Species comparison
Puma vs Leopard
A side-by-side look at Puma concolor and Panthera pardus across body measurements, habitat, diet, behaviour and conservation status.
At a glance
- The puma averages about 1.2 times the body mass of the leopard.
- The puma has the higher recorded top speed, at 50 mph (80 km/h).
- Both species use montane forest and temperate forest.
- Their ranges do not overlap: Puma lives in North America and South America, Leopard in Africa and Asia.
- Red List categories differ: Puma is listed as Least Concern, Leopard as Vulnerable.
Identification
How each species is named and classified.
Puma
Puma concolor
Leopard
Panthera pardus
Puma
Puma
Leopard
Panthera
Puma
Puma lineage
Leopard
Panthera lineage
Puma
Big cats
Leopard
Big cats
Puma
Mountain lion, Cougar, Panther, Catamount
Leopard
African leopard, Amur leopard, Arabian leopard
Body and movement
Published field measurements for adults. Ranges cover both sexes unless noted.
Puma
3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in (100–200 cm) Longer
Leopard
2 ft 11 in – 6 ft 3 in (90–190 cm)
Puma
24 in – 3 ft 1 in (60–95 cm)
Leopard
23 in – 3 ft 7 in (58–110 cm) Longer
Puma
24 in – 2 ft 11 in (60–90 cm) Taller
Leopard
18 in – 2 ft 7 in (45–78 cm)
Puma
64–220 lb (29–100 kg) Heavier
Males 53–100 kg, females 29–64 kg; animals near the equator are smaller than those at high latitudes.
Leopard
37–198 lb (17–90 kg)
Arabian leopards from about 17 kg; large African and Persian males approach 90 kg.
Puma
50 mph (80 km/h) Faster
Short accelerations from cover rather than sustained pursuit.
Leopard
36 mph (58 km/h)
Measured over short distances; leopards depend on stalking to within a few strides.
Life span
Typical adult longevity. Figures for managed care come from zoo and sanctuary records.
Puma
8–13 years
Leopard
12–15 years Longer
Puma
18–21 years
Leopard
20–23 years Longer
Habitat and range
Where each species lives and the conditions it tolerates.
Puma
montane forest, temperate forest, tropical rainforest, desert, semi-arid scrub, grassland
Almost any terrain that offers stalking cover and ungulate prey, from coastal rainforest and Rocky Mountain conifer to Sonoran desert, Patagonian steppe and Andean páramo above 13,000 feet.
Leopard
tropical rainforest, savanna, montane forest, semi-arid scrub, temperate forest, agricultural mosaic
From equatorial rainforest to the fringes of the Arabian and Kalahari deserts, and from sea level to above 15,000 feet in the Himalaya. Leopards persist in farmland and near cities where cover and small prey remain.
Puma
North America, South America
From British Columbia and Alberta south through the western United States, Mexico and Central America to Chile and Argentina. A small, isolated population persists in southern Florida.
Leopard
Africa, Asia
Widespread but fragmented across sub-Saharan Africa, with relict populations in North Africa, Arabia, the Caucasus, Central and South Asia, South East Asia, China and the Russian Far East.
Diet and behaviour
Feeding ecology, social organisation and hunting technique.
Puma
medium ungulates, small mammals, hares, birds
Deer dominate across most of the range, supplemented by elk calves, guanaco, vicuña, peccary, porcupines, hares and rodents.
Leopard
medium ungulates, small mammals, primates, birds, reptiles
Extremely catholic: impala, bushbuck, duiker, hyrax, hares, monkeys, birds, rodents and, in some landscapes, domestic dogs and goats.
Puma
Solitary
Adults hold large, scent-marked ranges; recent GPS work shows more tolerance and even occasional food sharing between neighbours than was long assumed.
Leopard
Solitary and territorial
Adults maintain scent-marked ranges, with males overlapping several females. Leopards are notably tolerant of human presence when not persecuted, and often move unseen through settled country.
Puma
Crepuscular and nocturnal
Movement peaks at dawn and dusk, matching deer activity, and shifts further into the night close to roads and settlement.
Leopard
Nocturnal and crepuscular
Predominantly night active, especially near people, though forest populations with low disturbance also hunt in daylight.
Puma
Stalk, pounce and cache
A puma approaches under cover, launches from short range and kills with a bite to the neck, then drags the carcass to a cache site and returns over several nights.
Leopard
Close stalk and pounce
Leopards use cover to approach within a few strides, then attack with a rush and a throat bite. Prey is often dragged to cover or hoisted into a tree.
Puma
Exceptional
Climbs quickly and confidently, often treeing to escape wolves or dogs and to rest above the ground.
Leopard
Exceptional
Among the strongest climbers of all large cats; leopards regularly lift carcasses of their own body mass into the canopy.
Puma
Capable
Swims when necessary, including between coastal islands, but generally avoids water.
Leopard
Capable
Competent in water and willing to cross rivers, but far less aquatic than tigers or jaguars.
Conservation
Red List category, population direction and the pressures documented for each species.
Puma
LC — Least Concern
Assessed 2015
Leopard
VU — Vulnerable
Assessed 2023
Puma
Decreasing
Leopard
Decreasing
Puma
Habitat fragmentation by roads and development, Vehicle collisions, Retaliatory killing after livestock loss, Prey depletion, Genetic isolation of small populations
Secure at the species level thanks to a huge range, but eastern North American populations were extirpated, and the Florida panther depends on active genetic and habitat management.
Leopard
Habitat fragmentation, Prey depletion, Retaliatory and preventative killing, Illegal skin and bone trade, Poorly regulated hunting
Widespread persistence disguises steep regional losses. Several subspecies — notably the Amur, Arabian, Javan and Sri Lankan leopards — survive as very small, isolated populations.
Notable traits
Details that do not fit neatly into a measurement table.
Puma
- The species holds one of the longest lists of English common names of any mammal, a legacy of its enormous range.
- Vertical leaps of more than fifteen feet from a standing position have been documented.
- Highway crossing structures in California and Florida were built specifically to reconnect isolated puma populations.
Leopard
- Leopard rosettes lack the interior spots typical of jaguars, the most reliable field distinction between the two.
- The Amur leopard, restricted to the Russian-Chinese border forests, is among the rarest big cats on Earth.
- Melanism occurs most often in humid forest populations of South and South East Asia.
Sources used for this comparison
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Global assessment categories, population trends and documented threats.
- IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group Species accounts, distribution notes and Cat News reporting for every wild felid.
- Panthera Field research programmes and species profiles for big and small wild cats.
- U.S. National Park Service Long-running monitoring of North American carnivores inside protected areas.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal listing status and recovery planning for cats occurring in the United States.
- World Wildlife Fund Range descriptions, threat summaries and conservation programme reporting.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Body measurements, longevity records and life-history notes.