The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in small parts of Western and Central Asia, on the Indian subcontinent to Southeast and East Asia, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because leopard populations are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, are declining in large parts of the global range. In Hong Kong, Kuwait, Libya and most in Morocco, leopard populations have been extirpated. Contemporary records suggest. Leopards are hunted illegally, their body parts are smuggled in the wildlife trade for medicinal practices and decoration. Compared to other wild cats, the leopard has short legs and a long body with a large skull, its fur is marked with rosettes. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but has a smaller, lighter physique, its rosettes are smaller, more densely packed and without central spots. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic are known as black panthers.
The leopard is distinguished by its well-camouflaged fur, opportunistic hunting behaviour, broad diet and its ability to adapt to a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to steppe, including arid and montane areas. It can run at speeds of up to 58 kilometres per hour; the earliest known leopard fossils excavated in Europe are estimated 600,000 years old, dating to the late Early Pleistocene. Leopard fossils were found in Japan; the English name'leopard' comes from Old French: leupart or Middle French: liepart, that derives from Latin: leopardus and Ancient Greek: λέοπάρδος. Leopardos could be a compound of λέων, meaning lion, πάρδος.'Panther' is another common name, derived from Latin: panther and Ancient Greek: πάνθηρ. The generic name Panthera originates in Latin: panthera, which refers to a hunting net for catching wild beasts that were used by the Romans in combats; the phonetically similar Sanskrit: पाण्डर means pale yellow, whitish or white. The specific name Latin: pardus refers to a male panther.
The word pardus is thought to originate from Ancient Greek: παρδάλωτός meaning spotted like a leopard. The leopard's skin colour varies between individuals from pale yellowish to dark golden with dark spots grouped in rosettes, its belly is whitish and its ringed tail is shorter than its body. Its pupils are round. Leopards living in arid regions are pale cream, yellowish to ochraceous and rufous in colour. Spots fade toward lower parts of the legs. Rosettes are circular in East African leopard populations, tend to be squarish in Southern African and larger in Asian leopard populations; the fur tends to be grayish in colder climates, dark golden in rain forest habitats. The pattern of the rosettes is unique in each individual, its fur is soft and thick, notably softer on the belly than on the back. It tends to grow longer in colder climates; the guard hairs protecting the basal hairs are short, 3–4 mm in face and head, increase in length toward the flanks and the belly to about 25–30 mm. Juveniles have woolly fur, appear to be dark-coloured due to the densely arranged spots.
Its white-tipped tail is about 60–100 cm long, white underneath and with spots that form incomplete bands toward the tail's end. The leopard's rosettes differ from those of the jaguar, which are darker and with smaller spots inside; the cheetah has small round spots without any rosettes. The largest skull recorded for a black panther from India, recorded in 1920, measured 11.2 in in basal length, 7.9 in in breadth, weighed 2 lb 4 oz. The skull of a West African panther measured 11.25 in in basal length, 7.125 in in breadth, weighed 1 lb 12 oz. The leopard is sexually dimorphic, males are heavier than females, it is muscular, with short limbs and a broad head. Males stand 60 -- 70 cm at the shoulder; the head-and-body length ranges between 196 cm with a 66 to 102 cm long tail. Sizes vary geographically. Males weigh 37–90 kg, females 28–60 kg. Leopards are larger in areas where they are at the top of the food chain, without competitive restriction from larger predators such as lions and tigers; some leopards in North Africa were as large as Barbary lions.
In 1913, an Algerian newspaper reported a leopard killed that measured about 275 cm in total length. To compare, male lions measure 266–311 cm from head to end of tail; the maximum weight of a wild leopard is about 96 kg, recorded in Southern Africa. It measured 262 cm. An Indian leopard killed in Himachal Pradesh in 2016 measured 261 cm with an estimated weight of 78.5 kg was the largest known wild leopard. Melanistic leopards are called black panthers. Melanism in leopards is inherited as a recessive trait to the spotted form. Interbreeding in melanistic leopards produces a smaller litter size than is produced by normal pairings; the black panther is common in the equatorial rainforest of the Malay Peninsula and the tropical rainforest on the slopes of some African mountains such as Mount Kenya. Between January 1996 and March 2009, leopards were photographed at 16 sites in the Malay Peninsula in a sampling effort of more than 1,000 camera trap nights. O
Johnny "Big Moose" Walker was an American Chicago blues and electric blues pianist and organist. He worked with many blues musicians, including Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Lowell Fulson, Choker Campbell, Elmore James, Earl Hooker, Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim, Jimmy Dawkins and Son Seals. Walker was a piano player but was proficient on the electronic organ and the bass guitar, he accompanied other musicians in concert and on recordings. John Mayon Walker was born in the unincorporated community of Stoneville, Mississippi of Native American ancestry, he acquired his best-known stage name in his childhood in Greenville, derived from his long, flowing hair. He learned to play several instruments, including the church organ, guitar and tuba, he began his musical career as a pianist, in 1947, touring with various blues bands and backing such notable artists as Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Elmore James, Lowell Fulson and Choker Campbell. Walker served in the United States Army from 1952 to 1955.
In 1955, billed as Moose John, Ultra Records released the single, "Talkin"Bout Me". His own recordings, released under various names, were unsuccessful, but Walker started working more in the mid-1950s, notably backing Earl Hooker and Elmore James. Walker moved to Chicago in the late 1950s and over the next decade accompanied Sunnyland Slim, Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Ricky Allen, Little Johnny Jones, Howlin' Wolf. In 1960, he accompanied Junior Wells on his best-known recording, "Messin' with the Kid"; the following year Walker played on James's recordings of "Look on Yonder Wall" and "Shake Your Moneymaker". In 1962, Walker played on Waters's recording of "You Shook Me". During the 1960s, a couple of obscure Chicago-based record labels and The Blues, released Walker's solo singles. By 1969, Walker had played on the latter's album Don't Have to Worry. After Hooker's death in 1970, Walker played backing for Jimmy Dawkins, Mighty Joe Young and Louis Myers, his debut album, Ramblin' Woman, was issued in 1970 by ABC.
He provided piano accompaniment on Andrew Odom's album Farther on the Road and on If You Miss'Im... I Got ` Im, by John Lee Hooker. In December 1979, Willie James Lyons played guitar on Walker's album. Alligator Records utilised Walker's playing on their Living Chicago Blues series of recordings, he toured Europe in 1979 with the Chicago Blues Festival. His second album, Blue Love, was released in 1984, he toured in New Zealand and Canada. He recorded with Son Seals and performed at the Burnley Blues Festival, in England, in 1991. Walker had a stroke prior to this engagement, subsequent strokes left him unable to perform. Evidence Music reissued Blue Love with five bonus tracks. Walker lived in a nursing home in Chicago before his death, at the age of 72, in November 1999. With Earl Hooker Don't Have to Worry With John Lee Hooker If You Miss'Im... I Got'Im with Earl HookerWith Lightnin' Hopkins Lightnin'! In the Key of Lightnin' With Curtis Jones Trouble Blues List of Chicago blues musicians List of electric blues musicians Johnny "Big Moose" Walker at AllMusic Photographs of Walker Biography and discography
Plain View is a census-designated place in Sampson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,820 at the 2000 census. Plain View is located at 35°14′56″N 78°33′57″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 16.7 square miles.16.6 square miles of it is land and 0.1 square miles of it is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,820 people, 680 households, 505 families residing in the CDP; the population density was 109.6 people per square mile. There were 732 housing units at an average density of 44.1/sq mi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.84% White, 11.59% African American, 1.04% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 1.59% from other races, 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.02% of the population. There were 680 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.6% were non-families.
21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.10. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,797, the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $18,125 for females; the per capita income for the CDP was $15,011. About 10.3% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.7% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over