The leopard, a species in the genus Panthera within the family Felidae, is widely distributed across various countries and regions in Africa and Asia.

With strong adaptability to diverse environments and elusive behavior, their overall survival status is better than their felid relatives such as lions, tigers, and cheetahs, although the situation for some leopard subspecies is not optimistic.

Leopards exhibit different coat colors among various subspecies, including light yellow, golden yellow, and yellow-brown. Due to their body covered with circular spots, they are also known as "panthers" or "spotted panthers". Sometimes, leopards exhibit melanism, becoming black panthers, with abundant black pigmentation on their skin and fur, although their spots can still be faintly seen.

Compared to other large felids in the Panthera genus such as lions, tigers, and jaguars, leopards are the smallest in size, slightly larger than snow leopards. They display evident sexual dimorphism, with males generally larger and heavier than females.

Common external features of leopards include a rounded head, short neck, black ears with prominent white spots on top and yellow tips. They have sturdy limbs, with five toes on the forelimbs and four toes on the hind limbs, equipped with retractable sharp claws made of keratinized grayish-white material. Short fur covers the head, with extremely short hair on the nose.

The tip of the nose is bare. The dorsal area of the neck and back is yellow with darker spots and rosettes. Two rows of slanting white whiskers are present above each eye. The shade of golden fur varies among leopards in different regions, with the darkest hue on the back. The underside fur is long and either cream-colored or pale yellow.

The dorsal side of the tail is dark yellow with black spots forming ring patterns near the base. The tail tip is black with several narrow white rings. The underside of the tail is creamy-white with black spots, and the tip is white. Their irises are yellow and contract into small pupils under strong light. Leopards have excellent night vision, with phosphorescence in their eyes visible under moonlight.

Their skull is smooth and slightly elongated, ranging from 190 to 237 millimeters in length. The nasal bone is long and convex, with a wide forehead and a central depression. The lower jaw forms a slight arc. The teeth are arranged horizontally, with a small central pair of incisors, slightly larger second incisors outward, and large, sharp outermost incisors.

Research on mitochondrial DNA gene sequences indicates that about 11.3 million years ago, the Pantherinae subfamily within the Felidae family diverged from another branch of the Felidae family, beginning independent evolution. Around 8.66 million years ago, the Pantherinae subfamily further split into the Panthera and Neofelis genera.

The extant members of the Panthera genus include tigers, lions, jaguars, snow leopards, and leopards. Among these "big cats," tigers were the first to diverge, estimated to have occurred around 6.55 million years ago, although lacking fossil evidence, this is generally accepted.

The divergence of leopards from this lineage occurred approximately 4.36 million years ago, with the oldest known leopard (or lion) fossils dating back to about 3.5 million years ago, unearthed in Tanzania. Due to this evidence, it is generally acknowledged that leopards originated in Africa.

Studies on the genetic diversity of various leopard subspecies have shown that the African leopard subspecies possesses the highest genetic diversity, while the endangered Amur leopard has been proven to have the lowest genetic diversity.

Additionally, research indicates that African leopards independently became a subspecies between 825,000 and 470,000 years ago, while populations in Asia are relatively younger, appearing between approximately 300,000 and 170,000 years ago. This can be seen as evidence of the evolutionary process of leopards from Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, to Central Asia, and extending to East Asia.

In the early 19th century, the population of African leopards was close to 100,000; by the 1980s, the population had dwindled to only 2,500 individuals. With the strengthening of conservation efforts in recent years, the population of African leopards has increased to around 10,000. In 1990, the African Leopard Conservation Fund was established, dedicated to sponsoring and promoting research and education on the conservation of African leopards.