There is a wonderful story about why a leopard has spots or, more precisely, rosettes. It goes like this…
“There was once an Ethiopian man who hunted with his pet leopard. The man and the leopard soon realized that they did not blend in with the environment so the man painted the leopard with his fingertips, leaving five little black markings at a time as he put his five fingers close together. ‘Now you are a beauty!’ said the Ethiopian. ‘You can lie out on the bare ground and look like a heap of pebbles. You can lie out on the naked rocks and look like a piece of pudding-stone. You can lie out on a leafy branch and look like sunshine sifting through the leaves …” – Rudyard Kipling
Now this story from Rudyard Kipling may not be true, but the reason behind the leopard’s rosettes is. It is a known fact that leopards use their camouflage to their advantage. Whether to hunt or to escape and hide from danger, their rosettes have always come in handy, allowing them to blend in with their environment. It has also been noted that leopards inhabiting more dense and shaded areas are generally darker in colour, having adapted to their surroundings.
