Jaguars are the largest of South America's big cats. They once roamed from the southern tip of that continent north to the region surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border. Today significant numbers of jaguars are found only in remote regions of South and Central America—particularly in the Amazon basin.

These beautiful and powerful beasts were prominent in ancient Native American cultures. In some traditions the Jaguar God of the Night was the formidable lord of the underworld. The name jaguar is derived from the Native American word yaguar, which means "he who kills with one leap."

Unlike many other cats, jaguars do not avoid water; in fact, they are quite good swimmers. Rivers provide prey in the form of fish, turtles, or caimans—small, alligatorlike animals. Jaguars also eat larger animals such as deer, peccaries, capybaras, and tapirs. They sometimes climb trees to prepare an ambush, killing their prey with one powerful bite.

Most jaguars are tan or orange with distinctive black spots, dubbed "rosettes" because they are shaped like roses. Some jaguars are so dark they appear to be spotless, though their markings can be seen on closer inspection.

Jaguars live alone and define territories of many square miles by marking with their waste or clawing trees.

Females have litters of one to four cubs, which are blind and helpless at birth. The mother stays with them and defends them fiercely from any animal that may approach—even their own father. Young jaguars learn to hunt by living with their mothers for two years or more.

Jaguars are still hunted for their attractive fur. Ranchers also kill them because the cats sometimes prey upon their livestock.

Jaguar

Panthera onca

Body Length(mm) -1200-1800

Weight (kg) - 70-120

Litter Size - 1-4 average

Life Span - 12-16 years

Status - Near Threatened

P.o.arizonensis - Mexico

P.o.centralis - Central America

P.o.goldmani - Mexico, Belize

P.o.hernadesi - Mexico

P.o.onca - Amazon Rain forest.

P.o.palustris - Southern Brazil

P.o.paraguensis - Paraguay

P.o.peruviana - Peru, Equador

P.o.veraecrusis - Texas

In the wild, identification would not be an issue as the cats inhabit different continents - the jaguar is the only member of the panthera family to be found in the Americas and its is by far the biggest cat on the continent. The Jaguars range, which once spanned from the southern states of the USA down to the tip of South America, now centres on the north and central parts of the South American continent. The jaguar is predominantly a forest dweller with the highest population densities centring on the lowland rain forests of the Amazon Basin - dry woodland and grassland also serve as suitable terrain, although the cat is rarely found in areas above 8000 feet.

The overall body size and coloration of the cat often relates to its location - jaguars found in dense forested areas of the Amazon Basin are often only half the size of those found in more open terrain and it has been suggested that this can be related to the more frequent occurrence of larger prey species found in open terrain . Coloration of dense forest dwelling jaguars is often darker than those found in grassland and scrub forest - here, as with the darker coloration of rainforest leopards, the darker coats give better camouflage in the low light condition on the forest floor and offers the dark coated cat greater success in hunting and a greater chance of survival.

Unlike many other big cats, apart from man, the jaguar has no rivals - no other predator can compete with this powerful cat. The jaguars main periods of hunting activity are greatly dependant upon location - in some areas which are close to human habitation it appears that the cat is most active at night, whilst in other locations the jaguar is crepuscular and in certain cases diurnal in its hunting activity. The prey base of the jaguar is extensive, taking full advantage of the diversity and dense concentration of animal species found in the rainforest areas. In size its prey ranges from large domestic livestock such as cattle and horses (for which it has a  [report anonymous abuse]

In comparison with the other cats of its size the jaguar has particularly power jaws and often kills its prey by piercing the skull with one swift bite. In the Cockscomb Basin Reserve in Belize the predominant prey species has been found to be Armadillo, who’s bony protective plates offer little defence against the power of the jaguars bite. Where possible, the cat will inhabit areas close to water - it is an expert in catching fish and will often tackle turtles and large caiman, dragging them from he water to hide the carcass in the dense undergrowth. Equally at home as a climber, although not as adept as the leopard, the jaguar will hunt monkeys in the lower branches of the large rain forest trees. In much of its range where man lives close by, the jaguar now has to compete with the human hunter and poacher who takes many of the same species as the big cat.

During the peak of its decline in the sixties and seventies, around 18,000 jaguars were killed every year for there much sought after coat. Due to environmental pressure the fashion for animal furs has declined, but the jaguar is still hunted. Today the major threat comes from deforestation which is drastically affecting the jaguars prey base as well as fragmenting the cats population into more isolated pockets. It is estimated that there are now only around 15,000 jaguars left in the wild and conservation is centring on the establishment of protected ‘National Park’ areas which may serve to reduce the decline of the jaguars natural habitat. In Belize, the government, aided by the WWF, have set aside 150 square miles of rain forest in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Preserve, which currently provides a protected environment for around 200 jaguars, the largest concentration of the wild cats species in the world. The WWF are also providing aid to protect some of the remaining rain forests areas of South America, which provide a refuge for the majority of the remaining jaguar population.

An adult male jaguar may be four to seven feet long, excluding the long tail. Its tail is about 45 to 75 centimeters long. The jaguar stands about three feet high at the shoulder, and it weighs up to 300 pounds when full grown. The jaguar has heavily muscled forearms and shoulders that add strength for capturing its prey. It has a massive head, and long thick legs. The jaguar's hindlimbs are longer than its forelimbs to improve jumping. Its forepaws are equipped with long, retractile claws to help grab and hold its prey. The jaguar has a rough tongue that is designed for peeling the skin away from the flesh of its prey, and to peel the flesh away from its prey's bones. The jaguar has loose belly skin which allows the animal to be kicked by its prey with little chance of injury.

Range: North America, Central America, and South America
Habitat: rain forests, swampy areas, grasslands, woodlands, dry forests, and even deserts

While jaguars and leopards look a lot alike, there are ways to tell them apart. Jaguars are stockier and heavier, with shorter, thicker tails. They have dark spots on their backs, called rosettes, with an irregular broken border and often a spot in the center. Leopards (from Africa and Asia) also have dark rosettes on a tawny coat, but if you look closely at each rosette, you’ll see that there is no spot inside, and the rosette edge is unbroken.

There are four big cats in the biological grouping called Panthera: jaguars, lions, tigers, and leopards. These are the only big cats that can roar. They roar to scare off other animals and defend their Click here to Spot the Cat Coats.) Usually jaguars that are found in darker rain forest areas are black. So, are they black panthers? No, there is no such animal! “Panther” is just an old general term that comes from the Panthera animal grouping name, and is sometimes used to describe leopards, jaguars, and pumas.

Jaguars cheetahs and lions do. They can run pretty quickly, but this is not an important skill for them. Their large jaw muscles allow them to kill their prey by piercing the skull with their sharp teeth. This allows them to eat spectacled caimans and hard-shelled reptiles like turtles and tortoises. Researchers have counted over 85 tapirs, cattle, and capybaras. At the San Diego Zoo, the large cats are fed carnivore diet, large bones, and an occasional thawed rabbit.

Like other cats, jaguars have eyes that are adapted for night hunting. One key element is their eyeshine, caused by a mirror-like structure called the tapetum lucidum. The tapetum lucidum in the back of their eye reflects light into the retina, nearly doubling their ability to see. If you have a pet cat or dog, you can see this eyeshine at night. Jaguars see less detail and color in daylight but have better vision at night in low light.

Jaguars are among the top predators in their habitat, so the adult cats don't have much to fear other than humans. The coats of jaguars have always been important to people who share their habitat. Unfortunately the demand for jaguar skins spread to the outside world. Commercial fur hunting, especially in the 1960s, took a terrible toll on jaguars. CITES outlaws the sale of jaguar skins internationally. Unfortunately, jaguar coats are still illegally bought and sold in countries where jaguars live.

With less and less wild prey available to them, jaguars have started feeding on livestock. Ranchers often respond by trapping and poisoning them. Other threats to jaguars involve deforestation due to logging, mining, and farming, which breaks up their habitat into fragments, leaving less food and fewer mates.

The jaguar is a common symbol of strength and power in central and South America. Like the lion in Europe and Africa, jaguars were associated with royalty and strength and bravery in warfare. In Maya civilization, the jaguar served to communicate between the living and the dead as well as protect the royal household. The Maya, known for their aggressiveness and brutal treatment of captives, saw these powerful cats as their companions in the spiritual world. Many rulers even had jaguars attributed to their names, such as 'Shield Jaguar', 'Jaguar Paw', 'Bird Jaguar', 'Smoke Jaguar', and 'Snake Jaguar'.( NOTE: the names attributed to these rulers are from one method of reading Maya glyphs, the literal representation of the symbols. The glyphs for these names would each have a jaguar depicted in them. Please note this may not be what the Maya actually called themselves; The pronunciation may have been more phonetic. I am not real clear on the reading of Maya glyphs and took the names from one author's method. I'll add a link to a site on Maya studies for a better description when I find a good one)

Aztec civilization also had the same image of the jaguar as representative of the ruler and as a warrior. This is best seen in the elite military order of the Jaguar Knights. This order could be joined by anyone, noble or commoner. Admission was obtained through the number of captives taken for sacrifice. Each captive taken advanced a warrior along different orders, and the forth allowed admission to the elite Jaguar Knights, and all the privileges the title entailed. Among these were exemption from taxation and tribute, taking part in war councils, invitations to dine in the royal palace, and the more gruesome: participation in cannibalistic feasts.

The largest cat in the Western hemisphere and the third largest, after lions and tigers, in the world, the jaguar can grow to 300 pounds. Often confused with leopards, the jaguar may be distinguished by the additional spots in the center of its rosettes and its stockier body and shorter limbs. Its range extends from the southwestern United States through Mexico and Central America as far south as Patagonia. Typically, it prefers dense jungle, scrubland and shoreline forests, though it may inhabit open areas if prey and water are available.

An excellent swimmer and strong climber, the jaguar often waits in trees for its prey, relying on proximity rather than sustained speed in hunting. Its strong jaws usually kill with one bite and its diet ranges from smaller mammals like peccaries (relatives of feral pigs) and capybaras (large rodents) to prey like deer, mountain sheep and domesticated livestock.

Because of deforestation and hunting, jaguars are increasingly threatened. Hunting for pelts has severely declined since the 1970s, but farmers still kill jaguars as threats to livestock. Believed to be extirpated in the United States in the 1990s, one was spotted last fall in the bootheel of New Mexico by a rancher, who is also a member of the Malpai Borderlands Group.

Arizona rancher Warner Glenn has now had two once-in-a-lifetime encounters with jaguars, the latest in February during a mountain lion-hunting trip in the Bootheel of New Mexico. “I thought it was an old tom lion,” says Glenn. “But when I got closer, I saw it was a jaguar—it was an absolutely beautiful cat.”

After spotting it, Glenn walked back to his mule and reached into his saddlebag. “This is a really remote corner of the country, where a rancher might easily say, ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with an endangered species anywhere near my land,’” says Jonathan Adams, a Nature Conservancy biologist. “But Warner Glenn didn’t reach for his gun; he reached for his camera.” And he did the same in 1996, when he took the first pictures ever of a live jaguar in the United States.

The jaguar—the largest cat native to the Americas—has been making its way north from a core population of a couple hundred cats 140 miles to the south, according to biologists. “Historically, jaguars ranged as far north as the Grand Canyon,” says Peter Warren, a Conservancy grassland manager in Arizona. “The return of these big cats is an indicator that conservation work near the border is paying off.”

Glenn is part of the Malpai Borderlands Group, a team of ranchers that works with scientists, conservationists and public agencies to protect its lands from encroaching development by maintaining a “working wilderness” in the rugged and biologically diverse lands along the Arizona and New Mexico borders with Mexico. The Conservancy has partnered with the group since its beginning in 1994, assisting with more than 75,000 acres of conservation easements and helping to apply prescribed burns to about 150,000 acres.

Like most people living in the hardscrabble border region, Glenn needs to supplement his work as a rancher, and he does so by guiding hunting trips. He first hunted mountain lions on his ranch with his father more than 60 years ago to protect the livestock. “I know it’s difficult for some people to stomach,” says Warren. “But hunting a few animals is fairly benign when we’re talking about significant benefits to an entire ecosystem.” Recent in-creases in mountain lion populations have led to declines in bighorn sheep and other Southwestern species, he says.

“These ranchers live on land that is very difficult to manage, and the Malpai group is working to manage their land in a way that is responsible and sustainable,” says Nathan Sayre, a University of California geographer and author of a recent book on the borderlands. “The jaguar’s return is a symbol of that success.”

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If you see a big cat in a cage, then in the wild. You will notice the eyes.  Caged cats have lost a fire to them and are deressed.   Thats why National Geographic recommends big cats in the wild not as pets or show cases.

The largest cat in the Western hemisphere and the third largest, after lions and tigers, in the world, the jaguar can grow to 300 pounds. Often confused with leopards, the jaguar may be distinguished by the additional spots in the center of its rosettes and its stockier body and shorter limbs. Its range extends from the southwestern United States through Mexico and Central America as far south as Patagonia. Typically, it prefers dense jungle, scrubland and shoreline forests, though it may inhabit open areas if prey and water are available.

An excellent swimmer and strong climber, the jaguar often waits in trees for its prey, relying on proximity rather than sustained speed in hunting. Its strong jaws usually kill with one bite and its diet ranges from smaller mammals like peccaries (relatives of feral pigs) and capybaras (large rodents) to prey like deer, mountain sheep and domesticated livestock.

Because of deforestation and hunting, jaguars are increasingly threatened. Hunting for pelts has severely declined since the 1970s, but farmers still kill jaguars as threats to livestock. Believed to be extirpated in the United States in the 1990s, one was spotted last fall in the bootheel of New Mexico by a rancher, who is also a member of the Malpai Borderlands Group.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/302036/jaguar_vs_anaconda_battle_to_the_death/

You seen tne movie makers views, now see the truth.  

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/308780/jaguar_vs_crocodile/

Smart Animals. 

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Photo of the new Jaguar cub born at the Brevard Zoo in July.

'Zookeepers still don't know whether the baby is male or female, though bets are leaning toward female at the moment. Though they regularly handle the baby now, it could take a few more weeks to be sure.'

-(Jaguar parent @ Brevard Zoo)

'The adult jaguar, a first-time mother, chases, rolls and licks her spotted baby as it tumbles over logs, stalks nothing in particular and chews up plants.'

-(Jaguar Parent @ Brevard Zoo)

'The baby is still feeding on its mother's milk, though zookeepers leave out a few snacks for Mom to find, such as dead mice and fish. The father will never get to interact with the baby, for its protection.'

Jonny

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they are so beautiful, great pics, I have always wanted to own a big cat, I just love them and those cubs oh my gosh I'll take two. LOL

Marguerite

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Wild jaguars re-discovered in Arizona!

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