Critter of the Day

Endangered Species
Pandas
Rhinos
Elephants
Tigers
Whales
Giant River Otters
Steller Sea Lions
Tibetan Antelope
Cheetah
Chimpanzee
Jaguars
Dolphin/Porpoise
Leopard
Mountain Gorillas
Koala
Polar Bears
Snow Leopards

JAGUAR

The jaguar (Panthera onca), whose name in a Latin American Indian language means "wild beast that overcomes its prey in a single bound," is the only member of the genus Panthera found in the Americas. It prefers to live in areas with good cover and near rivers, streams and other wetlands in tropical rainforests and savannahs.

Diet and Hunting: Like leopards, jaguars hunt by night. They stalk prey on the ground and then attack it with a crippling blow. If the jaguar does not fell its victim with the first blow, it will not try again. Although the jaguar, with a heavier and more compact build, does not climb as well as the leopard, it may chase monkeys and parrots in trees. It also swims well and fishes by crouching in ambush along a bank or on an overhanging bough. They prey on deer, monkeys, birds, turtles, turtle eggs and frogs.

Status: Although exact population figures are unknown, the jaguar is an endangered species. Once common from southern Arizona to the middle of Argentina, the jaguar is now extinct in the U.S. and virtually extinct in the developed areas of Mexico and Central and South America. The largest remaining population lives in the Amazon rainforest. Most countries with jaguar populations legally protect them, but hunting and habitat loss continue to be threats to the survival of the species.

In February 1986, the government of Belize officially opened the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve in the southern part of that country, one of the cat's last strongholds. The government designated an area in a mountain-embraced tropical rainforest in the hope that it will allow the animal to survive and give scientists a chance to study one of this hemisphere's most overlooked creatures. Since 1985, following the completion of a two-year jaguar study, World Wildlife Fund has provided support for the initial development and protection of the Cockscomb Preserve.

World Wildlife Fund is endeavoring to put a stop to the illegal traffic in cat skins as well as to create and maintain reserves to protect them and other endangered species.