Leopard Facts
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A handful of wild cats go by the name leopard, including the clouded leopards, leopard cats and snow leopards.
The name leopard also refers to a group of big cats with the Latin name Panthera pardus.
Once the species roamed the forests, mountains, grasslands and swamps throughout much of the European, African and Asian continents.
Today their range is limited, with the most stable populations found in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (see range map).
Given the leopard's wide range, the task of identifying leopard subspecies has always been problematic. Based on current genetic evidence, the IUCN recognized nine different subspecies.
As a group, leopard populations are declining, and the IUCN lists them as a near threatened species.
Three subspecies, the Amur Leopard (Asia), the Javan Leopard, and the South Arabian Leopard are listed as critically endangered, moving to the verge of extinction.
© 2010 Patricia A. Michaels.