We saved the hardest part for the end so first, a little review:
1. Cheetah spots are solid black
2. Leopard spots are actually rosettes
And now the tricky part – jaguar spots are also rosettes, but with one subtle difference.
Jaguar rosettes have black spots inside them. The tricky part is that some leopard rosettes have spots and some jaguar rosettes don’t, so how else can you tell?
First, check your map – if you’re in Africa or Asia, its a leopard. If you’re in Central or South America, its a jaguar. When compared side by side, jaguars also tend to have a stockier build, and anyone that as worked with them in a zoo will tell you their temperaments are quite different as well.