Comparing Cats: A Discussion of Similarities & Differences

[Balam]

The two main populations of jaguars that overlap in size with leopards are the Central American and Caatinga, which on the great scheme of total jaguar population represent a small fraction of it. The idea that there is a major overlap between the two species is of course false. The major populations of jaguars live in grassland environmentals where they grow the biggest: Pantanal, Llanos, Chaco, Cerrado, etc. The Amazon houses the largest jaguar population and yet the average weight for Amazon jaguars far surpass the average weight for any leopard population, with maximum weights for individuals much higher as well.

In my initial post I clearly stated that a leopard is not going to give trouble to a *much larger jaguar*, because it isn't. There aren't any recorded instances of leopards genuinely fighting a larger opponent of similar proportions to a large jaguar in a prolonged fight and getting away with it (lionesses or tigresses). We all know that supposed case of the leopard and tigress dying in a fight was a hoax, while cases of tigresses killing male leopards are fairly easy to encounter. So my point stands.

@Shadow actually, from the research done by Onçafari in areas of the the Pantanal they have been able to register cases of jaguars going out of their way to predate on cougars. It's pretty clear that the areas in which there is a larger size difference among the two the cougar will be subordinated to its larger cousin. The case of the cougar dying in a fight with a jaguar with its skull broken actually comes from Belize, the same area where they are supposed to overlap in size, so that tells you everything you need to know about the power of jaguar lb for lb against a felid of similar proportions who is less robust. Reply