Cheetah vs Clouded Leopard

Acinonyx jubatus compared with Neofelis nebulosa

Key Differences

• Cheetah is 2.5x heavier than Clouded Leopard.
• Clouded Leopard lives longer (15 years vs 12 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cheetah	Clouded Leopard
Kingdom same	Animalia (動物)	Animalia (動物)
Phylum same	Chordata (脊索動物)	Chordata (脊索動物)
Class same	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Mammalia (哺乳類)
Order same	Carnivora (ネコ目)	Carnivora (ネコ目)
Family same	Felidae (Cats)	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Acinonyx (Cheetahs)	Neofelis (Clouded Leopards)
Species	Acinonyx jubatus	Neofelis nebulosa

Evolutionary Relationship

Cheetah and Clouded Leopard share a common ancestor at the Family level: Felidae. (Cats)

Conservation Status

Cheetah

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~6.7K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Clouded Leopard

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~10.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cheetah	Clouded Leopard
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	12 years	15 years
Average Length	1.5 m	1.0 m
Average Weight	50.0 kg	20.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cheetah

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Botswana, Iran, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Clouded Leopard

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 11 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Cheetah

地球上で最も速い陸上動物で、アフリカとイランの草原において短距離走で時速112kmに達する。深い胸部、長い脚、独特の黒い涙縞模様を持つ細身の体型が特徴だ。他の大型ネコ科動物とは異なり、チーターはチャープ音やパー音で鳴く。生息地の分断と大型捕食者との競争により、残存個体数は約7,000頭のみとなっており、危急種に分類されている。

Clouded Leopard

最大26kgまで成長する中型の野生ネコであるウンピョウは、ヒマラヤ東部から東南アジアを経てボルネオに至る熱帯・亜熱帯の森林に生息します。独特の雲状の被毛模様から名付けられたこの種は、野生ネコの中で頭骨サイズに対して最も長い犬歯を持ち、木を頭から下に降りることができる優れた登攀者です。森林伐採により危急（VU）種とされていますが、総個体数は十分に把握されていません。