Probably a lot of people who like but are not familiar with cats, will often call the wrong leopard, cheetah and jaguar names, these three animals have a certain degree of confusion in appearance, such as all three have a gorgeous appearance, the main color blocks are also yellow, black and white (yellow base, black spots, white belly hair), in addition to the name also has a "leopard" word, so it is not difficult to understand that some people can call their names wrong, so how to distinguish leopard, cheetah and jaguar?
From left: leopards, cheetahs, jaguars
All three animals belong to a family of cats, but there is a certain difference in their belonging, leopards and jaguars are two species in the leopard subfamily Leopard genus, while cheetahs belong to the cheetah subfamily Cheetah genus, which is also the only species in this genus.
Cheetah family
If divided by region, the genus can be divided into 5 subspecies, namely the Saharan cheetah, the South African cheetah, the East African cheetah, the Northeast African cheetah and the Asian cheetah, of which the Asian cheetah was extinct in 1948, but there are now few reports that the Asian cheetah has been found again on the Iranian plateau.
The above is the traditional division, but if we follow the modern division, there are only three subspecies, named subspecies, West African subspecies, and Indian subspecies. In addition, China does not produce cheetahs, which should not be confused.
Leopard family
According to the geographical distribution, leopards are divided into 9 subspecies, namely Indochina leopard, North China leopard, Arabian leopard, Indian leopard, Far Eastern leopard, Sri Lankan leopard, Javan leopard, Persian leopard and African leopard, of which there is an Indochina leopard in the south of China, a Far East leopard in the northeast, an Indian leopard in the southwest, and a North China leopard in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other north China regions.
Jaguar family
The jaguar also differentiates into 9 subspecies, named subspecies, Arizona subspecies, Pantana subspecies, Central American subspecies, Paraguayan subspecies, golden subspecies, Peruvian subspecies, Hernandez subspecies, and Veracruz subspecies, of which the Arizona subspecies is extinct in the United States and may only be in small numbers in parts of Mexico.
In terms of naming methods, whether it is a leopard, a cheetah or a jaguar, its subspecies are basically named according to the rules of the distribution area, so it is very recognizable.
Leopards are widely distributed in the world geographically, from the Sahara Desert to the Himalayas can see the traces of leopards, across the two continental plates of Asia and Africa, especially in Africa, most countries have leopards, if the time goes further, Singapore, Hong Kong, Libya and other places also have leopard traces.
Leopard distribution map
Due to the wide range of leopards and the fact that they are beasts of prey, leopards were also implicated in the 1950s and 1960s when tigers were killed, and it was difficult to find them in many areas.
Cheetah distribution map
Historical cheetahs have a wide range of distribution, the entire African continent and the Arabian Peninsula, central India, Palestine and many other places have cheetahs, but this situation has changed a lot since the 1970s, the distribution range of cheetahs is shrinking, and now most of the cheetahs are distributed in some countries in Africa, such as Botswana, Uganda, Namibia, Ethiopia, etc. There are cheetahs in parts of Asia, but there are not many.
Jaguar distribution map
The jaguar should not be difficult to know from the name, this is a large cat that lives in Central and South America, and its main habitat is in the Amazon Basin. After the mid-20th century, it was found that jaguars did not only live in Central and South America, but also found jaguar tracks in the southwest of the United States, but later due to the influence of human life, today's jaguars are mainly distributed in the ecological belt north of Argentina (inclusive) and south of Mexico (inclusive).
From the above distribution range, jaguars and leopards do not have overlapping areas, and although leopards and cheetahs overlap, there are not many overlapping areas, so in the natural environment, they can not see many opportunities.
Of the three animals, the jaguar is the largest, and it is the third largest cat in the world. The jaguar is between 112-185 cm long and between 63–76 cm tall at the shoulders, and the tail is the shortest of all big cats, only about 45–75 cm.
jaguar
Its weight varies greatly between individuals, usually between 56-96 kg, with the largest recorded male jaguar weighing 158 kg, the youngest female adult jaguar only 36 kg, and the female is usually about 10-20% smaller than the male. In addition, the jaguar's weight distribution is regular, and the further south it goes, the heavier it is, such as western Mexico
Jaguars in the chamela-cuixmala biosphere reserve weigh an average of about 50 kg, while jaguars in Brazil or Venezuela weigh an average of 95 kg for males and 56-78 kg for females.
Leopard
Leopards are smaller than jaguars, but larger than cheetahs, with adult leopards growing between 90-190 cm in length and males 60–70 cm on their shoulders and weighing between 37–90 kg; females with shoulder heights of 57–64 cm and weights in the range of 28–60 kg.
Although the weight of leopards varies greatly, there is no law to follow, which seems to have a lot to do with the environment in which they live, in the area where there are no lions and tigers living, leopards are the topmost creatures in the food chain, and the individual weight in this area is much larger than in other places.
cheetah
The cheetah is the smallest of the three, adult cheetahs are between 70-90 cm shoulder height, body length 100-150 cm, weight is about 21-72 kg, females are about 15-25% smaller than males.
According to the measurements, cheetahs in Northeast Africa, the Sahara Desert, and Iran are generally underweight. The cheetah is slender in size and slender in limbs, and its lightness stands in stark contrast to most other strong big cats.
Although at first glance leopard, cheetah and jaguar are similar, but if you look closely, you will find that there are obvious differences in the appearance of these three animals, the cheetah from the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth, there are two long black hair distribution, it looks like two tear marks, this is the most important and conspicuous sign to judge the cheetah, there is no one, as long as you see such a feature, it is almost certain that it is a cheetah.
In addition, the cheetah's head is small and round, and the hair on the body is yellowish brown or brownish red to grayish white, and there are about 2,000 spots on top of it, which are almost uniform.
From left: jaguars, cheetahs, leopards
The hair on the leopard's body shows different states depending on the distribution area, from pale yellow to dark gold, and the black spots on its body are also more symmetrical, looking like roses, so it is very beautiful, it is worth mentioning that in each leopard, this rose-like spot is a unique existence, just like the two leaves that do not have the same in the world. The inner hairs on the leopard's abdomen and legs are predominantly white and have no spots.
The hair on the jaguar is mainly yellowish brown and yellow, and the body is also covered with black spots similar to the leopard, but compared to the leopard, the jaguar's rose spots are more irregular, and the color is darker, and there are smaller spots inside, in addition, the spots on the jaguar's head are not rose-like, but multiple spots are connected together, showing a block or strip, which is one of the important features to distinguish the leopard from the jaguar.
Jaguar loves water
The adult jaguar is a top predator and an opportunist, with 87 food sources, the main food being capybaras and anteaters. Jaguars like to perch on trees, its tree climbing skills are very skilled, almost on par with leopards, in addition, jaguars love water, especially in the hot summer, most of the time willing to stay in the water, in addition to playing in the water, but also in the water to find food, such as the ferocious caiman, is one of the jaguar's food sources.
Leopards are good at climbing trees
The leopard's ability to hunt depends mainly on its keen hearing and highly developed vision, and it can detect subtle movements at a great distance and thus become alert. Leopards also like to perch in trees, and leopards have been seen jumping from trees to ambush prey, and they hunt in a manner similar to most solitary cats and do not like to chase. Compared to the jaguar, the leopard seems to be less fond of water, preferring to lie on a tree than stay in the water.
Cheetahs can also live in groups
The habits of cheetahs are very different from leopards and jaguars, leopards and jaguars are basically nocturnal animals, but cheetahs are day and night, and they are more active during the day. Its hunting method mainly relies on speed, the cheetah can reach a speed of 125 kilometers per hour, is the fastest animal on land, and can catch prey in a short distance.
In addition to lions, cheetahs are also the only more gregarious cats, they can live alone or in groups, and usually hunt cooperatively. In addition, cheetahs have weaker tree climbing skills than leopards and jaguars.
Two kinds of black panthers
It is worth mentioning that in the name, leopard and jaguar are somewhat misleading, both animals have individuals who are blackened due to genetic mutations, the blackened leopard is called black panther, and the blackened jaguar is also called black panther. Blackened leopards are common in tropical rainforests such as the Malay Peninsula and Mount Kenya, while blackened jaguars are mainly found in South America, where only about 6% of jaguars are blackened.
Cheetah does not have a blackened individual, its harmless genetic mutation direction is unique, the main form is the back of the mane, darker color, three dark broad stripes from the neck to the tail, zoologists call this mutated individual "king cheetah".
King Cheetah
It is worth mentioning that these three cats are precious species, due to human intervention and the continuous deterioration of the natural environment, the number of many areas is decreasing, and people have been sparing no effort in protecting big cats, such as most countries in South America are strictly prohibited from hunting jaguars, in 2017 China's establishment of the Northeast Tiger Leopard National Park, for the Northeast tiger and far eastern leopard to provide a good living environment.
In fact, it is not difficult to distinguish these three cats, as long as you judge through the above several characteristics, it is easy to distinguish which is a leopard, a cheetah and a jaguar.
(Original works, plagiarism must be investigated.) ）