What is the Difference Between a Leopard and a Cheetah?

This is something that seems to cause quite a lot of confusion in the bush, so I thought I would show you guys the difference between a Cheetah and a Leopard! Once you know you will never be confused again!

Leopard, I’m sure looking at these photo’s you can already spot some differences between them

The slender cheetah. Also notice how the spots are different.

• The leopard is built for strength so it is very solid and stocky, with shorter legs.
• The cheetah being built for speed, so it is very slender with long legs.
• The leopard is nocturnal, so it is more active at night.
• The cheetah is diurnal, so  more active during the day.
• The leopards spots are called rosettes, they are more of a cluster of black spots with a dark brown spot in the middle.
• The cheetahs spots are a solid black dot.

Looking at their faces there is also a difference, the leopard has a stockier face

The face of the cheetah has the unmistakeable tear marks on it

• The leopard had a much broader face.
• The cheetah has a rounder face with tear marks running from the inside of the eye to the corners of the mouth.
• The leopard has retractable claws (like your cat at home) which it puts put when it climbs up trees or catches its prey.
• The cheetah is the only cat with non-retractable claws, meaning they are out all the time.