# How the leapord got its spots ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-leapord-got-its-spots/557780>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 20, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-leapord-got-its-spots/557780 "2010-10-20T15:07:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-leapord-got-its-spots/557780/1 "2010-10-20T15:07:48Z")

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Leopards’ spots and tigers’ stripes are a camouflage closely tied to their habitats, researchers say.  
A UK team examined the flank markings of 37 species of wild cats in a bid to understand the spectacular variety of their colour patterns.The scientists say that cats living in the trees and active at low light levels are the most likely to have complex and irregular patterns.\*

From [BBC.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11575214)

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**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-leapord-got-its-spots/557780/2 "2010-10-21T02:06:48Z")

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My mind is officially blown.