The revised taxonomy of the Felidae of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group proposes eight leopard subspecies (Kitchener et al. 2017). Panthera pardus pardus is ascribed to leopards present across sub-Saharan Africa which were historically contiguous. Recent habitat fragmentations have separated and exerted different pressures on regional populations leading to concerns about genetic viability. The closest Leopard subspecies to the African Leopard is the Arabian Leopard which was historically connected via the Nile River Delta and the Sinai regions of modern day Egypt. This connectivity has been disrupted by development including the Suez Canal in 1869. Leopards across sub-Saharan Africa are adapted to various habitats and environmental conditions such as semi-arid deserts, mountains, savannas, rainforest, woodlands, suburban and urban settlements and exhibit regional size differences and cases of color variations (pale yellow, golden, reddish-orange and melanistic).

African Leopards were historically widely distributed across North and sub-Saharan Africa, but populations have become reduced and isolated, and they are now extirpated from large portions of their historic range. Due to their wide geographic range, secretive nature and habitat tolerance, African Leopards are difficult to categorize as a single taxon. Evidence suggests that African Leopard populations have been dramatically reduced due to continued persecution from increased human populations (Thorn et al. 2013, Abade et al. 2018), habitat fragmentation (UN 2014), increased illegal wildlife trade (Travers et al. 2019, Zyambo et al. 2022), excessive harvesting for medicinal use in China and ceremonial use of skins, spiritual and cultural use of the body parts including skin, claws, teeth, tail, paws, skin and fat (Naude et al. 2020b), prey base declines (Hatton et al. 2001, du Toit 2004, Fusari and Carpaneto 2006, Lindsey et al. 2014) and poorly managed trophy hunting (Balme et al. 2009). Throughout North, East (specifically the Horn of Africa) and West Africa, African Leopards have suffered marked reductions and regional extirpations due to poaching for illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, and prey loss (Naude 2020, van Velden et al. 2020, Searle et al. 2021). Human populations are increasing by 2.7 percent annually in sub-Saharan Africa according to the UN. Between 2022 and 2050, the fastest human population growth is projected to occur in Africa. The population in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double by 2050 (https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/population). The rate of cropland expansion accelerated in Africa over the past 2 decades. There was a more than twofold increase from 2016–2019 compared to 2004–2007. Countries in West, Central, and East Africa all saw large increases in cultivated land. Most of those new croplands were carved out of natural habitats rather than pasture or abandoned farmland (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149624/crop-expansion-accelerates-in-africa).

We estimate the current confirmed extant range of African Leopards presented in this assessment (6,000,017 km², see map) is a reduction of 9.28% from the 2016 species assessment (6,614,327 km², Stein et al. 2024). Though our knowledge of the African Leopard distribution is better today than in 2016, it is still limited at the national, regional and range-wide scales because reliable data on African Leopard population trends are missing from large portions of their range. We suspect that suitable African Leopard range has been reduced by >30% in the last three generations (22.3 years). We calculated generation length as 7.42 years (based on the formula presented in Pacifici et al. 2013 and data from wild African Leopard populations presented in Balme et al. 2013).

African Leopard population density across the species’ range is known to track the biomass of their principal prey species, small, medium-size and large wild herbivores (Marker and Dickman 2005, Hayward et al. 2007, Searle et al. 2020). Prey species are increasingly under threat from an unsustainable bushmeat trade, leading to collapses in prey populations across large parts of savanna Africa (Lindsey et al. 2013, Ripple et al. 2016, Rogan et al. 2017, van Velden et al. 2020). A commercialized bushmeat trade has caused an estimated 59% average decline in African Leopard prey populations across 78 protected areas in West, East and southern Africa between 1970 and 2005 (Craigie et al. 2010). In southern Africa, illegal bushmeat hunting removes up to 620,000 kg of wild ungulates from the Okavango Delta, Botswana (Rogan et al. 2017). Though ungulate populations have increased by 24% in southern Africa, potential prey numbers have declined by 52% in East Africa and 85% in West Africa (Craigie et al. 2010, Rogan et al. 2022). Bushmeat poaching in Mozambique (Hatton et al. 2001, Fusari et al. 2006) and Zambia (Lindsey et al. 2014) has severely reduced African Leopard prey (Becker et al. 2013) inside and outside of protected areas. Many wildlife areas are suffering from substantial ungulate decline, including Zambian Game Management Areas and National Parks, which maintain large mammal populations at 93.7% and 74.1% below estimated carrying capacity, respectively (Lindsey et al. 2014). With such reductions to African Leopard prey and direct mortality in non-target snaring, we infer a >50% loss of African Leopard populations across East and West Africa (White et al. 2022, Becker et al. 2024).

Preliminary data suggest that the illegal trade in African Leopard skins for cultural regalia is rampant across Africa (Williams et al. in review). In southern Africa alone, it is suggested that 4,500-7,000 African Leopards are harvested annually to fuel the demand for Leopard skins by followers of the Nazareth Baptist (Shembe) Church only (Naude et al. 2020b). This is but one of a large number of cultural and religious groups who use Leopard skins and body parts (Naude et al. 2020b, Torrents-Tico et al. 2023, Drouilly et al. 2022, Williams et al. in review).

Poorly managed trophy hunting adds to pressure on local African Leopard populations. Balme et al. (2009) showed that trophy hunting was a key driver of African Leopard population decline prior to intervention in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Similarly, Pitman et al. (2015) demonstrated that African Leopards are over-harvested across much of their range in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Muller et al. (2022) used web-sourced images of African Leopard trophy hunts and showed that hunting violations were occurring in southern Africa, including non-permitted hunting of female African Leopards in South Africa and Zambia, and illegal hounding in Namibia and South Africa. In recent years, concerns about unsustainable trophy hunting has led to temporary bans in South Africa (2016-2018), Zimbabwe and Botswana (2013-2022). In these countries, hunting has been reinstated.

Taken all together, the African Leopard meets the A2cd criterion for Vulnerable, based on loss of habitat, prey depletion, and exploitation. These causes of the suspected reduction are neither fully documented nor fully understood; they have not ceased, and are likely to continue, and future decline is anticipated unless conservation efforts are taken.

The distribution map for Africa is based on point data (records with coordinates) divided into pre year 2000 and post year 2000 data and further subdivided into C1 (hard fact, verified records), C2 (expert-confirmed records) and C3 (not verifiable data) according to the SCALP categories for the African Leopard. Most of these records (several thousand in total) came from peer-reviewed literature, but also from grey literature and Internet search engines. To delineate the current distribution in Africa, we used C1 and C2 records from 2000 onwards and adjacent areas of potential suitable African Leopard habitat (i.e. results of habitat model prediction). Finally, we used existing local range maps and absence data from various local surveys to refine the distribution boundaries. In addition, land cover data and expert opinion were used, particularly in areas with no recent records due to the lack of scientific research. Using IUCN Red List mapping guidelines, we categorized African Leopard range into extant, possibly extant, possibly extinct, and extinct. Our assessment of African Leopard distribution has been divided into subregions to address local population trends.

Leopards in Africa
Leopards in Africa have seen the largest reduction in range since the species assessment of 2016, partially because their Asian counterparts had already lost significant range, but also because there is increasing pressure on Leopards particularly in West, Central and East Africa. We suggest that regional assessments be conducted to identify and highlight challenges and differences in conservation status.

North Africa: Leopard distribution in North Africa has been restricted by almost 100% of their former range. It is unclear if there are still any remnant, isolated populations remaining at all (Durant et al. 2014). An adult male Leopard was killed in the Elba region of southeastern Egypt in retaliation for livestock depredation, though evidence of a breeding population is still uncertain (A. Nagy pers. comm. 2014). Continued camera-trapping efforts have failed to capture the presence of Leopard in the Sinai since 1995 (A. Nagy pers. comm. 2015). Leopards are thought to be extirpated from Morocco (F. Cuzin pers. comm. 2012). They are thought to be extirpated from Sudan (Mohammed et al. 2019).

West Africa: Leopard distribution in West Africa has been dramatically reduced (86-95%; Jacobson et al. 2016). This reduction is likely due to habitat fragmentation, which is isolating populations, and illegal killing of African Leopards and their prey, but also to more rigorous survey efforts that have confirmed presence and likely absence across the region (P. Henschel pers. comm. 2023). Since the species assessment from 2016, African Leopard range has become increasingly fragmented with some of the larger subpopulations divided into smaller fragments. African Leopards have been confirmed in various parts of the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) Complex; Niger along the southwestern border with Benin and Burkina Faso (P. Henschel pers. comm. 2014, Harris et al. 2019), but previous reports in Aïr and Ténéré National Reserves are unconfirmed. African Leopards are generally restricted to a few protected areas from Senegal in the west to Nigeria in the east. African Leopards have been reported in Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal (Horion et al. 2024), as well as at the border with Guinea, south-east of the park. In Guinea, African Leopards are present but probably at low density in the Haut-Niger National Park and Moyen Bafing National Park (M. Drouilly pers. comm. 2023). In Guinea Bissau, African Leopards are present in the Dulombi and Boé National Parks, as well as the linking corridor of Tchetche, whereas they are now scarce in the rest of the country (in the southwest) or rare and localized (rest of the hinterland, Luis Palma, pers. comm. 2023). In Sierra Leone, there are possibly only very small remnant populations near Outamba Kilimi National Park and Gola National Forest as well as the eastern boundary with Guinea/ Liberia left. African Leopard populations in Liberia have been recorded in Lofa-Mano National Park in the west and Sapo National Park in the east, but their status is unclear. In Ghana, African Leopards are found along the boundary with Côte d’Ivoire and Mole National Park in the north and west though connectivity between these parks has likely been cut off because of fragmentation (P. Henschel, M. Drouilly  pers. comm. 2023). At least one individual has been detected in Bui National Park in the west of the country in 2022 (Amponsah-Mensah et al. 2023). In Côte d’Ivoire, African Leopards are present in Taï National Park (probably the highest density in West Africa, M. Drouilly, pers. comm. 2023) and in Comoé National Park in the north. In Benin, African Leopard are found along the northern boundary, in the WAP Complex. African Leopards are nearly absent from most of Nigeria and southern Mali.

Central Africa: Leopard range has decreased throughout Central Africa due to deforestation, illegal hunting for skins and snaring. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), African Leopard range was largely reduced in areas of increased human influence and areas relatively easy to access and therefore open to illegal hunting and bushmeat trade. Large portions of remaining forests in the northern region of the country have extant African Leopard populations, however, African Leopard populations are increasingly isolated in the south. In Cameroon, African Leopards are found in the northern and southeastern portions of the country with possibly extant region potentially connecting them. In the North they are extirpated from Waza NP but they persist in high numbers in the Benoue Ecosystem (Bauer et al. 2015). The southern extant population connects to neighbouring countries: Gabon, Congo, and the southwestern corner of the Central African Republic (CAR). In Gabon, African Leopards are found throughout the country with small absent pockets in the north. African Leopards have likely lost ground in southern Congo. In the Central African Republic (CAR), African Leopards are found in the northern, southwest and eastern portions of the country (A. LaGuardia, WCS, unpublished data). African Leopards are found in the eastern border and western region of South Sudan while absent from the Sudd wetland. African Leopards are present in southern Chad within the continuous population that crosses the Central African Republic. Southeastern Chad, eastern CAR, western South Sudan and possibly also parts of northern DRC form the largest, and therefore, one of the most important Leopard strongholds in Africa.  

East Africa: The distribution of Leopards in East Africa has been reduced, in particular in Somalia, some parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and central Tanzania. Since the last assessment, we have expanded the African Leopard range in Ethiopia, connecting subpopulations from the west and southern border through the central highlands in one continuous population that extends into northern Somalia. Data are sparse in Ethiopia, but African Leopards appear to occur widely, albeit at low densities (Bauer pers. comm.; Asfaw et al. 2024). This represents the only confirmed remaining range in Somalia, with smaller isolated populations possibly extant. There are possible, isolated, remnant populations in Djibouti notably in the Goda Mountains where at least two females were photographed in January-February 2024 (R. Bourgeais, A. Fleury, B. Wattelet and S. Ambassa, pers. comm. 2024), Eritrea, and Sudan. African Leopards in Kenya have retracted along the central spine of the country with range also extending along the southern border with Tanzania and small isolated populations along the coast, though predictive modelling suggests there is potential African Leopard occupancy in the eastern portion of the country (Broekhuis et al. 2022). African Leopards are found in increasingly isolated populations in Uganda mostly limited to the national parks, and Rwanda, with small possibly extant populations in Burundi. In Tanzania, African Leopards are found across large parts of the country, but information is limited (Havmøller et al. 2019, Allen et al. 2020, Searle et al. 2021, Strampelli et al. 2022, Searle et al. 2024). It is thought that African Leopards are absent from the southeastern boundary of Lake Victoria to Central Tanzania, potentially creating a widening separation between northern and southern populations.
Southern Africa: Southern Africa likely has one of the healthiest Leopard populations of their entire range. It is generally thought that Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have declining but healthy African Leopard populations outside of human dominated areas (C. Begg, A. Loveridge, M. Becker, E. Droge, A. Kusler, E. Rosenblatt, D. Smit pers. comm. 2023). In Angola, African Leopard range has likely constricted to the southeastern region and smaller sub populations in the southwest and in Parque Nacional do Bicuar in the south (R. Groom pers. comm. 2023). In Namibia, African Leopard range remains relatively stable since the last assessment, inhabiting the northern portion of the country except for the highly populated northern region, the arid southeast farmlands and the desert coast (Richmond-Coogan 2019). Botswana has a continuous African Leopard population throughout, aside from the large salt pan in the northcentral region. In South Africa, African Leopards are found along the boundaries with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique with dense populations located in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga regions. African Leopards are also located in the Cape provinces of South Africa (Devens et al. 2018, Müller et al. 2022). Since the last assessment, it appears that connectivity between African Leopard populations in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi (and surrounding private reserves) and the southern portion of the Kruger National Park system has been severed. African Leopards are likely extirpated from Lesotho and most of Eswatini aside from the northeast corner.

Highly adaptable and widely distributed, African Leopards can persist in areas where other large carnivores have been extirpated. However, African Leopards are declining throughout most of their range (Jacobson et al. 2016). There are no robust estimates of the total number of mature individuals range-wide.

This assessment looked at available information on African Leopard status on a regional basis (as discussed below). Across the majority of range, African Leopards have declined substantially (>30%) in the last three generations as determined by extensive population surveys, expert input and indirect measures supporting our conclusion that African Leopards remain listed as Vulnerable (criteria A2cd). Over the past three generations (22.3 years) regional African Leopard populations in West, parts of Central and East Africa have seen substantial range declines due to habitat fragmentation and forest clearing, prey reductions from the bushmeat trade, illegal harvest for skins and human-wildlife conflict and retaliation for livestock depredation. African Leopards have completely disappeared from regions of North Africa where they were recorded in the species assessment from 2016.

There are few reliable data on changes in the Leopard (P. p. pardus) status (distribution or abundance) throughout Africa over the last three generations, although there is compelling evidence that subpopulations have likely declined considerably. Pressure on African Leopard populations is high as a larger proportion of their range extends beyond protected areas (Swanepoel et al. 2013). Reintroductions were undertaken for African Leopards, but on a much smaller scale and with limited success (Hayward et al. 2007, Briers-Louw and Leslie 2017). Fencing of protected areas was proposed as significant factor contributing to the increase in Lion numbers in southern Africa (Packer et al. 2013), by contrast, fences are far less effective at reducing detrimental edge effects of ‘protected' African Leopard populations (Balme et al. 2010).

One main factor for Leopard declines in Africa is related to prey declines. Leopard population density is known to track the biomass of their principal prey species, medium and large-sized wild herbivores (Marker and Dickman 2005, Hayward et al. 2007). The latter are increasingly under threat from an unsustainable and increasingly commercialized bushmeat trade, leading to collapses in prey populations across large parts of savanna Africa (Lindsey et al. 2013). Time series data from 1970 to 2005 on the main African Leopard prey species in 78 protected areas in West, East and Southern Africa, revealed a 59% average decline in population abundance across the three regions. While ungulate and other large mammal populations increased by 24% in southern Africa, they declined by 52% in East Africa and by 85% in West Africa (Craigie et al. 2010). Considering the Leopard’s dependence on wild prey species within its African range, concomitant Leopard declines in the same order of magnitude (>50%) in West and East Africa can be inferred for the same time frame.

Another main driver of range loss and population decline of Leopards in Africa is habitat loss. African Leopards have limited levels of ecological resilience to human-caused habitat fragmentation in Africa, and as a result are more restricted to conservation areas. Although male African Leopards can successfully traverse fragmented and suboptimal habitat (Fattebert et al. 2013), in general, Leopards in Africa require large contiguous habitats with low human impacts to reproduce successfully (Balme et al. 2010). However, up to 2022, the human population of sub-Saharan Africa has grown by 2.5 percent annually, more than three times the global average of 0.8 percent annually with a predicted population increase from 1.152 billion today to 2.094 billion by 2050 (UNDESA 2023), which in conjunction with a 57% increase in agriculture areas (from just over 200 million ha to almost 340 million ha) from 1975 to 2000 and a 21% decrease in natural vegetation in the region (Brink and Eva 2009) likely have negatively impacted the African Leopard populations.

Although African Leopards can be regarded as a single genetic grouping for now (Pečnerová et al. 2021), geographically they are subject to different pressures that require area-specific categorizations and conservation status assessments. Therefore, we subdivided the African continent into regional units for more detailed and specific status:

North Africa: Leopards have not recently been documented in North Africa and likely remain extirpated. The Egyptian occurrence is considered very small, with no new documented evidence since the last assessment, in Elba National Park in southeastern Egypt, and still no recorded signs in Sinai since 1995 (A. Nagy pers. comm. 2023).

Sub-Saharan Africa: Numbers of sub-Saharan African Leopards are declining within large portions of their range, particularly outside of protected areas. The populations within West, parts of Central and East Africa are decreasing significantly with increasing fragmentation and isolation throughout. In summary, the combination of widespread habitat loss (21% in sub-Saharan Africa in 25 years) and prey loss inside African protected areas (59% decline) is likely to have caused concomitant declines of >30% over the last three African Leopard generations. The Leopard subpopulation of sub-Saharan Africa still qualifies as VU (criterion A2cd). Additionally, we strongly recommend detailed status assessments for different parts of Africa to address regional needs and requirements (e.g., Henschel et al. 2011).

West: In West Africa, surveys for Leopard distribution have delineated a strong distribution map for occupancy, but population densities and estimates are more difficult to generate with low occurrence and capture rates. In cases where estimates can be generated, data was not available to us with no estimates published yet. Earlier estimates calculated for Tai National Park, Ivory Coast were reported as 8.7 Leopards/ 100 km² (Jenny 1996) in rainforest habitats, though more modern techniques and habitat changes would certainly adjust these estimates.

Central: Our understanding of Leopard distribution is improving in the region based on surveys and reported sightings, however, population densities and estimates are rare in the region or not yet published. Older population estimates in Ivindo National Park suggest densities of 12.1 leopard/ 100 km² and 2.7 individuals/ 100 km² in a logging concession both in Gabon (Henschel 2008).

East: Leopard surveys analyzed with Spatially Explicit Capture Recapture (SECR) in Tanzania reveal differences in density by habitat type and land use (Searle et al. 2021). In Ruaha National Park, Acacia- Commiphora supported leopard densities of 6.81 ± 1.24 individuals/ 100 km² in Ruaha National Park. Leopard density in neighboring community managed land was calculated to 4.23 ± 1.02 individuals/ 100 km². In the Rungwa game Reserve, leopard density within Miombo Woodland was calculated at 3.36 ± 1.09 individuals/ 100 km² and inside the National Park 3.23 ± 1.25 per 100 km². In the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, leopards densities were estimated 5.41 (95% CI 2.23-9.26) and 5.72 (95% CI 2.44-9.55) individuals/ 100 km² in dry and wet season respectively (Allen et al. 2020). In Uganda, Braczkowski et al. (2022) calculated densities of 6.31 leopards/ 100 km² in Lake Mburo National Park, southwestern Uganda.

Southern: In Mozambique, Leopard density was relatively low- 1.57 +/- 0.37 Leopards/ 100 km² (SE latent-mixture-model) and 1.84 +/- 0.41 Leopards/ 100 km² (Sex-mixture-model) similar to semiarid and human-dominated landscapes. Prey base suggests density should be twice as large but illegal offtake and additive hunting limit the population (Breiers-Louw et al. 2024). Leopards in Northcentral Namibia have lower densities in the Waterberg Plateau Park (1.0 individuals/ 100 km²) compared to 3.6 individuals/ 100 km² on the surrounding farmlands likely due to increased surface water and game supplied by farmers (Stein et al. 2011). In more arid areas, Leopard densities were as low as 1.83 individuals/ 100 km² in the Lower Hoanib River in north-west Namibia and 2.74 individuals/ 100 km² in Khaudum National Park (Portas et al. 2022). Richmond- Coogan (2019) extrapolated a population estimate of 11,733 based on camera surveys in areas representing areas of high, medium and low Leopard density.

In South Africa, leopard densities in the Eastern and Western Cape were low (0.95 leopards/ 100 km²; Devens et al. 2022) while the highest leopard densities were recorded in the Sabi Sabi Game Reserve (11.8 Leopards/ 100 km²; Balme et al. 2019). Similarly, Balme et al. (2010) found densities of 11.25 individuals/ 100 km² in Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa. In the western Soutpansberg Mountains of northern South Africa, Leopard densities were calculated at 10.7 individuals/ 100 km² (Chase Grey et al. 2013). Leopard population surveys across Zimbabwe yielded density estimates between 0.7 to 12.2 Leopards/ 100 km². The lowest densities were found where significant habitat modification, trophy hunting, snaring, high lion densities occurred. Leopard density was highest in wooded sites and rugged terrain where shelter from threats was available (Loveridge et al. 2022). In Zambia, along the Lufupa River in Kafue, Leopard density was highest (7.89 Leopards/ 100 km²) along the river with densities declining further from the river (3.34 Leopards/ 100 km²; Vinks et al. 2021).

Note: We acknowledge that additional data could reveal an increase or decrease in population size or range loss of African Leopards, thus the status could change for segments of African Leopard range as more data are collected.

Habitat Types and Range
African Leopards occur in the widest range of habitats among any of the Old-World Cats (Nowell and Jackson 1996). They are found in the desert and semi-desert regions of southern Africa in Namibia and Botswana. There are remnant populations in the arid regions of North Africa in Egypt. They persist in the savanna grasslands, woodlands, and forests of East and southern Africa. African Leopards live in mountainous environments up to an altitude of 4,600 m on Mt. Kenya. They also thrive in the rainforests of West and Central Africa Leopard subpopulations also occur in suburban environments in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
African Leopards prefer to hunt in areas that provide sufficient cover despite higher prey densities elsewhere when sympatric with larger competitors (Balme et al. 2006).

Diet
African Leopard diet is related to prey availability and presence of larger competitors. Generally, African Leopards prefer medium-sized ungulate prey (10-40 kg) where available (Hayward et al. 2006). They have a highly varied diet, however, feeding on insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals up to large ungulates. Though the African Leopard as a species has the reputation of being a generalist, often individuals will become adept specialists for a particular prey item. These individuals will feed almost exclusively on that prey, occasionally supplementing their diet with other food items when necessary. Where competitors are present, African Leopards will cache their kills under thick vegetation or hoist their prey into the limbs of a tree. Hoisting behaviour is more often recorded where intraguild competitor density is higher (Balme et al. 2017). Male African Leopards tend to hoist more often than females, particularly in the dry season when available ground cover is scarce (Stein et al. 2015). In the absence of larger competitors, African Leopards feed on larger prey (Hayward et al. 2006).

Home Range Size
African Leopard home range size varies with prey availability, human disturbance, and habitat structure (Snider et al. 2021). African Leopards have the largest ranges within arid and semi-arid environments where prey density is low. The largest recorded African Leopard ranges include the Central Kalahari (mean = 2,182 km², Bothma et al. 1997), but home ranges may be smaller in areas of high prey abundance and abundant cover.

Ecological carrying capacity
The population density of an African Leopard population free of anthropogenic mortality and benefiting from an optimal habitat (in terms of prey availability and cover for hunting) was estimated at 11.8 ± 2.6 African Leopards/100 km² (Balme et al. 2019). This is likely close to the upper density limit attainable by African Leopards and such insight can potentially be used to assess the health of other African Leopard populations, inform conservation targets, and anticipate the outcomes of population recovery attempts.

The primary threats to African Leopards are anthropogenic. Habitat fragmentation, reduced prey base and conflict with livestock and game farming, poaching and illegal trade have reduced African Leopard populations throughout most of their range (Nowell and Jackson 1996, Ray et al. 2005, Hunter et al. 2013). Although urbanization is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa (UNDESA 2023), the majority of the population is rural, and about 60–70% of the population relies on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods, mostly at a subsistence level. As a result, a large portion of the growing human population is expected to depend directly on expansion of agriculture and livestock grazing to survive. By 2050, the population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to more than double to >2 billion (UN 2023), and the area of cultivated land is projected to increase by 51 million ha (approximately 21%, Alexandratos and Bruinsma 2012), which likely will contribute to the continued population decline of Leopards in Africa. In the absence of proactive management, populations of African Leopards and other large carnivores generally decline in concert with increased human population growth (Woodroffe 2000, Linnell et al. 2001). Though exceptions exist outside of Africa (Athreya et al. 2013), this conversion typically leads to the depletion of natural prey species through poaching, thereby reducing the natural prey base in these areas.

Where livestock are kept, African Leopards may feed on these culturally- and commercially-valuable prey species, causing conflicts with subsistence and commercial farmers. In southern Africa, game ranches stock commercially valuable species. Commercial and subsistence farmers may be intolerant to African Leopard and kill them for real or perceived threats to their lives and livelihoods (Stein et al. 2010). Deliberate killing by humans was found to be the major cause of male African Leopard mortality outside of protected areas in South Africa, while female Leopards were also heavily impacted by accidental killing (e.g. roadkill; Swanepoel et al. 2014).

African Leopards are also targets for trophy hunting. If poorly managed, trophy hunting can be detrimental to the population, especially when permits are focused in one geographic area and targeted individuals are territorial and reproductively active (Balme et al. 2010). African Leopard trophy hunting has been reviewed or closed in Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia within the last five years.

Poaching of prey species can also directly impact African Leopard populations, as Leopard can be caught in wire snares used for bushmeat (White et al. 2022, Becker et al. 2024).

Genetics
We have changed our species listing of African Leopards from nine to eight based on morphological traits, molecular and biogeographic information (Miththapala et al. 1996, Uphyrkina et al. 2001, Kitchener et al. 2017). There is a deep divergence between the African and all Asian Leopard subspecies (dated to 500-600 kya). Despite their wide range, Leopards in Africa (P. p. pardus) are genetically diverse, and that West African Leopards are quite different from the rest. Anco also mentions pairwise FST analyses using mtDNA show that Leopard populations throughout sub-Saharan Africa retain highly divergent copies of the ND-5 locus on levels sometimes exceeding FST values observed between Arabian and Persian Leopards that are presently recognized by the IUCN as separate subspecies.  (Anco et al. 2017, Pečnerová et al. 2021). Recent trends have shown a substantial reduction in Leopard range throughout West and Central Africa; thus, we express concern about the loss of genetic diversity in African Leopards through local extinction of unique genetic lineages. These lineages may carry adaptations to local environments, which are crucial to conserve for maintaining resilient populations. The loss of potentially adaptive diversity is particularly concerning in the face of rapidly changing climate and further isolation of populations. In addition, small and isolated populations may face the threat of inbreeding depression. Monitoring populations specifically to detect decreasing fitness, e.g. through low fecundity or high cub mortality, may further provide indications of inbreeding depression.

African Leopards are targeted for trophy hunting and are illegally hunted for wildlife trade for their skins (used in traditional ceremonies and for arts/decoration), and bones and other parts (used for medicinal purposes in eastern cultures and for spiritual, medicinal and cultural beliefs throughout Africa.

The African Leopard is included in CITES Appendix I. Trade of African Leopard skins and derivative products is restricted to 2,648 individuals in 12 countries (with Kenya and Malawi abstaining from hunting Leopard) in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, the practices within the hunting industry have been called into question by wildlife researchers and conservationists (Packer et al. 2011, Muller et al. 2022). In 2010, the government of Namibia conducted an assessment of trophy hunting in response to calls for an increase in permits amid reports of unethical hunting practices. Zambia placed a moratorium on Leopard and Lion hunting in 2013 due to concerns about the conservation status of the populations. In South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana, researchers have developed regional studies of the hunting quota systems that incorporate measures of trophy quality and regulate the distribution of permits. These quota studies integrate previous hunting data to prescribe the number and distribution of hunting permits with local stakeholder participation. In 2014, sport hunting has been banned altogether in Botswana while South Africa suspended trophy hunting of Leopards for the year in 2016. South Africa has subsequently restricted hunting to areas where Leopard populations have been shown to be stable or increasing, which has drastically reduced the number of trophy hunts permitted relative to pre-2016 levels (Trouwborst 2019).

Regulating trophy hunting will only address a percentage of African Leopard mortality; human-Leopard conflict within livestock and game farming communities is likely the greatest source, particularly in southern Africa, although targeted and incidental poaching to supply the illegal wildlife trade may pose a similarly large, if not greater, threat. In many countries of southern and East Africa, farmers are allowed to kill predators that are considered a threat to life and property with permits distributed retroactively. It is likely that a high percentage of African Leopards are killed without reporting and therefore the exact numbers of Leopards killed through actual or perceived conflict is unknown. Generally, efforts to calculate mortality through human-wildlife conflict have been considered unreliable. Since the majority of African Leopard range is outside of protected areas, conflict mitigation strategies such as livestock husbandry, compensation/ insurance programmes, alterations in trophy hunting permit distribution and public awareness have all been used to assist farmers and increasing tolerance for living with African Leopards (Balme et al. 2009, Stein et al. 2010). Where conflicts with African Leopards have been identified, translocation has been tried, often with negative results (Weilenmann et al. 2010); however, effective translocation criteria have been developed based on suitable release site characteristics (Weise et al. 2015). Namibia and Botswana have promoted wildlife conservation through the devolution of wildlife management and the establishment of benefit sharing initiatives between photographic tour operators, professional hunters and communities through Conservancies and Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs; Jones 1993). These initiatives were modelled after previous efforts such as CAMPFIRE in Zimbabwe.

In North and West Africa, Leopards are largely restricted to large protected areas. However, poaching can be high in those parks, in part due to a lack of capacity and funding. Functional corridors between protected areas are rare, which constitutes a threat to the maintenance of genetically viable populations. Intensive metapopulation management is unlikely due to lack of funding, interest, capacity and local expertise.

Since the previous status update, researchers have undertaken camera surveys within protected areas in African Leopard range. These surveys have improved our understanding of African Leopard status with greater resolution and in some cases generated population estimates. We recommend increased population surveys for Leopards, in particular across Angola and Congo, DRC, CAR, Sudan and South Sudan.

To address the use of African Leopard skins for traditional ceremonies, conservationists in South Africa and Zambia have partnered with textile companies and communities to provide faux-fur alternatives (Naude et al. 2020b).

Tourism
African Leopards are one of the most sought-after species on safari and therefore tourism can add tremendously to their conservation efforts (Stein et al. 2010). Although there are few countries that have drafted National Management Plans for Leopards, those that have (Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe specifically; Packer et al. 2006, IUCN 2018, MET 2022, UWA 2022) have identified tourism as a key driver for conservation efforts.