Animal families have great similarities between their species, although there are also very marked differences that give nature richness. We have, for example, big cats that in some aspects could well pass for playful kittens, although they certainly have intrinsic behaviors that are far from that of a domestic cat. There are so many species of felids that sometimes it is difficult to differentiate one from the other. It is clear that a lion is very different from a panther, but what is the difference between a leopard and a jaguar? Here he rises.
Both share certain characteristics that make it difficult to differentiate them. That is, both are large predators that act by ambush and both also have very similar patterns on their coats. But there are aspects that allow us to correctly differentiate a jaguar from a leopard and here we explain them to you.
Differences between jaguar and leopard
Size
The jaguar is the feline king of America, so much so that it is an important part of the worldview of Mesoamerican cultures. The image of the powerful jaguar has been used to represent pre-Hispanic gods in both Central and South American cultures.
The jaguar lives in the jungles and jungles of Central and South America, where it is crowned as the largest feline. On the contrary, the leopard lives in Africa and Asia where they are accustomed to seeing their size dwarfed by other larger cats such as the lion, in the case of Africa.
The difference in sizes between the jaguar and the leopard is very large. The former reach much larger volumes, they even have more abundant fur and can weigh 115 kilograms. On the other hand, leopards are smaller in size, weighing only 80 kilograms. It’s no surprise that jaguars have the most powerful bite of all the big cats. This differentiation between both species is probably due to the different environments, that is, their is very different.
Jaguars, for example, usually love it and hunt within it. They eat alligators and anacondas as part of their daily diet which can be found from the to Mexico. However, leopards’ diet is based on other mammals and deer, for this reason, they tend to stay away from water or aqueous bodies.
The fur
The fur is another point of great value when it comes to differentiating a leopard from a jaguar. Leopards are smaller and have less abundant fur. Unlike jaguars, which usually have much fluffier fur. As for the patterns of spots on their skin called rosettes, they are irregular black circles that serve in both cases to camouflage themselves. But jaguars have much larger spots, unlike leopards which have smaller, closer rosettes.
In both cases, black leopards or jaguars can be found, which is due to a mutation that causes excess production of melanin. The same thing that is responsible for giving color to our hair, skin, eyes, among many other news.