Both are big cats with spotted fur, excellent hunters and they share a habitat on certain occasions. However, the cheetah and the leopard do not have as many things in common as it may seem. If you have always wondered what is the difference between leopard and cheetah you have entered the right place because in this article on our site we are going to review the differences physical, in its hunting style and adaptability to the environment among others.
Appearance
At first glance, cheetah and leopard are different in size, speed and spots:
- Size is one of the main differences between cheetah and leopard: while the cheetah is slim, the leopard is corpulent, with a solid body (not in vain since it is a panther) and has a larger and rounded head.
- Speed: the cheetah is the fastest land animalthat exists and its chest is wide and its lungs and nostrils are larger in proportion to those of other cats, since it requires a large supply of oxygen to achieve its amazing acceleration (it can reach 100 km/h in 3 seconds). How fast can a cheetah go? Find out the answer in the following article on our site.
- Even the spots differ: being isolated spots in the case of the cheetah's fur, but may have areas with spots that overlap in circular shape in leopards. In addition, the cheetah has characteristic black marks on its face that go from the tear duct to the snout, at the level of the corner of the upper lips.
The leopard's closest relatives are the lion, the tiger and the jaguar, while the cheetah is reminiscent of European big cats, even a greyhound if you look at its long legs and narrow waist. The Cheetah is aerodynamically perfect for racing.
Cheetah cubs also have a coat of thick, golden hair on their heads and backs, which helps them camouflage and gives them a very friendly appearance. They are unmistakable.
Habitat
The next difference between a cheetah and a leopard has to do with where they live. On the one hand, the cheetah inhabits the African continent, more specifically in the central and southeastern areas. It is one of the animals of the African savannah.
On the other hand, the leopard is highly adaptable and can thrive in the savannah as well as in a forest, jungle or in rocky terrain, for this reason its territory extends from the African continent, where it sometimes shares a habitat with cheetahs and lions, to the southern part of the Asian continent, where it sometimes coexists with the tiger.
Leopards can modify habits such as hunting time in order to take advantage of other big cats in territories where they coexist with several species, since they are active much of the day and night.
Discover All about the cheetah's habitat and Where do leopards live? In the following posts on our site that we recommend.
Hunting and feeding
Another difference between leopard and cheetah is the hunting method they carry out and their respective diet. Therefore, now let's see it in more detail.
Cheetah Hunt
The cheetah is the fastest land animal with its 114 km/h speed that it maintains for a few seconds, which in distance is 200 or 300 meters. The cheetah hunting method, based on top speed.
For each failed attempt it consumes a lot of energy and therefore the cheetah lies in wait, it does not act desperately even when hungry. It is difficult for a gazelle to escape from a cheetah if it manages to get within 50 metres. In its attacks, the cheetah is a hunter with double the success rate compared to the leopard.
As a hunting feline, the cheetah has a characteristic that makes it unique: Its claws are not retractable Why is this so? The explanation again is in its excellent adaptation for the race. If the cheetah were to run with its sharp claws outstretched, they would wear out very quickly and would be useless to wound and kill its prey.
If the race took place with the claws inside the padded covers typical of felines, their stride would not be as effective as to reach the speed that characterizes them, due to lack of support, and many prey would they would escape. That is why the cheetah's claws are solid and blunt, similar to those of canids.
In order to be able to kill its prey once it reaches it, the cheetah keeps a single sharp claw, on the inside of its hind legs, which never touches the ground during the race. It uses this claw in combination with its fine and sharp fangs and usually causes the death of its prey by strangulation
When a cheetah hunts it must hasten to eat what it can because other carnivores such as the leopard or the lion, with whom it shares habitat in many times, or even scavengers like hyenas can snatch their prey.
Leopard Hunt
The leopard usually preserves its prey completely, because in addition to being larger and being able to defend them, it has the habit of raising them to the tops of the trees. It is, therefore, a hunter and a scavenger. Its anatomy makes the leopard an excellent fighter and jumper
What do leopards eat? Discover the answer in this post on our site that we recommend.
Adaptability to the environment and threats
Although the cheetah is an excellent hunter, its species is in serious danger of extinction. It is the only member of the genus Acinonyx that has not become extinct.
The survival rate of cheetah cubs is very low, since more or less half of a litter of three or five cubs usually survive. Cheetah cubs, despite being able to camouflage themselves well due to their characteristic brunette mane, are usually easy prey for other predators when the mother goes hunting. To this we must add the ineffectiveness of their parents.
And to this we must add the poaching problems and the destruction of natural habitatsof the cheetah. In addition, it is a species that does not breed in captivity. On exceptional occasions, in specialized centers with very large land, there may be a case of successful breeding of cheetahs, although it is a true achievement that is not achieved with all females.
The offspring of leopard do not have a special system to blend in with the environment beyond the characteristic spots of the adults, but they manage to a much higher survival rate than that of cheetahs. The leopard is close to being considered a threatened species.
Roar
To the surprise of many, this is one of the most curious differences between cheetah and leopard. The cheetah does not roar, but instead emits short, high-pitched cries that remind us of the meows of cats or even the song of a bird of prey. a louder way.
On the other hand, the leopard does roar in a way reminiscent of the lion and the tiger, since it emits guttural and hoarse sounds. In addition, due to the width of her bust, she can reproduce this type of sound or, if not, other shorter ones that resemble the creaking of a saw.
Different types of cheetahs and leopards
Another difference between cheetahs and leopards is that there are different types within each of them. For example, we can talk about the Asian cheetah is a subspecies of cheetah that lives mainly in Iran and is in serious danger of extinction (it is estimated that there are less than 100 copies).
In the American continent there were two big cats that, after being initially related to pumas, it was decided years later due to their morphology that they were actually cheetahs. Both species of American cheetah are extinct.
As for leopards, we can see the African, Arabian or Persian leopard, among others. As a curiosity, you should know that the black panther is also a leopard, a melanistic leopard (with a lot of melanin, which gives the coat a uniform dark appearance).
Do not miss the Types of leopards that exist, here.
Dealing with humans
The ancient Persians "domesticated" cheetahs. We write it in quotation marks because the cheetah is a wild animal, never a pet, but it has the peculiarity of being able to adapt to dealing with humans if it occurs since it is a puppy. In other words, the cheetah habituated to humans is a much less fierce animal than, for example, a tiger.
In the Middle Ages, the high aristocracy of India and Europe also used trained cheetahs to hunt gazelles, deer or even hares.
This ancient custom of capturing cheetahs for display or training almost led to their extinction, as captured individuals were condemned to die no offspring. In fact, the current population of cheetahs faces the problem of low genetic variability, since they are the descendants of a reduced number of specimens from the times when it was more threatened than it still is today.
On the other hand, although it is much more ferocious than the cheetah, the leopard avoids contact with humans because it fears them. Numerous subspecies of leopard are known and only one of them is extinct.
