Big cats with circles and rosettes

Let's start with looking at the differences in those big cats that have black on tan spots; the cheetah, the leopard, and the jaguar.


The IKs* are fairly simple, and if you can remember them, you will never have trouble telling these black & tans apart again!


Cheetah IK: Believe it or not, the only big cat with simple round black spots is the cheetah.

Leopard IK: This cat has a flower-like pattern of black spots called rosettes. They are the same size all over the body. There is a slightly different fur color inside each one. Yellow leopards and snow leopards have this pattern.

Jaguar IK: Jaguars also have rosettes, but they are larger in the middle of the body, and have black dots inside. There is a slightly different fur color inside each one.


Okay, so what cat is in the photo above?
Look for my next post on the patterns of clouded leopard vs snow leopard.

Interesting in learning more about big cats?

*On many of my blog posts,  I will provide some specific Identification Keys, or IKs, as seen and described in the photos. (More about identification keys here.)