It is threatened by illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard conflict and retaliation for livestock depredation.

Felis fusca was the scientific name proposed by Friedrich Albrecht Anton Meyer in 1794 who described a black leopard from Bengal that was on display at the Tower of London.

[3] Panthera pardus millardi proposed by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1930 was a single leopard skin and skull from Kashmir.

[5][6] In the east, the Ganges Delta and the lower course of the Brahmaputra River are thought to form natural barriers to the range of the Indochinese leopard.

[7] The Indian leopard has strong legs and a long, well-formed tail, broad muzzle, short ears, small, yellowish-grey eyes, and light-grey ocular bulbs.

The white-tipped tail is 60–100 cm (24–39 in) long, white underneath, and displays rosettes, which form incomplete bands toward the end.

[11] The largest skull for an Indian leopard was recorded in 1920, and belonged to a large, melanistic cat in the area of Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu.

The black panther was said to have bigger forelimbs and forequarters than hind-limbs and hind-quarters, with a skull and claws nearly as large as those of a tigress.

[8] The largest wild individual appears to have been a male man-eater that was shot in the Dhadhol area of Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh in 2016.

It reportedly measured 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in) from head to tail, 860 mm (34 in) at the shoulder, and weighed 71 kg (157 lb).

[1] Bangladesh has no viable leopard population but there are occasional sightings in the forests of Sylhet, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox's Bazar.

[16] In Nepal's Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, a melanistic leopard was photographed at an elevation of 4,300 m (14,100 ft) by a camera trap in May 2012.

[24] In Gir National Park, the home range of a male radio-collared leopard was estimated at 28.15 km2 (10.87 sq mi).

Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree, or thicket to make a den.

[42] In areas with high tiger populations, such as in the central parts of India's Kanha National Park, leopards are not permanent residents, but transients.

[39] In a reserved forest of southern India, species preyed upon by leopard, dhole and striped hyena overlapped considerably.

One leopard killed a three-quarters grown female sloth bear in an apparently lengthy fight that culminated in the trees.

[48][49][50] A significant immediate threat to wild leopard populations is the illegal trade in poached skins and body parts between India, Nepal and China.

The governments of these countries have failed to implement adequate enforcement response, and wildlife crime remained a low priority in terms of political commitment and investment for years.

Buyers choose the skins from dealers or tanneries and smuggle them through a complex interlinking network to markets outside India, mainly in China.

[52] It is likely that seizures represent a tiny fraction of the total illegal trade, with the majority of smuggled skins reaching their intended end market.

[51] Seizures revealed: Expansion of agriculturally used land, encroachment by humans and their livestock into protected areas are main factors contributing to habitat loss and decrease of wild prey.

[72] Historically, with rapid urbanization in late 19th and early 20th centuries, leopard attacks may have peaked in India during those times.

[73] Notable man-eaters of that era include Leopard of Central Provinces, Rudraprayag, Gummalapur, Yellagiri Hills, Golis Range and Panar.

Trained human resources, basic facilities and effective networks for control of poaching and trade in wildlife are lacking.

[83] Frederick Walter Champion was one of the first in India who after World War I advocated for the conservation of leopards, condemned sport hunting and recognised their key role in the ecosystem.