The jaguar (Panthera onca
) is a member of the cat family
), and is the largest representative of this family in the
western hemisphere. They are native to Mexico
, Amazonia, Venezuela
(historically, their range was far greater;
see Conservation status
General biology and behaviour
Jaguars are roaring cats, like the lion, tiger and leopard, and
are truly spectacular animals. Adult males average 200 pounds (85
kg) or more, while females average around 150 pounds (70 kg).
The size of individuals varies with their geographic location (northern
specimens are smaller than those in the south) and their habitat. Those
living in heavily forested areas are smaller than those living in or
near the open.
When compared to the other members of the genus, jaguars have shorter legs
and a more stocky build. They have a spotted coat, but an appearance
significantly different than the other spotted cats, the leopard and the
cheetah. Their coat is covered in broken-edged rosettes that contain
the black spots, giving the appearance of a mosaic. The cheetah and
leopard, on the other hand, simply have their spots distributed more or
less evenly along a solid background. The southern jaguars also have a
relatively high natural rate of melanism, meaning there are pure black
specimens regularly observed in the wild.
The jaguar is always associated with water. They swim well, and tend to
inhabit the rain forest and flood plains or swamps. They have also
been found in scrub lands and dry deciduous forests, but this is not
considered optimal habitat. They tend to remain at relatively low
elevations, remaining below 2700 meters above sea level (however,
individuals have been found as high as 3800 meters in Costa Rica).
Jaguars are solitary, territorial animals. They come together as
adults to breed, but otherwise live without contact with other jaguars.
They mark their territories with urine and by scratching trees. Each
jaguar will patrol a range of roughly 15 square kilometres,
but in areas of high population density, certain portions of the range
will be shared with other jaguars.
Female jaguars are capable of breeding year round, but research on a
number of wild populations in South America has found that they time
reproduction with the rainy season, so the female will have her cubs
when food is most abundant. After copulation, a female will gestate
for roughly 100 days, and then give birth to 1 to 4 cubs (the average is
2). These young will remain with their mother for 18-24 months, after
which time they will leave to find their own territories. At this age,
most females cubs are sexually mature, while males must attain an age of
3 to 4 years first.
Jaguars prey on a very diverse range of species. Adults will eat large
prey, such as the peccary, deer, tapir and capybara. Given the
size of the prey and the fact that they are solitary hunters, jaguars will
often leave large animals in a cache for later consumption. They will
also target cattle being farmed by the local populations, putting them
into conflict with humans (see Conservation status). Their
predatory strategy is fairly simple. They remain hidden, either in a tree
or in the scrub brush, and ambush their prey. They are the only cat
species which pierces the skull of its prey with its teeth in order to
kill. Some scientists have hypothesized that this ability may
have evolved as a result of the super-abundant reptilian prey
available to jaguars during the late Pleistocene. As a final note, while
rare, jaguars do in fact hunt and kill humans.
Finally, the jaguar is a top predator in all the ecosystems it inhabits.
Not only do they play a crucial ecological role as the top predator
(culling the weak and the sick), but some scientists maintain that they
are in fact keystone predators, meaning their ecological importance
outweighs their numbers or biomass. Many of the tropical food webs
containing the jaguar go hopelessly out of balance when the cat is
removed, having negative impacts on many other native species.
There are several subspecies of jaguar, some no longer extant. These
subspecies are: P. o. onca, P. o. arizonensis, P. o.
centralis, P. o. goldmani, P. o. hernandesii, P. o.
palustris, P. o. peruvianus, and P. o. veracucis. Some
scientists, however, believe that there may be only two subspecies, and as
is the case with subspecies classifications, modifications occur
regularly. The above list represents the closest thing to a consensus,
Their closest relatives are the other members of the genus
Panthera: the lion, the leopard and the tiger.
The jaguar's range was, historically, from Texas and Arizona to
Argentina. Their range has been reduced by over 50 percent in the past
500 years due to hunting and habitat destruction. However, the species
was devastated in the 20th century as a result of a very active trade in
jaguar pelts1. However, anti-fur campaigns in the 1970s
dramatically reduced the value of these pelts, and thus the hunting of the
species. At present, there are an estimated 15 000 jaguars living in the
wild. However, high deforestation rates in the species' native range
continues to place heavy pressure on the jaguar, and they are often shot
on sight by cattle ranchers who fear for their livestock.
Particularly concerning is that translocation of problem individuals
does not seem to alleviate the problem; jaguars return to hunt the
cattle in their original range. As such, many cattle ranchers in Venezuela
and Brazil go so far as to hire hunting parties to pursue
all jaguars local to the grazing lands of their cattle, whether the cattle
are preyed upon or not. Finally, the jaguar is also pressured, although
only slightly so, by competition for resources with indigenous
The numbers of this species have become so reduced that they are
classified as endangered (Appendix 1) by the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), by the
Mexico and US Fish and Wildlife Service, and as vulnerable by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Importance to humans
The jaguar is also known as El tigre
across South America. They are venerate
s as god
s, and some tribes believe that they not only
devour the bodies of the living, but also the souls of the dead. The ruins
in the Yucatan peninsula
contain great deals of iconography
, and the
jaguar plays a particularly prominent role. The Maya
ns believed that the
jaguar was a supernatural being
who rose each day and prowled, like the
sun, from east to west. Then, during the evening the jaguar sun
with the lords of the underworld
all night. Each evening, the jaguar won
using its strength and cunning, thus ensuring that the sun rose each day.
There are countless other stories and fables involving the jaguar, often
with contrary messages.
1 I know I shouldn't, but I really can't help myself:
Information culled from