Leopelles (pronounced "leh-pels") were created by God when He created The Land; they are apparently a cross between Terran leopards and gazelles. While on the Land we have thus far discovered nothing quite like a gazelle, leopards are understood to be wildcats not entirely unlike jaguars, lions, and panthers, all of which exist on the Land, even if we don't seem to have leopards specifically. Leopelles are so far only known to occur naturally on the Isle of Freedom, where they were discovered in 773 by the First 50 Elves, who settled the isle and founded the village of Woodstockade.
While leopelles were themselves never domesticated, nor any practical use found for them (as they are predators and virtually impossible to tame), in 825 a sorcerer named Darryl Des'Farrell created a new species called leopcoats, which are a hybrid of leopelles and curlycoats. Leopcoats inherited the more docile nature of curlycoats, and soon came into common usage among elves for riding.
As with cattle, male leopelles are called "bulls," females are called "cows," and young are called "calves."