Biology II Lab Wendy Villavicencio
I. Introduction
The basic unit of the classification of all living beings, reflect similarities and differences despite the great diversity of species that surround us every day, thus giving the result of all the theories of evolution and progress of each species. The cheetah and the leopard are part of the great group of felines of nature. Although at first sight, they are very similar, the truth is that there are great differences between them, whether the size, physical characteristics, the environment in which they live, spots of the skin and even their geographical location where they are. And each one shows its unique quality, its lethality, how they develop and respected in the animal world. This essay will focus on the similarities and differences between the cheetah and the leopard.
II. Background information on the Cheetah
· North America is considered as the origin of Cheetahs because the oldest fossils of cheetahs were found in North America that is now called as Texas
· With the passage of time, Cheetahs were migrated from North America to Asia, Europe and Africa (Li, 2015)
· Cheetahs were broadly scattered land animal
· Estimated 10,000 Cheetahs were present in 44 countries of Asia and Africa by 1900 (Li, 2015)
· Currently, Cheetahs are in those areas of Africa that suffered from war
III. Background information on the Leopard
· Leopard name came from with Greek “leopardus” that means a combination of leon (lion) and pardus (Panther) (Druml, 2017)
· Leopard is basically the members of Felidae family
· Leopards are one of the smallest species of the four big cats and the rest of the three species are Tiger, Lion and Jaguar (Stein, 2013)
· Leopards are further classified into nine subspecies
· Every subspecies can be found in Asia except African Leopards
IV. Anatomy of Cheetah
· Cheetahs are much smaller and medium-size animals than most felines
· The cheetah is the fastest mammal in the world, has an acceleration of 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 3 seconds (Marker, 2003)
· Being the fastest mammal can only keep up maximum speed for limited time because they tire quickly.
· Cheetahs are considered to be the smallest members as far as the big cat family is concerned because of their weight that ranges from 45-60 kilograms (Marker, 2003)
V. Anatomy of Leopard
· Leopards being the smallest members of the immense cat family only grow from 3-6 feet (92-190 centimetres). (Stein, 2013)
· Males usually weigh around 36-75 kg (80-165 lbs.) while females weigh around 21-60 kg (46-132 lbs.) (Punjab Univ. J. Zool, 2017)
· Leopards are very lithe and have the capacity to run 36 miles per hour
· Leopards can jump about 10 feet and leap over 20 feet within a few seconds
· Strong neck and shoulder muscles make them very responsive and agile (Stein, 2013)
VI. Similarities between Cheetah and Leopard
· Both of the species are from the same animal family so poses certain similarities
· Cheetahs and leopards are wild iconic members of the Felidae kingdom family
· Coat spots on their fur make them camouflage in hunting (Druml, 2017)
· Both of the species are endo-thermal as they can control their body temperature (Sakai, 2016)
· Both have vertebrae that make them highly responsive in any of the cases
· Both have an estimated 3 feet long tail that helped them to balance while hunting for their prey. (Koester, 2017)
VII. Difference between Cheetah and Leopard
· Dissimilarities exist more than similarities because of their different uniqueness
· Cheetahs are much faster than leopards as Cheetahs can sprint up to 75 miles per hour whereas leopards can sprint up to 36 miles per hour (Kim, 2017)
· Cheetahs rest at night while leopards do vice-versa
· Cheetahs mostly hunt during the day whereas leopards hunt at night (Eaton, 2001)
· Cheetahs are unable to climbs on trees while leopards can climb up to 50 feet
· Cheetahs don’t roar whereas leopards have the capacity to roar
· Cheetahs are not much of swimmers and usually resist from water while leopards love water and much like a strong swimmer (Costantini, 2019)
· Leopards are regarded as an opportunist and eat likewise whereas cheetahs hunt specific animals (Eaton, 2001)
VIII. Conclusion
Both of the species are wild and known for absolute vigor and strength. The nature of both species for example, physically and their natural habitat is very much dissimilar with each other even though they belong to the same kingdom of the animal. These dissimilarities make them even more unique.
Bibliography
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