Vulnerable · ▼ decreasing
Leopard
Panthera pardus
no credible global total exists · as of 2026
confidence: no global estimate
What the number means
The most widespread big cat on Earth, and precisely because of that nobody has a defensible global figure. The IUCN does not publish a global population estimate. Older numbers such as '700,000' circulate widely online and are not supported by current science. What is established: the leopard has lost an estimated 63–75% of its historic range.
Range
Africa to the Russian Far East. Only holding on at scale in sub-Saharan Africa; everywhere else it is in trouble, subspecies by subspecies.
The rosette
a smaller, tighter, hollow rosette. No dots inside the ring — the single easiest way to tell a leopard from a jaguar.
Sources for this figure
- IUCN Red List — Panthera pardus · retrieved 2026-08-19
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Eight, not one
The leopard tile does not show a number. It shows eight.
| Subspecies | Where | Est. wild | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| African pardus | Sub-Saharan Africa | no reliable total | VU Vulnerable |
| Indian fusca | India, Nepal, Bhutan | ~13,000+ | NT Near Threatened |
| Indochinese delacouri | Mainland SE Asia | ~1,000 or fewer | CR Critically Endangered |
| Persian tulliana | Iran, Caucasus, Turkmenistan | ~800–1,000 | EN Endangered |
| Sri Lankan kotiya | Sri Lanka | ~700–950 | VU Vulnerable |
| Javan melas | Java, Indonesia | fewer than 250 mature | CR Critically Endangered |
| Arabian nimr | Arabian Peninsula | ~100–200 | CR Critically Endangered |
| Amur orientalis | Russia / NE China | ~130–150 | CR Critically Endangered |
Figures are approximate, drawn from IUCN Red List assessments and national surveys of differing vintages. The Indian figure comes from national tiger-landscape censuses and covers surveyed areas only, not the whole country. Treat every cell as 'as reported in [year], by [body]'.
Rare facts
The things people don't know.
Rare fact
There is no credible global leopard population figure. The most honest thing a website can print about the leopard is the word 'unknown', followed by the eight subspecies.
Source IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Rare fact
The leopard has lost an estimated 63–75% of its historic range — a larger proportional loss than the jaguar.
Source IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Where you can see one
Real places, real months, honest odds.
| Place | Season | Odds | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabi Sand Game Reserve Mpumalanga, South Africa | Year-round (best May–Sep) | Odds: very high | The most relaxed, most habituated leopards anywhere. Generations of individuals are known by name and lineage. Expensive, but the closest thing to a guarantee that exists. |
| South Luangwa National Park Eastern Province, Zambia | Jun–Oct | Odds: high | Famous for night drives — one of the few parks where spotlighting is permitted, which is when leopards actually work. Often called the valley of the leopard. |
| Yala National Park, Block 1 Southern Province, Sri Lanka | Feb–Jul | Odds: high | Among the highest leopard densities recorded anywhere. The Sri Lankan leopard is the island's apex predator, so it behaves boldly and hunts in daylight. Crowded — go at opening time. |
| Jawai / Bera Rajasthan, India | Oct–Mar | Odds: high | The most extraordinary story in leopard tourism: leopards living on open granite hills among Rabari herders and their temples, essentially without conflict. Photogenic beyond belief. |
| Seronera Valley, Serengeti Serengeti, Tanzania | Jun–Oct | Odds: moderate | Sausage trees along the river; leopards drape themselves in the branches. Combine with the migration. |
Keep going
Ask anything about the Leopard.
Including the obscure questions. Every answer is quoted from a sourced passage, and the assistant will tell you plainly when it does not have one.