AnimalsThe leopard is a strong, secretive cat with a spotted coat. Its spots are rings called rosettes. Leopards are excellent climbers and often drag their prey up a tree to keep it from other hunters. They adapt well and sometimes live close to villages and towns.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Panthera pardus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Carnivore (eats other animals)
- Lives in
- Africa and Asia
- Habitat
- Forests, hills, grassland and scrub
- A young one is called
- cub
- A group is called
- leap
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Carnivora
- Family Felidae
- Genus Panthera
- Species Panthera pardus
Other members of the family Felidae on this site: cheetah, domestic cat, jaguar, lion, snow leopard, tiger.
More distant relatives in the order Carnivora: brown bear, dog, giant panda, polar bear, red fox, red panda, sloth bear, spotted hyena, walrus, wolf.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The leopard is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.