The animal in the photo (A) is a mountain lion (Puma concolor). Mountain lions are large, lean cats with a coat that ranges in color from yellow-brown to gray-brown. The fur on their back is darker in color compared to their belly, whic is a pale, creamy buff color. The underside of their neck and throat is nearly white. Mountain lions have a long, black-tipped tail and short, muscular limbs. They have four digits on their hind feet and five digets on their fore feet.
Photo (B) shows a bobcat (Lynx rufus). Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are small cats that inhabit a range that stretches throughout a large portion of North America, from southern Canada to southern Mexico. Bobcats have a cream to buff colored coat that is dappled with dark brown spots and stripes. They have short tufts of fur at the tips of their ears and a fringe of fur that frames their face. Like mountain lions, bobcats are also solitary cats (except during the mating season when they form male and female pairs).
Photo (C) shows a leopard (Panthera pardus). Leopards inhabit South Asia and Central Africa. They exhibit a range of color and pattern variations. Black leopards, once thought to be a separate species from other leopards, are individuals that, due to a genetic mutation know as melanism, have a large amount of dark melanin in their coat. Leopards living in desert areas tend to be pale yellow in color. Leopards inhabiting grasslands are a deeper golden color.
Back to Animal ID Challenge →