May be put behind bars when captured, but possibly paroled (7)
I believe the answer is:
leopard
'may be put behind bars when captured' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'possibly paroled' is the wordplay.
'possibly' indicates anagramming the letters.
'paroled' with letters rearranged gives 'LEOPARD'.
'but' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for leopard that I've seen before include "Panther" , "Animal that doesn't change its spots" , "Animal -- per load (anag)" , "Spotted animal" , "Wild cat" .)