{"id":2187529,"date":"2025-06-30T18:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T17:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2187529"},"modified":"2025-06-27T14:56:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T13:56:22","slug":"forgotten-leopards-being-driven-to-silent-extinction-by-poaching-and-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/forgotten-leopards-being-driven-to-silent-extinction-by-poaching-and-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Forgotten\u2019 leopards being driven to silent extinction by poaching and trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leopards \u2014 solitary, enigmatic, nocturnal predators with golden fur splashed with dark rosette spots \u2014 have the widest range of any big cat. They\u2019re found in a variety of habitats \u2014 rainforests, rocky mountains, grasslands and deserts \u2014 in both warm and cold climates. Worldwide, there are eight subspecies of leopards categorized based on their range and appearance.<\/p>\n

Historical records show they once extended across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but today, their range has shrunk dramatically. Leopards (Panthera pardus) are now found in parts of Central Asia, South Asia and Africa, and in small regions of East and Southeast Asia. India, with nearly 14,000 wild leopards, is the country with the highest leopard population.<\/p>\n

Despite being listed on Appendix I of CITES, the global wildlife trade agreement, which prohibits their commercial international trade, leopards are the second-most traded wildcats after lions, whose commercial trade is regulated. Yet, there\u2019s little attention given to the threats these big cats face, especially with a persistent demand for their body parts leading to their poaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more attention and reporting from governments on tigers compared to leopards,\u201d Debbie Banks, campaign leader for tigers and wildlife crime at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a U.K.-based NGO that investigates environmental crime, told Mongabay. \u201cThey are the most prevalent species in trade as it relates to seizures,\u201d she said, adding that for every tiger killed, EIA\u2019s data show three to five leopards are killed.<\/p>\n

Leopard body parts, especially skins, claws, teeth and bones, are in great demand. In China and parts of Southeast Asia, they\u2019re considered a symbol of wealth and are used as home decor. Leopard bones are used in traditional medicine formulations, sometimes as a replacement for tiger bone. Leopard skin is part of the traditional regalia in some communities in Africa and was historically part of the traditional Tibetan costume called chuba. There\u2019s also a trade for leopard trophies, which are often legal and recorded on CITES.<\/p>\n

What do the numbers say about the trade?<\/h2>\n

Data from CITES, which records all legal international trade in listed wildlife species, show that 8,303 trade permits were issued for leopards from 2000 to 2024, making them the most traded big cat listed on CITES Appendix I. Hunting trophies comprise the largest number of permits, at 4,165, followed by 1,099 permits for skins and 933 for skulls. The number of permits doesn\u2019t translate to the number of individuals traded; each permit may include multiple individuals or their body parts, and several permits may contain parts from the same individual.<\/p>\n

A 2016 report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) on the trophy hunting industry found that more than 10,000 leopard trophies were legally traded worldwide between 2004 and 2014, with leopards being the most imported trophies among big cats.<\/p>\n

According to data from CatByte, an online platform that collects data about the legal and illegal trade in big cats, between 2000 and 2023 (the most recent year in the database), an estimated 60,830 leopard commodities were recorded. Around 91% of these (55,583) originated from wild-sourced leopards. Only 5% of the commodities came from captive-bred leopards, which primarily included live leopards traded to zoos and circuses.<\/p>\n

CatByte data also reveal that between 2000 and 2023, almost a third (32%) of all trade, both legal and illegal, was related to leopard derivatives, which include any processed part of an animal. Claws, which are in demand in traditional medicine and are often substituted for tiger claws, came in second at 17%, with most of them being sourced illegally. Leopard skins made up 6% of all traded commodities, mostly through illegal channels.<\/p>\n

Data from EIA\u2019s Global Environmental Crime Tracker, which tracks international wildlife crime, shows that at least 5,995 whole leopards, or their equivalents in products, have been seized since the year 2000. When combined with data from India, Banks puts this number at a minimum of 6,400 leopards. CatByte data show 738 leopard product seizures between 2020 and 2025, with claws being the most commonly seized commodity, followed by skins and bones.<\/p>\n

Africa, too, has a booming trade in leopard parts, said Ofir Drori, founding director of the EAGLE Network, an NGO that specializes in wildlife investigations and law enforcement. He said each year, they seize about 30 leopard skins from traffickers in West, Central and East Africa, which is a fraction of the actual trade. \u201cTraffickers are usually doing leopard skins; it\u2019s good business for them \u2026 I definitely see an increase in it,\u201d Drori told Mongabay. A 2025 study from C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire found that nearly half of the 46 markets surveyed sold leopard parts, mostly skins.<\/p>\n

\"Number
Number of CITES permits issued for trade in different leopard parts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trade hotspots<\/h2>\n

Based on the number of permits, the CITES database shows that the U.S., the world\u2019s largest importer of wildlife, tops the list of legal importers of leopards, followed by South Africa and France. Southern African countries \u2014 South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia \u2014 were the top three exporters in the legal leopard trade.<\/p>\n

However, Banks from EIA said their work in Asia points to China being a major importer of leopard parts. The country\u2019s historical demand for leopard body parts has led to poaching and the trafficking of leopards in neighboring countries. \u201cWhat we have documented over the years with partners in India and elsewhere is a sustained demand from China for leopard skin, leopard bone, teeth and claws,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A big part of the demand in China is for traditional medicine, as the country\u2019s latest pharmacopeia permits the use of leopard parts in licensed traditional medicines and treatments. EIA\u2019s research found at least 24 Chinese pharmaceutical companies listed leopard bones as an ingredient in their traditional medicines.<\/p>\n

Southeast and East Asia seem to be the most imperiled leopard ranges, with two of the three subspecies there classified as critically endangered and one as endangered. A 2021 study in Indonesia documented 24 seizures involving endangered Javan leopards between 2011 and 2019, constituting an estimated 51 animals. Skins, claws and canine teeth were the most seized commodities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndonesia\u2019s leopards are in a lot of trouble,\u201d study co-author Chris Shepherd, now a senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, a U.S.-based NGO, told Mongabay. \u201cLeopards are running out of natural prey, so they\u2019re coming in and eating things that they\u2019re not supposed to, but also, there\u2019s money in leopards, so somebody\u2019s going to kill them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Global
Global hotspots of the leopard trade.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In recent years, India has emerged as a hotspot for the illegal leopard trade, with the largest number of seizures \u2014 2,527 in the last five years \u2014 recorded in the country, according to CatByte data. A 2022 report on the snaring of big cats in Asia revealed that nearly 245 leopards were caught in snares, the most for any cat, between 2012 and 2021, and 93% of the snares were set up outside protected areas. India topped the list with the highest number of big cat deaths due to snaring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fear very much for leopards in Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia, but in South Asia as well, because they just silently slip away, as has happened with populations in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, unless they get the attention they deserve,\u201d Banks said. \u201cThere is a decision and a choice that the government of China can make, and if necessary at the highest levels, to end the use of leopard bone for medicinal purposes. So that is a gift that China can give to wild leopards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018forgotten cat\u2019 undergoing a \u2018silent extinction\u2019<\/h2>\n

Despite their wide range, leopards are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss, decline in their prey base, and the thriving trade in their body parts. They\u2019re the only big cat species whose conservation status has nosedived in recent years, with the species moving from near threatened in 2008 to vulnerable in 2015.<\/p>\n

Studies show these felids have lost as much as two-thirds of their historical range in Africa and about 84% in Asia; one subspecies, the Indochinese leopard, has been wiped out from nearly all of its habitat. As their habitat shrinks, leopards are increasingly coming into conflict with humans, preying on their livestock and being killed in retaliation. Of the eight subspecies, three are classified as critically endangered, and two as endangered.<\/p>\n

Drori from the EAGLE Network called the leopard\u2019s decline a \u201csilent extinction\u201d because \u201cit doesn\u2019t get a lot of headlines \u2026 it\u2019s not on people\u2019s radar.\u201d Part of that stems from the limited data available on leopards and their numbers, as well as the number of individuals being traded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the forgotten cat left behind,\u201d Banks said, \u201cit\u2019s just shrouded in mystery.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a report following the 2023 meeting of its standing committee, CITES noted a lack of specific information concerning seizure data related to illegal trade in Asian leopards, as its database groups all leopards together. It suggested CITES member countries submit ad hoc reports on the illegal trade in their jurisdictions before the next standing committee meeting, held this past February.<\/p>\n

\"The
The critically endangered Javan leopard is endemic to the island of Java in Indonesia. Despite being listed on CITES Appendix I, studies reveal extensive poaching and illegal international trafficking of the species. Image by EkoKintokoKusumo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Banks said the reporting, presented earlier this year, was \u201cpretty dismal\u201d because not all the available data had been reported to CITES. She said there\u2019s \u201cnot enough time and attention going into addressing the lack of enforcement, the lack of demand reduction\u201d regarding the leopard trade, especially with the trade convention\u2019s main summit, COP20, coming up this November.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in 1999, the CITES Secretariat warned parties that leopards in Asia were at risk of going the same way as the tiger,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is exactly what has unfolded, with leopards being the most prevalent of the Asian big cats seized in trade. The question is, are the parties to CITES COP20 in 2025 prepared to take bold action before it is too late?\u201d<\/p>\n

Citations:<\/h2>\n

Gomez, L., & Shepherd, C. R. (2021). The illegal exploitation of the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) and Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) in Indonesia. Nature Conservation, 43, 25-39. doi:10.3897\/natureconservation.43.59399<\/p>\n

Jacobson, A. P., Gerngross, P., Lemeris Jr., J. R., Schoonover, R. F., Anco, C., Breitenmoser-W\u00fcrsten, C., . . . Dollar, L. (2016). Leopard (Panthera pardus) status, distribution, and the research efforts across its range. PeerJ, 4, e1974. doi:10.7717\/peerj.1974<\/p>\n

Rostro-Garc\u00eda, S., Kamler, J., Ash, E., Clements, G., Gibson, L., Lynam, A., \u2026 Paglia, S. (2016). Endangered leopards: Range collapse of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) in Southeast Asia. Biological Conservation, 201, 293-300. doi:10.1016\/j.biocon.2016.07.001<\/p>\n

Williams, S. T., Williams, K. S., Lewis, B. P., & Hill, R. A. (2017). Population dynamics and threats to an apex predator outside protected areas: Implications for carnivore management. Royal Society Open Science, 4(4). doi:10.1098\/rsos.161090<\/p>\n

Viollaz, J. S., Thompson, S. T., & Petrossian, G. A. (2021). When human-wildlife conflict turns deadly: Comparing the situational factors that drive retaliatory leopard killings in South Africa. Animals, 11(11), 3281. doi:10.3390\/ani11113281<\/p>\n

Horion, R., Aglissi, J., Pickles, R., Ouattara, A., & Drouilly, M. (2025). Fading roars? A survey of the cultural use and illegal trade in wild felid body parts in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire. Animals, 15(3), 451. doi:10.3390\/ani15030451<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> by Spoorthy Raman was first published by Mongabay.com on 26 June 2025. Lead Image: A leopard in Panna National Park, India. Image by Harsh Tank via Unsplash (Public domain).<\/i><\/p>\n

Wildlife in catastrophic decline<\/h2>\n

The 73% decline in vertebrate wildlife populations during the last 50 years (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish), is primarily driven by human activities that threaten biodiversity.<\/p>\n

Habitat Loss and Degradation<\/em> – human activities like deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture have led to the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, reducing the space and resources available for wildlife.<\/p>\n

Pollution<\/em> – air, water, and soil pollution from industrial activities, agriculture, and other sources can harm wildlife directly or indirectly by affecting their habitats and food sources.<\/p>\n

Climate Change<\/em> – changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, and sea levels are disrupting ecosystems and impacting species’ ability to adapt and survive.<\/p>\n

Overexploitation of Resources<\/em> – unsustainable hunting, fishing, and logging practices can lead to the depletion of populations and the loss of biodiversity.<\/p>\n

Invasive Species<\/em> – the introduction of non-native species can disrupt ecosystems, compete with native species, and threaten their survival.<\/p>\n