why is there a leopard in the beginning?

[Praefectus Evocatorum]

I've died to this same leopard 4 times, either from infection or bleeding out. why is such an enemy at the very beginning? is it just a random spawn? or are we suppose to be able to kill it?

[Akatosh]

I did the game several time and I had this leopard each time. So I guess it is scripted.

You can easily kill it with a spear, you can craft the most basic one with just a long stick. Throw it in the head of any creature and it will be a 1-hit-kill.

[Clean Cocos]

The jaguar spawns in certain areas, the starter area is one of them. You can kill it with two bone spears to the face. Theres a huge difference in dmg done depending on where you hit an animal. If you headshot them with a spear they instadie, except the jaguar which might need two (actually with a tribal spear you can instakill it too, and I assume hence you can do the same with metal spear though Ive never tryed with that). Anyway all of this is just sprinkle information. The real information you want is that you can make armor in the game. A banana leaf, two ropes, and one of these: 3x stick, 3x bones, armadillo shell, 3x metal, will give you an armor piece you can put on one of your limbs. If I have understood it correctly they all provide the same armor rating, some are just more durable. Id say the stick armor is useless, the bonearmor is a nice starter, and the armadillo is the one I use 99% of the time, because forging is a time consuming hassle. With armor you dont get wounds until it breaks. There is one last piece of info thatll help you out alot. If you run the jaguar instantly attacks you. If you walk however it will slowly follow you and even pounce every now and then to make up for you walking away faster. Im not sure you can shake it off but you can at least position yourself better if you want during this time. If you start running however it attacks you. That means that if youre in an area where the jaguar is and it should happen to catch wind of you while youre running around it will instantly attack you. However if you are walking around (or standing) you will hear the low sneering as it approaches you. So whenever Im in jaguar areas I walk around alot more than usual, besides the quieter you are the more you hear ;) Later youll meet pumas, they make less sound and are more difficult to realize are hunting you. Through I think they have the same hp stats if I can call it that for lack of better words.

Last but not least, get familiar with the jungle plants, if you know what goes with what and against what and where to find it youll start petting jaguars and pumas in no time.