I can tell a leopard and a cheetah apart because cheetah have ‘tears’ running from their eyes. I have seen several cheetah (an acquaintance had a ‘tame’ rehabilitated one that could not be returned to the wild), but never a leopard. Leopard are solitary and nocturnal so they are not easy to spot. I have never thought much about the difference between a jaguar and the other two.
I was looking up the differences in the spots between different big cats, and was surprised how different they are when you see them together. I had no idea that cheetah only had simple spots. I had somehow ‘remembered’ that they have rosettes.
A black panther is a melanistic (extra dark pigment) leopard or jaguar. You can still see their rosette patterns in direct sunlight. Here is an infrared photo of a black panther.
All these images are from Wikimedia Commons but were not sourced.
Really enjoyed this. I enjoy all of your posts but have often wondered about the differences in these big cats and never seem to get around to looking it up, so thank you.
Janet. Thank you for the info. I have always wondered the difference.