The leopard is adapted to a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to steppe, including arid and montane areas.

[12] In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock also subordinated the tiger (P. tigris), lion (P. leo), and jaguar (P. onca) to Panthera.

[16] In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group recognized the following eight subspecies as valid taxa:[17] The Balochistan leopard population in the south of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan is separated from the northern population by the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts.

[36][37] Results of a phylogenetic analysis of chemical secretions amongst cats indicated that the leopard is closely related to the lion.

[43] Leopard-like fossil bones and teeth possibly dating to the Pliocene were excavated in Perrier in France, northeast of London, and in Valdarno, Italy.

[46] P. p. spelaea is the most recent subspecies that appeared at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene and survived until about 11,000 years ago and possibly into the early Holocene in the Iberian Peninsula.

[79] The leopard has the largest distribution of all wild cats, occurring widely in Africa and Asia, although populations are fragmented and declining.

[2] It inhabits foremost savanna and rainforest, and areas where grasslands, woodlands and riparian forests remain largely undisturbed.

Although adaptable to human disturbances, leopards require healthy prey populations and appropriate vegetative cover for hunting for prolonged survival and thus rarely linger in heavily developed areas.

[91] 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.

[92] In Sri Lanka, leopards were recorded in Yala National Park and in unprotected forest patches, tea estates, grasslands, home gardens, pine and eucalyptus plantations.

[101] In Java, leopards inhabit dense tropical rainforests and dry deciduous forests at elevations from sea level to 2,540 m (8,330 ft).

It is typically shy and alert when crossing roadways and encountering oncoming vehicles, but may be emboldened to attack people or other animals when threatened.

[105][106] Leopards are mainly active from dusk till dawn and will rest for most of the day and some hours at night in thickets, among rocks or over tree branches.

[66][76] A study of leopards in the Namibian farmlands showed that the size of home ranges was not significantly affected by sex, rainfall patterns or season; the higher the prey availability in an area, the greater the leopard population density and the smaller the size of home ranges, but they tend to expand if there is human interference.

[103] A study in Wolong National Nature Reserve in southern China demonstrated variation in the leopard's diet over time; over the course of seven years, the vegetative cover receded, and leopards opportunistically shifted from primarily consuming tufted deer to pursuing bamboo rats and other smaller prey.

[123] It stalks its prey and tries to approach as closely as possible, typically within 5 m (16 ft) of the target, and, finally, pounces on it and kills it by suffocation.

The way it stores the kill depends on local topography and individual preferences, varying from trees in Kruger National Park to bushes in the plain terrain of the Kalahari.

In Africa, it is part of a large predator guild with lions, cheetahs, spotted and brown hyenas, and African wild dogs.

[66] Lions pose a great mortal threat and can be responsible for 22% of leopard deaths in Sabi Sand Game Reserve.

[128] Leopards do not seem to actively avoid their competitors but rather difference in prey and habitat preferences appear to limit their spatial overlap.

[131] Tigers appear to inhabit the deep parts of the forest while leopards and dholes are pushed closer to the fringes.

[143] The leopard is listed on CITES Appendix I, and hunting is banned in Botswana and Afghanistan; in 11 sub-Saharan countries, trade is restricted to skins and body parts of 2,560 individuals.

[2] In 2007, a leopard reintroduction programme was initiated in the Russian Caucasus, where captive bred individuals are reared and trained in 0.5–0.9 ha (1.2–2.2 acres) large enclosures in Sochi National Park; six individuals released into Caucasus Nature Reserve and Alaniya National Park in 2018 survived as of February 2022.

Rangers confiscated large amounts of poison in the camps of livestock herders who were accompanied by armed merchants.

Between 2011 and 2019, body parts of 51 Javan leopards were seized including six live individuals, 12 skins, 13 skulls, 20 canines and 22 claws.

[151] Numerous Roman mosaics from North African sites depict fauna now found only in tropical Africa.

African chiefs, European queens, Hollywood actors and burlesque dancers wore coats made of leopard skins.

Naturalistic leopard-like depictions appear on the coat of arms of Benin, Malawi, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon, the last of which uses a black panther.

[153] Several leopards were kept in a menagerie originally established by King John of England at the Tower of London in the 13th century; around 1235, three of these animals were given to Henry III by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.