Talk:Leopard

Did you know nomination

{{Did you know nominations/Leopard}}

Leopard Article Inaccuracies

At the beginning the article states that leopard is extinct, later on it says its vulnerable and leopards are in fact very much alive and exist today Andreasuk22 (talk) 01:04, 12 January 2025 (UTC)

@Andreasuk22 I had this issue editing prior. There are discrepancies regarding the Sahara Leopards. Cltjames (talk) 01:47, 12 January 2025 (UTC)

Do y'all mean this statement: Leopards were formerly present across Europe, but became extinct in the region? This is not saying the species went extinct across the world, but only in Europe. - UtherSRG (talk) 03:37, 12 January 2025 (UTC)

There are several maps showing North Africa as an area where Leopards are extinct, but this is not true as Leopards are still present in the Sahara desert. I had difficulty explaining this before, so we added a text explaining the situation in Morocco, but the maps contradict this statement. Cltjames (talk) 12:03, 12 January 2025 (UTC)

Neofelis not linked at all

See above. 2001:1C01:71C:9900:68F8:45F6:15F3:F867 (talk) 02:53, 1 February 2025 (UTC)

Fixed. - UtherSRG (talk) 12:08, 1 February 2025 (UTC)

Purring?

The Behaviour and ecology section has this sentence - "They produce a number of vocalizations, including growls, snarls and purrs". However, whether Leopards can truly purr is very debatable in my opinion not to mention borderline misleading and most sources I've seen seem to suggest that Leopards cannot truly purr (given that true purrs are normally done by inhaling or both inhaling & exhaling together, and the largest cat capable of that is the Cougar) or that they only produce a purr-like sound when exhaling.

I think this sentence needs to be reworded at some point, with "purrs" either completely removed from mention or at least reworded to what is mentioned in the Lion article's Communication section - "Other sounds produced include puffing, humming, and a soft sound similar to purring". If anyone wants to add on further to this topic, please feel free to do so, many thanks. Broman178 (talk) 19:52, 15 June 2025 (UTC)

We do NOT remove sourced content based on an opinion. – BhagyaMani (talk) 04:28, 16 June 2025 (UTC)

I'm sorry but it is simply untrue to say that its a mere opinion of mine when there are many sources out there which state that Leopard's alongside other Big cats in the Panthera genus cannot truly purr, some of which I'll add here:

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/why-can-only-big-cats-roar

https://carnegiemnh.org/cat-chat-101-the-basics-of-domestic-and-wild-vocalizations/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-margarita-can-purr-but-cant-roar

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Leopard_Diaries/MP2SEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=leopard+cannot+purr&pg=PT23&printsec=frontcover

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Biology_and_Conservation_of_Wild_Fel/f_5QEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=leopard+cannot+purr&pg=PA103&printsec=frontcover

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Cat/H3DNDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=leopard+cannot+purr&pg=PA89&printsec=frontcover

And I would say that the source currently in this section of the article is wrong (maybe badly researched by the author) - and yes, even some so called reliable sources can be wrong - and while it mentions that Leopards purr, it doesn't really clarify if its a purr by exhaling or if it truly can be considered a purr i.e. there's no further clarification or context to that mention of "purrs". I might also add that the Purr article also mentions that no cats can both purr and roar & that "The "roaring cats" (lion, Panthera leo; tiger, P. tigris; jaguar, P. onca; leopard, P. pardus) have an incompletely ossified hyoid, which, according to this hypothesis, enables them to roar but not to purr. ". So this information definitely should be changed at a later date and the source currently in that section should be changed - I might probably do it myself if I have time. Broman178 (talk) 08:55, 16 June 2025 (UTC)

By "purring" they may mean prusten. I doubt its the same as purring in domestic cats. LittleJerry (talk) 22:11, 16 June 2025 (UTC)

I think what needs to be done in that case is a similar rewording of that sentence to probably mention prusten/chuffing instead of purring (with maybe a change of source), or if not, a similar change to the Lion article in order to mention something like "and a soft sound similar to purring". Although I will admit I'm not quite sure about instead mentioning chuffing/prusten because most sources I've seen mention that its a vocalisation for Tigers, Jaguars, Snow Leopards & Clouded Leopards among Big Cats, with no or hardly much mention of Lions and Leopards. Broman178 (talk) 09:02, 18 June 2025 (UTC)

Update: I think its looking much better now with the change LittleJerry did on 18.6.25, with the mention of purring now removed. Broman178 (talk) 09:07, 20 June 2025 (UTC)

Request to add Sri Lankan leopard details

I request to add information about the Sri Lankan leopard's density and specific phenotypic observations to the "Distribution and habitat" section (specifically regarding the Sri Lankan subspecies).

Please add the following text: "Yala National Park in Sri Lanka records one of the highest densities of the Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) in the world. The park provides critical data on the subspecies' longevity, exemplified by the dominant male 'Lucas' (documented as one of the oldest in the region), as well as rare sightings of melanistic (black) leopards."

Please support this statement with the following citation: Wickramasooriya (talk) 06:15, 12 December 2025 (UTC) Wickramasooriya (talk) 06:15, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

References

I do not agree to add this: 1. because this website contains lots of advertisement on safari tours; 2. because your text is too specific, and info about the Sri Lankan leopard is more suitable for the respective page on this subspecies. – BhagyaMani (talk) 08:54, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you @BhagyaMani for the feedback. You're absolutely right on both points. I appreciate you taking the time to review this.

I understand now that:

1. Yalawildlife.com doesn't meet WP:RS standards as a reliable source

2. This detailed content belongs on the Sri Lankan leopard article, not the general leopard page

I'll take a different approach: I'm working on a comprehensive draft for the Yala National Park article in my sandbox, which will include this leopard density data with proper academic citations. Once that article is published with reliable sources, it can be cross-referenced from the Sri Lankan leopard page if appropriate.

Would you recommend any specific peer-reviewed journals or government wildlife sources I should prioritize for leopard population data?

Thanks again for your guidance. Wickramasooriya (talk) Wickramasooriya (talk) 13:35, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Lead Paragraph Unit Clutter and Measurement Redundancy

The lead paragraph reads as extremely cluttered with numerical values. Having both feet and inches is redundant since both are imperial. Either feet or inches should be chosen for the imperial conversion. I'm not an imperial user so I will defer judgment on whether to keep feet or inches to someone with more knowledge of the system. Cheers YannLK (talk) 12:50, 26 June 2026 (UTC)

I agree that conversion to ft in is redundant, but just in is sufficient. BhagyaMani (talk) 13:37, 26 June 2026 (UTC)