🐆 Leopard vs Tiger 🐅
The tiger is a bit bigger than the leopard. The tiger weighs about 3 times as much as the leopard.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐆 Leopard | 🐅 Tiger |
|---|---|---|
| Size The tiger is a bit bigger than the leopard. | 5.2 to 7.5 ft1.6 to 2.3 m1 | 7.2 to 9.8 ft2.2 to 3 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the tiger yet. | 37 mph60 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The tiger weighs about 3 times as much as the leopard. | 37 to 143 lb17 to 65 kg1 | 249 to 375 lb113 to 170 kg2 |
| Lives The tiger usually lives about one and a half times as long as the leopard. | 10 to 12 years10 to 12 years1 | 15 years15 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | mid-sized hoofed animals, plus birds, reptiles and rodents | deer and wild pigs |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | woodland, grassland and forest across Africa and parts of Asia | forests and grasslands of Asia, from India to the far east of Russia |
Which one? Leopard or tiger
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the tiger yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Leopard vs Tiger
- The leopard: A spotted big cat that lives across Africa and Asia.
- The tiger: The biggest wild cat, with stripes that hide it in tall grass.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are mammals.
- The tiger is a bit bigger than the leopard: 2 against 1.
- The tiger weighs about 3 times as much as the leopard. That is 1 for the leopard and 2 for the tiger.
- The tiger usually lives about one and a half times as long as the leopard. Usual lifespans: 1 for the leopard and 2 for the tiger.
- Both eat meat. The leopard eats mid-sized hoofed animals, plus birds, reptiles and rodents; the tiger eats deer and wild pigs.
- The leopard lives in woodland, grassland and forest across Africa and parts of Asia. The tiger lives in forests and grasslands of Asia, from India to the far east of Russia. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The leopard: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The tiger: in danger (Endangered on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐆 Leopard
- A leopard can run fast in short bursts.
- Leopards live in woodland, grassland and forest.
- It eats birds, reptiles and rodents too.
🐅 Tiger
- No two tigers have the same stripes.
- Tigers love water and are strong swimmers.
- A tiger's stripes are on its skin too, not just its fur.
Questions kids ask about Leopard and Tiger
Which is heavier, leopard or tiger?
The tiger weighs about 3 times as much as the leopard. That is 1 for the leopard and 2 for the tiger.
Which lives longer, leopard or tiger?
The tiger usually lives about one and a half times as long as the leopard. Usual lifespans: 1 for the leopard and 2 for the tiger.
What do leopard and tiger eat?
Both eat meat. The leopard eats mid-sized hoofed animals, plus birds, reptiles and rodents; the tiger eats deer and wild pigs.
Where do leopard and tiger live?
The leopard lives in woodland, grassland and forest across Africa and parts of Asia. The tiger lives in forests and grasslands of Asia, from India to the far east of Russia. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do leopards eat tigers?
The leopard eats mid-sized hoofed animals, plus birds, reptiles and rodents. Tigers are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the tiger is a bit more than as long as the leopard.
Do tigers eat leopards?
The tiger eats deer and wild pigs. Leopards are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, leopard or tiger?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/leopard-vs-tiger
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Panthera pardus (leopard), checked 10 November 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Register 2010 (tiger delisting petition 90-day finding), checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.