Did you know that jaguars and leopards look completely the same but you can actually find a lot of differences? Their most noticeable similarities are their coats. Both of them are yellow/ orange in colour and they both have spots. They also have a lot of noticeable differences. For example, Jaguars are much heavier than leopards but have shorter body lengths and tails. We can also see similarities and differences in their taxonomic classification, physical features, and behaviour.
In terms of taxonomy, they are almost the same. They both come from the Animalia kingdom. They come from the Mammalia class. They come from the same family of Felidae which means cats. Lastly, they both come from the same genus of Panthera which means they are panthers. Their only difference is the name of their species. The jaguar’s species are called Panthera Onca whereas the leopard’s species are called Panthera Pardus.
For their physical features, it’s very simple and straightforward, jaguars are bigger and stronger whereas leopards are slimmer and faster. When we go into detail, we can see that in terms of which one has the heavier weight, jaguars win by a landslide. Leopards, on the other hand, win in terms of overall body and tail length. This difference in body length and body weight is what allows leopards to be fast as a freight train. Their body length and weight, however, are not the only places we can find their physical differences. A leopard’s jawline is more defined and their cheeks are sharp. The leopard’s heads look sharp and angular. Unlike leopards, jaguars have bigger and round heads. This large and round head structure is what allows the jaguars to have shell-piercing bites which allow them to eat tortoises and other armoured creatures. Their last physical difference is their physical capabilities. Jaguars are better at swimming while leopards are better at climbing. The last difference is the size of their spots, jaguars have larger spots while leopards are smaller. As far as their similarities, there is only one similarity which is the colour of their coat. They both have a yellow or orange-coloured coat.
The last aspect of jaguars and leopards that we can compare is their behaviour. The first behavioural difference is the way they approach prey. Jaguars swim to hunt some animals while leopards climb trees to either hide from their prey and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike, or climb trees to eat the prey that they have already caught. Their methods of hunting are what allows them to get that “life-threatening pounce” on their prey. We can also see a difference in the animals they hunt. Jaguars eat anything whereas leopards prefer animals ranging from small insects to monkeys. The similarity between their style of hunting is they are both nocturnal. Meaning they prefer to hunt at night time. The last behavioural difference is how mothers treat their young. Jaguars will take care of their young for much longer before they become independent. Jaguars take care of their young for 1.5 years and might hide them for a few weeks because they are born blind are helpless. Leopards also do this; this is one of their similarities in motherhood. The difference is that leopards take care of their child for a shorter time. Apart from raising their child for 1.5 years, they remain social bonds for up to 2 years. Meanwhile, leopards only raise their child for 4 months and the child becomes independent within 3 months. We can see that jaguars tend to cling to their mother for a much longer time compared to leopards.
Jaguars and leopards may seem like the same animal at first, but with a little touch of detail you can see that there are a lot of differences between the two. Despite that, there are also a lot of similarities that lead to the misconception of them being the same animal. For their differences in terms of taxonomy, we can see that the name of their species is different. In terms of physical differences, they have a lot of physical differences but the main point is that jaguars tend to have a large and robust body whereas leopards have a slimmer body. Their differences in weight, length and head shape prove my statement. When we talk about behavioural differences the 2 main differences are how they hunt and how mothers raise their children. As for their similarities, we can see those similarities in taxonomy, coat colour, and the time they hunt. In short, jaguars and leopards may seem like exactly the same animal, but by reading this article, you can see that there are a lot of differences between the two animals.
Works Cited
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Written By Airell/ Year 7
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