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Indian Leopard
The most adaptable of India's big cats — a rosette-spotted coat, secretive habits, and a knack for living close to people, even near big cities.
How to spot it
A powerful, low-slung cat with a golden coat covered in dark rosettes — rings of spots, unlike a cheetah's solid dots. Far smaller than a tiger, with a long tail for balance. Some leopards are born all-black (the "black panther"), the rosettes still faint underneath.
Where it lives
The most widespread big cat in India, from forests and hills to tea estates, farmland and the edge of Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Its adaptability is its strength — it survives in places a tiger never could.
What it eats
A carnivore that takes almost anything — deer, monkeys, wild boar, birds, and near villages, dogs and goats. Famously it hauls a kill high into a tree to keep it from tigers and hyenas, then feeds off it over several days.
Behaviour & life
Solitary, secretive and mostly nocturnal, it is a superb climber and often rests draped along a branch. Cubs stay hidden in dense cover while young. Because it lives so close to people, the leopard is at the centre of much human–wildlife conflict.
In India
Protected under Schedule I and classed as Vulnerable. Its very success near towns makes it a flashpoint — leopards stray into cities and both people and cats get hurt — so much of the conservation work is really about helping the two live side by side.
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