Jaguar Facts
Jaguar Facts
Jaguar, Jaguareté, Tigre, Yaguar -Spanish-speaking countries
Onca, Onca pintada, Onca cangucu- Brazil
Otorongo - Peru
Penitigri - Surinam
Tig marque - French Guiana
Tiger - Belize
Tigre mariposo- Colombia
Chak mo’ol -Yucatan peninsula of Mexico
Zac-bolay - modern Maya-speaking regions
The species is called iawa, or iawaraté by several Amazonian native peoples, including the Achuar and Tupi. It may be that this is the root that gave rise to the name jaguar.
1. The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas, with a record weight of over 347 pounds (158kg). The largest jaguars have been found in the Brazilian Pantanal region, where in one study the average weight of males was 220 pounds (100kg). Head and body length, without the tail may be up to six feet (1.85m), and the tail can measure 30 inches (75cm) more. Height at the shoulder may be up to 30 inches (75cm).
2. They inhabit a wide range of habitats including rainforest, scrubland, and thickets. Jaguars require warm climates with substantial cover and a moderate supply of water.
3. The jaguar is a strong swimmer and agile climber. They can run fast, but they tire quickly. Jaguars have strong, sharp claws to help them hold down their prey as well as climb trees
4. Jaguars are predominately solitary animals, but will seek each other out during breeding season.
5. Jaguars are the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere, and the third largest overall. Only lions and tigers are bigger.
6. The jaguar’s coat color ranges from pale yellow to reddish brown, with a much paler (often white) underbelly. It has spots on the neck, body and limbs that form rosettes, which contain black markings within them. On the head and underparts, the spots are simple black dots. Black jaguars are not uncommon, and even they possess darker rosette markings that are visible in bright light.
8. Jaguars are obligate carnivores. In the wild, they have an extensive list of prey including but not limited to capybaras, tapirs, peccaries, armadillos, monkeys, birds, snakes, caiman, turtles and fish.
9. Jaguars have few predators but are poached by humans for their fur. The jaguar is also preyed upon by the giant Anaconda snake, which can suffocate an adult jaguar.
10. Jaguars elicit a wide range of responses from people. Through history they have been both deified and vilified. The image of the species has been commercialized more than once. It played an important and varied role in pre-Columbian American culture.
Aztec Warrior
11. As a symbol of royal power, a jaguar pelt was often worn by kings. Carved stone stelae depict the presentation of regalia, including helmets in the shape of a jaguar head. As many as fifteen sacrificed jaguars have been discovered in Mayan royal tombs. Aztec culture also featured animals in art, architecture and religion. Tezcatlipoca, god of darkness and evildoers, was often disguised as a jaguar. His spotted skin represented the stars in the night sky. The two highest Aztec military orders took as their emblems the top predators of sky and earth: the Orders of the Eagle and Jaguar. 12. Shamans in many cultures claim the ability to change into animal form. Stealthy and powerful, the jaguar is an often-assumed guise.
13. Unlike many other cats, jaguars do not avoid water; in fact, they are quite good swimmers.
14. The name jaguar is derived from the Native American word yaguar, which means "he who kills with one leap."
15. Jaguars live alone and define territories of many square miles by marking with their waste or clawing trees.
16. 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.
17. They sometimes climb trees to prepare an ambush, killing their prey with one powerful bite to the nape of the neck.
18. The jaguar is exclusively carnivorous which means it only eats other animals. It has a very varied diet and eats a lot of different types of prey.
19. When the forest floor is flooded, jaguars can live in the trees for months.
20. The jaguar is a nocturnal animal - it hunts for prey mostly at night.
21. Like other cats, jaguars have eyes that are adapted for night hunting. One key element is their eye-shine, 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 eye-shine at night. Jaguars see less detail and color in daylight but have better vision at night in low light.
22. Are black jaguars the same as 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.
23. There are four big cats in the panther group – lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars. These are the only cats that roar, using their voices to scare off other animals and defend their territory.
24. Jaguars and leopards (from Africa and Asia) look similar, but you can tell them apart if you look closely.
25. Jaguars are stockier and have shorter, thicker tails. They often have a spot inside each rosette (like chocolate chip cookies) which leopards lack.
26. Using cutting-edge science, feces can now be analyzed for hormones that tell us reproductive cycles,confirm pregnancy, and even how stressed a cat feels so that zoo environments can be enriched for the animal’s benefit.
27. Jaguars are considered an apex predator and a keystone species. As a top predator and keystone species, jaguars play a crucial role in the ecosystem. Without the jaguar, herbivorous prey animals would decimate the plants of their ecosystem. Though few in numbers, jaguars prevent the ecosystem from collapsing.
28. Jaguars have the most powerful jaws of all big cats. They are the only big cats that bite the head of prey rather than the neck like other cats. Jaguars have large canine teeth to grab and kill prey. Their carnassial teeth are adapted for gripping and tearing flesh. Their tongues have rough bumps to help in rasping flesh off bones, lapping up water and self-grooming.
30. It has been said that the jaguar is the only big cat that does not roar, but this is incorrect. The jaguar has an array of vocalizations including mews, grunts and a deep, repetitive “coughing” roar.
31. The tapetum lucidum, a mirror-like layer in the back of the eye, reflects light back through the eye to help produce a brighter image in low light. This is an adaptation for hunting at night or in dark forests enabling jaguars to see six times better than humans in low light. Cats have the most highly developed binocular vision of all carnivores resulting in extremely accurate 3-D vision that helps them gauge the distance to prey animals.
32. Jaguars are one of the most water-loving cats. They may dip their tails in water using the wiggling tail as a lure to help them catch fish.
33. Jaguars are such powerful hunters they have been known to kill crocodiles.
34. The jaguar is the third largest cat in the world (only lions and tigers are bigger).
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