LEOPARD (נָמֵר, H5807; πάρδαλις, G4203). A large spotted carnivore of the lion family. The proverb (Jer 13:23), “Can...the leopard (change) his spots?” still current in Eng., confirms the correctness of the tr.; also the Arab. name is close to the Heb. Leopards grow to a head and body length of about five ft., with a tail of two to three ft.; the background color varies from deep chrome to pale gray or sandy, with rosettes of almost black spots. It was once widely distributed in Africa and warm parts of Asia, including most of Pal. and neighboring countries. The larger, darker specimens usually live in forest regions, the smaller, paler ones in open steppe or neardesert. The leopard takes a variety of prey, from antelopes and deer down to small birds. It has now been exterminated from many parts of its former range, both to protect stock and to obtain its skin, and it is generally rare. In Pal. there are only about three definite records regarding leopards in the past decade. One was shot and photographed in the Wadi Darejeh, in Jordan, on the W shore of the Dead Sea, on 20 October 1964 (I.U.C.N. Bulletin Jan/March 1966). About three months later one was killed in Galilee, and the following year another was seen at Darejah. Several passages refer to their preying nature (Jer 5:6; Hos 13:7) or to their speed (Hab 1:8), “Their horses are swifter than leopards.” The leopard is very fast for a short dash, but this could refer to the cheetah, or hunting leopard, which is rather similar. This was known in Pal. and was once tamed and trained there as it still is in India; this is evidenced by a Byzantine carving of a cheetah with collar. The prophetic passage in Isaiah 11:6 is hard to comment on biologically, esp. since it includes the statement that the lion shall eat straw like the ox.