Why are leopards endangered?

Leopards are endangered mainly due to over-hunting and habitat loss. Their fur was prized as a very valuable commodity in the 1960s and 1970s, and livestock farmers drive them away from their natural habitat.

Many species of leopards also suffer from traps that livestock farmers leave for them in an attempt to protect their herds. Farmers will poison small animal carcasses which kill any leopard that feeds on them. Farmers are also driving leopards' natural prey animals away by overgrazing and leaving the areas bare. However, due to conservation acts beginning in the 1970s, many species of leopard are seeing a rise in numbers, with some estimates of the number in the wild reaching over 500,000 animals.