Snapshot Serengeti Talk

Cheetah or leopard?

  • cervidae by cervidae

    enter image description here

    I''m back in the help board cause this has me stumped. It's obviously a leopard or cheetah but I just...cannot decide which. It has the mane of a cheetah, the longer body and the longer tail. But the spots look like a leopard's spots and the face looks larger than a cheetah's and is shaped like a leopard's. It has me very confused on what I should pick.

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  • dolphinate by dolphinate

    I'd chose Leopard, those look like rosettes rather than spots.

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  • tillydad by tillydad moderator

    Definitely a leopard. The overall shape is bulkier than a cheetah and the rosettes are evident, A lovely shot .

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  • DZM by DZM admin

    Leopards do actually have very long tails!

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  • tillydad by tillydad moderator

    The leopard's tail can measure between 24 and 42 inches, depending on the size of the animal. As the leopard spends a great deal of time in the trees a long tail acts as a counterbalance. Often the only outward sign of a leopard being visible in a tree is the tail dangling down and moving slightly.

    The cheetah has a tail of 24 to 32 inches and uses it during prey chases as an aid to balancing whilst making sharp turns.

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  • melinaminotti by melinaminotti

    Definitive a leopard. Cheetas have a "black tear" mark on their faces

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  • cervidae by cervidae

    Thank you, guys!

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