Look inside the rosettes: a jaguar's rosettes are irregular, broken rings that often have a dark spot in the middle, while a leopard's rosettes have no spot inside. Cheetah print has no rosettes at all, just solid spots.
Animal facts from the San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
The 3-second test: look inside the ring
| Spot shape | Inside the spot | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheetah | Solid round or oval spots | No ring at all |
| Leopard | Rosettes: flower-shaped rings | Empty, no dot |
| Jaguar | Irregular, broken rosettes | Often one or more dark spots |
Leopard print
Rosettes with nothing inside
Cheetah print
Solid spots, no rosettes
Jaguar print
Broken rosettes with spots inside
What jaguar print looks like
The San Diego Zoo describes jaguar rosettes as having an irregular, broken border and often a spot in the centre. Picture a leopard rosette whose ring is chunkier and more broken up, with one or two dark dots sitting in the middle. That centre dot is the quickest way to call a print jaguar instead of leopard.
The real animals differ too. Jaguars are more heavily built and muscled than leopards, and they live only in North, Central and South America, while leopards live in Africa and Asia.
What about black panthers?
"Panther" is a general name for big cats in the Panthera group. Some jaguars and some leopards are melanistic, meaning almost entirely black, and their rosettes can still show in the right light. So a black panther can be either a jaguar or a leopard.
Keep exploring
Still deciding between the two most common prints? See cheetah vs leopard print side by side, or find out what colors go with leopard print.
Leopard print (rosettes): phone case · tote bag · sherpa blanket
Cheetah print (solid spots): phone case · tote bag
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Leopard, jaguar and cheetah print questions
Are jaguar and leopard print the same?
No, though they're easy to mix up because both are made of rosettes on a golden coat. The San Diego Zoo's tell is the middle of each rosette: jaguar rosettes often have a spot inside an irregular, broken border, and leopard rosettes don't.
How do you tell a leopard from a jaguar?
By the spots, look for a dot inside the rosettes, which points to a jaguar. By build, jaguars are more heavily built and muscled. By place, leopards live in Africa and Asia, and jaguars live only in the Americas, so a jaguar in the wild is only ever an American cat.
What is the difference between leopard, cheetah and jaguar print?
Cheetah print is solid round or oval spots. Leopard print is rosettes with no spot inside. Jaguar print is irregular, broken rosettes that often have a spot in the centre. So: no ring means cheetah, an empty ring means leopard, and a ring with a dot points to jaguar.
Is a black panther a leopard or a jaguar?
It can be either. 'Panther' is a general term for big cats in the Panthera group. Some jaguars and some leopards are melanistic, meaning almost black, and their spots are still faintly visible in the right light. The black panther Bagheera in The Jungle Book is a very dark leopard.
Which is more common in fashion, leopard or jaguar print?
Leopard print, by a wide margin. In US Google searches, 'leopard print' gets about 90,500 searches a month against about 5,400 for 'jaguar print', according to Semrush.