Involved Leopards

Camp Pan 4:3 Male

Camp Pan 4:3 Male

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Anderson 4:4 Male

Anderson 4:4 Male

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Nhlanguleni 3:2 Female

Nhlanguleni 3:2 Female

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Tatowa 3:3 Female

Tatowa 3:3 Female

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Piva 3:2 Male

Piva 3:2 Male

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About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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22 Comments

on How Do You Tell the Difference Between a Male and Female Leopard?

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Fascinating reading! I am glad I don’t have to call out the sex of a leopard to anyone. If they aren’t turned the right direction or if there isn’t a huge size difference, I am lost! Thanks for the info, James.

I love these blogs where I can learn something new. When we started going to the bush we were just too happy to see a leopard and did not even think to try and sex it. It is only after coming to Londolozi that we learned to tell the difference and to take a closer look at the animal. Being on the game drives made us more aware of the animal we were looking at. Always appreciate the blogs about Camp Pan.

Hi Marinda,
It might be time for a Camp Pan tribute post. What do you think?

Definitely James. Looking forward to it.

Great article. Cant wait to see my next leopard and try to sex it.

Thank you for this fabulous information. The sexting has always been a bit difficult but on my last trip to Africa 18 months ago I successfully identified the leopards at a 80% rate – I was thrilled. The females seen to be more feminine and sleek, not so bulky. At any rate, just seeing a leopard is thrilling enough without worrying about what sex it is. Hoping for many sightings during my stay in November!!

Hi Denise,
With the number of newly independent youngsters roaming the property there’s every chance your stay will be a very successful one!

Fabulous, James! I had noticed that males have thicker necks than females. How does one tell apart cheetahs? To the untrained eye, the difference is not obvious. Lastly, not sure if you’ve done this, but how about a post on track identification. That would make our game drives just a bit more interactive! Thanks!

Hi Malavika. Haha if only we saw enough cheetahs here to get in enough practice to tell them apart easily. It’s mainly a size thing as well, with the males being bigger, but it’s generally more of a subtle difference than between leopards.

Love the track photos – can really tell the difference

James, you always tell a story, no matter what the blog is about. I appreciate your knowledge of the bush and your incite about the animals that are so dear to all of us.

Thanks Joan!

Outstanding information, James. Thank you! I recognized the dewlap of the male leopard as a distinguishing characteristic a few years ago. I can relate to that feature because without my beard, I too have a dewlap. Keep up the excellent work and again thank you for the great photos and superb articles on the leopard.

Thanks for pointing out the differences in male and female characteristics James. I do not believe that anybody would be aghast at seeing the picture of the Piva male – this, after all, is nature and we see many rear ends of both male and female cats. An interesting blog and thanks for sharing with us James. Good to see the Anderson male, he is a magnificent cat.

Thanks for the comments Leonie. The Anderson male is looking good and it seems that eye of his is well on the way to recovery!
Best regards

We were fortunate enough to have as our guide and Tracker the team of “M&M” who found such examples and pointed them out. When they are alone and your new to the experience you would only be guessing without telling angle. Thanks for the examples which will make it easier for us the next time.

This is a very informative and interesting post James. Its fantastic to see such great visual examples of the difference between a male and female leopard. Out of interest have you ever misidentified a leopards sex?

Senior Digital Ranger

Thanks for the explanation.

I Believe that the (beautiful) picture of Tatowa cubs shows Tatowa cubs born 2018 (not 2016). Warm regards. Yves

Hi Yves,

Thanks for the correction. We’re both wrong unfortunately! It was 2017. Apologies for the typo…!

Hi, Mr.James Tyrrell
I love these blogs,
please let me know what is the size of leopard “neck” (minimum And Maximum size of male/Female)

That is cool and I love the photos that you took!

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