A Little Something About Animals: Jaguar or Leopard, whats the difference?

Jaguars and Leopards are often confused with each other when seen in pictures or in zoos. How does one tell the difference? There are actually several different ways to tell the difference between and Jaguar and Leopard. They are both part of the same genus Pantherinae Panthera which also includes Lions and Tigers. They also both have the same, gold coat with black spots. However there are differences in geographic location, size, shape, color, and behavior.

The most obvious difference in these two cats is their geographic location on the earth, this might not be distinguishable when you are observing one in a zoo, but in the wild, Jaguars are native to South and Central America and up a little bit into the United States. They are strictly a new world cat. The Leopard on the other hand, is native to Africa and Asia, an Old World cat. Jaguars are usually not found from water and are very proficient swimmers. They can be live in swamps, savannahs, scrub land and desert but they are mostly found in rain forests. In fact they have almost been wiped out of every dryer climate. Leopards inhabit semi-desert, savannahs, coniferous forests, deciduous forests, grasslands, as well as tropical rainforests.

The most common way for people to distinguish the two is by their markings. They both have the same coloring, tawny or gold with black rings, or broken circles, called rosettes. However the Jaguar has larger and thicker rings with one or two dots in the middle. A Leopard has smaller less broken rosettes with no spots in the middle of them. Jaguars often have few broken stripes on their chest and legs whereas Leopards may have one broken stripe on the upper chest and no more. Leopards sometimes have a lighter coat that look almost silver. Both Jaguars and Leopards sometimes have a black, or melanistic coat. Their spots are still visible but they are harder to distinguish. This is not a different species, just a color variant. However in both, this coloration is most often seen in thick jungle areas. Their coat may be the most common way, but there are other, more subtle ways to tell the difference.

Jaguars are actually bigger then Leopards. Adult males range from 150-200lbs whereas an adult male Leopard is about 80-150lbs. Jaguars are also stalkier cats with a muscular build and stalky legs. They have big paws, that are much stronger than the Leopards. Pound for pound, the jaguar is actually the strongest cat in the world. Their head is very large and muscular, making their ears look rather small. This is often a good way to tell Jaguars and Leopards apart, since Leopards have a more stream line face and smaller head. Jaguars have such a large powerful head and jaw because, unlike any other car, they kill their prey by piercing their skull. Most other cats, Leopards included clamp down on the jugular, or throat, and suffocate them.

They are both solitary animals. The Jaguar is more active than other members of Panthera, about 50%-60% of the day, however they are most active at dawn and dusk, which is called crepuscular. Leopards are mostly nocturnal but will hunt whenever they need to. Jaguars have a wide range of prey they consume, but leopards are known to eat just about anything they can find. They will eat anything from beetles to antelope twice their size. Although the jaguar is a proficient climber, the leopard is known to hunt from a tree branch, pouncing down onto their prey from above. They are so at home in trees that they often drag large kills such as antelope into trees to save for later. They can even jump 10 feet vertically and 20 feet horizontally.

In some ways these two cats are extremely similar, but they are different cats that live on different sides of the world. There are differences, not just in their spot pattern, but in their size, shape, behavior and abilities. Can you spot the difference?