The heavily built Leopard is the largest spotted cat in the Old World, matched in size only by the New World Jaguar. They are solitary, nocturnal hunters and only come together when breeding. Unlike the Cheetah, the Leopard is essentially a stalking, pouncing killer. Its body is built for strength rather than fast sprinting. Its main prey are various kinds of medium to small antelope. Compared with the Lion, the average size of its prey is not so impressive -rarely more than 70 kg (154 lb) in weight - and it frequently pursues large rodents and small monkeys.

The carcass is often carried up into a tree, away from the other earth-bound predators and scavengers, and stored there. Sometimes, if an unusually large prey has been killed, this storing activity requires amazing strength. One Leopard, for example, was seen to carry a young giraffe weighing 100 kg (220 lb) which was more than its own body weight) high up into a tree before eating it. When cubs are able to follow their mother, she walks in front of them with her tail curved upward, displaying its white underside as a flag. As they grow older they are allowed to accompany her on the hunt, but she has a special call that instructs them to stay back when she undertakes the final pounce-and-kill.

A short time after the rising of the sun, this female Cheetah notices from, the top of an ant-hill, the movements of the herbivores. One of the babies does not seem to pay any attention to the careful supervision of his mother. When this one will go out, it will watch a glance until the prey falls.

When the meal is finished, this small family of Cheetahs rests while one of the youngs drowses, the female, undoubtedly alerted by a strange noise, raised her head; with an anxious glance, it surveys the neighbourhoods, ready to leap.

The King Cheetah is an incipient forest race of the Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), with large black blobs on its coat in place of the usual small spots. Along the back, these blobs fuse to create several thick, dark stripes, giving the animal a very different appearance from the typical Cheetah.