://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/british_museum_benin_art.pdf |archive-date=2008-08-05 |url-status=live |access-date=2016-03-29}}</ref> The [[Ashanti people]] also used the leopard as a symbol of leadership, and only the king was permitted to have a ceremonial leopard stool. Some African cultures considered the leopard to be a smarter, better hunter than the lion and harder to kill.<ref name=reaktion/>

In [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s "How the Leopard Got His Spots", one of his ''[[Just So Stories]]'', a leopard with no spots in the [[Highveld]] lives with his hunting partner, the Ethiopian. When they set off to the forest, the Ethiopian changed his brown skin, and the leopard painted spots on his skin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kipling |first1=R. |title=Just So Stories |date=1902 |publisher=Macmillan |chapter=How the Leopard Got His Spots |chapter-url=https://theshortstory.co.uk/devsitegkl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Short-stories-Rudyard-Kipling-How-the-Leopard-got-his-Spots.pdf |access-date=2023-05-14 |archive-date=2023-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129190512/https://theshortstory.co.uk/devsitegkl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Short-stories-Rudyard-Kipling-How-the-Leopard-got-his-Spots.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> A leopard played an important role in the 1938 Hollywood film ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]''. African chiefs, European queens, Hollywood actors and [[burlesque]] dancers wore coats made of leopard skins.<ref name=reaktion/>

The leopard is a frequently used motif in [[Leopard (heraldry)|heraldry]], most commonly as ''[[Attitude (heraldry)#Passant|passant]]''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Haist, M. |title=The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature |chapter=The Lion, bloodline, and kingship |pages=3–16 |editor=Hassig, D. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=London |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8153-2952-7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lx09r7EOL_oC&pg=PA10 |access-date=2021-09-07 |archive-date=2024-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505150617/https://books.google.com/books?id=lx09r7EOL_oC&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The heraldic leopard lacks spots and sports a mane, making it visually almost identical to the [[Lion (heraldry)|heraldic lion]], and the two are often used interchangeably. Naturalistic leopard-like depictions appear on the [[coat of arms of Benin]], [[Coat of arms of Malawi|Malawi]], [[Coat of arms of Somalia|Somalia]], the [[Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of the Congo]] and [[Coat of arms of Gabon|Gabon]], the last of which uses a black panther.<ref>{{cite book|title=The International Flag Book in Color |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalfla00pede|url-access=registration|last=Pedersen|first=C. F. |publisher=Morrow |year=1971}}</ref>

===Attacks on people===
{{Main|Leopard attack}}

The [[Leopard of Rudraprayag]] killed more than 125 people; the Panar Leopard was thought to have killed over 400 people. Both were shot by British hunter [[Jim Corbett]].<ref name=Corbett>{{cite book |title=The Temple Tiger, and More Man-eaters of Kumaon |year=1955 |author=Corbett, J. |author-link=Jim Corbett |publisher=Oxford University Press |place=Oxford}}</ref> The ''spotted devil of Gummalapur'' killed about 42 people in Karnataka, India.<ref>{{cite book |author=Anderson, K. |author-link=Kenneth Anderson (writer) |title=Nine Man-Eaters and one Rogue |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |year=1954 |location=London |chapter=The Spotted Devil of Gummalapur |pages=36–51 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.460900/page/n33/mode/2up}}</ref>

===In captivity===
[[Image:Female animal trainer and leopard, c1906.jpg|thumb|upright|Animal trainer with leopard]]
The [[ancient Roman]]s kept leopards in captivity to be slaughtered in [[Venatio|hunts]] as well as [[Damnatio ad bestias|execute]] criminals.<ref name=reaktion/> In Benin, leopards were kept and paraded as mascots, totems and sacrifices to deities.<ref name=britishmuseum/> Several leopards were kept in a menagerie originally established by King [[John of England]] at the [[Tower of London]] in the 13th century; around 1235, three of these animals were given to [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] by Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Owen |first=J. |title=Medieval Lion Skulls Reveal Secrets of Tower of London 'Zoo' |magazine=National Geographic Magazine |date=2005 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1103_051103_tower_lions.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051105025912/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1103_051103_tower_lions.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 5, 2005 |access-date=2007-09-05}}</ref> In modern times, leopards have been [[Animal training|trained]] and [[Tame animal|tamed]] in [[circus]]es.<ref name=reaktion/>
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