So, it is best to give Yala a miss and explore the less crowded Udawalawe and Wilpattu National Parks instead. But wherever you decide to go on your quest of seeing wildlife, it is always best to travel with a dedicated wildlife tour provider, leave logistics to the professionals and enjoy the company and the expertise of a professional wildlife guide. But Africa is home to two large spotted cats: a cheetah and a leopard and the two look similar enough to cause some confusion to an untrained eye.
However, if you know what to look for you can easily spot the difference between these two cats. Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus is quite distinct from all other cats and looks more similar to a greyhound than a typical feline.
This is mainly due to a host of unique adaptations the cheetah developed to become the fastest mammal on earth. From the evolutionary perspective, the cheetah and the leopard are not closely related. The leopard Panthera pardus is part of the Big cat subfamily, closely related to the other members of the Panthera genus — tiger, lion, snow leopard and jaguar.
While the cheetah is the single member of the genus Acinonyx that belongs to the subfamily of small cats. So how do you tell the difference between cheetah and leopard? The trick is knowing what the key differences are.
As far as appearances go, the quickest way to tell cheetah vs leopard is by their body shape. These two cats are built for different hunting strategies. While the leopard, like most cats, is an ambush predator, the cheetah is the only cursorial hunter in the Felidae family, meaning that it hunts by chasing prey at high speed over a long distance. Therefore, the leopard is built for power while the cheetah is built for speed.
Consequently, the leopard has a muscular, solid, and stocky built. Another good way to tell the difference between leopard and cheetah is by looking at the shape of their heads and the patterns on their faces. The eyes of the two cats also differ in colour. Cheetah uses its tail as a counterbalance when running at full speed and taking sharp turns. The leopard also uses its tail for balance when climbing trees, but its tail has a more familiar tubular shape to it.
Another way to tell the difference between cheetah and leopard is by looking at the pattern of their spots. The cheetah has solid black spots while the leopard has a pattern of spots and rosettes.
Most wild cats have retractable claws, which means they use them only when necessary. The cheetah is one of only three species along with the fishing cat and flat-headed cat that have non-retractable claws, like those of dogs. It is not surprising, considering that like most canids dogs , the cheetah is a cursorial hunter. The non-retractable claws function like tire threads by providing tractions for turning at high speeds. Apart from the differences in their appearance, the cheetah and the leopard have a number of behavioural differences that may be helpful for identifying them in the field.
As noted earlier, the cheetah is the only cursorial hunter in the cat family. Its hunting strategy is based on its ability to sustain a high-speed chase across the open savannah. They can usually kill their prey quickly, with just one bite to the neck. Being great climbers, they may even hide their food up trees to store for a later time. Cheetahs usually hunt during the day , particularly around dawn or dusk. Smaller prey may be killed right away.
Cheetahs may drag their kills to near a tree or bush to rest after the chase. As mentioned, African leopards and cheetahs have similar diets in certain things. They have a wide range of prey depending on availability. They may feed on anything from fish and reptiles to baboons and warthogs. African leopards live in a vast area, covering a good portion of East, West, Central, and southern Africa.
They can be found in hot and cold climates, being adaptable. While they live in a variety of habitats, anywhere from the savannah, to mountains and rainforests, African leopards tend to prefer living in rockier areas that have riverine forests and dense bush.
Cheetahs have a more limited living area, with smaller pockets of land compared to leopards. Like leopards, they can be found throughout Africa in a variety of habitats like mountains and savannahs, though rarely in tropical forests.
Learn about cheetah cubs: 14 Cute Baby Cheetah Facts. What do you think about African leopards and cheetahs? Which one do you like better?
What did we miss? Leave your thoughts and comments below! Table of Contents. African leopard. About the Author Latest Posts. Joshua Diegor. The extraordinary Rubondo Island in Lake Victoria was made into a haven for endangered chimpanzees. How often do you mistake a leopard for a cheetah or vice versa?
While they are both big cats , leopards and cheetahs are very different from each other with distinct differences. This line runs from the inside of the eye down towards the mouth of the cheetah. It is commonly said that these marks help reflect the glare of the sun while hunting during the day - but in fact that is just a myth. While cheetah prefer to hunt in the day, leopards usually hunt at night but will also occasionally hunt in the day if an opportunity presents itself. Leopards have a large number of light-sensitive cells in their eyes that detect less colour but allow them to detect movement and shape easily in the dark, giving them an advantage.
Left: Cheetah with tear lines. Right: Leopard in Ruaha. The most common difference between these two animals is the patterns on their coat.
At first glance, it may look like they both have spots, but in actual fact, a leopard has rosettes which are rose-like markings, and cheetahs have a solid round or oval spot shape. Left: Leopard with rosette markings. Right: Cheetahs have solid spots.
Cheetahs are the fastest land animals. When chasing down prey at top speed, cheetahs make use of their long tails to counterbalance themselves; in doing so have the ability to change direction very quickly while on the hunt. They have retractable claws which allow them to be the superb climbers that they are.
They are extremely good swimmers, too. Leopards are the shortest of the big cats, although they are strong and bulky - strong enough to pull their prey up trees in order to protect their meal.
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