Hey! We are the Jaguars. And, no we are not Leopards. The main difference between us and them is our spots.
Leopards have round dark black spots which look like roses and these have multiple black spots inside whereas Leopards have black spots.
There are a lot of things you might want to know. Have a look:
- We are not from here i.e., India or Asia. We are from the Americas and people from there would tell you how fearsome we are.
- Our most prominent feature is our extremely strong teeth and bite. When we hunt, we go directly to the head of the prey, pierce it with our teeth and drag them.
- Did you know? We have the strongest bite force of all the big cats. Our bite force is about 2000 psi.
- We are very strong. We can drag a heavy prey (as much as 100kg) up to the branches of the tree. And yes, we are very good climbers too!
- We are a part of several ancient myths and legends in our range. Civilizations of Maya and Aztecs have portrayed us in their culture. We were considered to be a symbol of strength.
- Like Leopards, we are also called as Panthers and when the melanistic gene is dominant, we can also be seen as black in color. I
- f you know the popular western culture, you must know how big Pink panther (a cartoon) and Black Panther (superhero character) are.
- Our name Jaguar has come from a Native American word called “Yaguara” which means “the one who kills with one leap”.
- Our survival, like other big cats’, is threatened due to hunting and habitat loss.
- Did you know? Our current population is estimated to be 15,000 individuals.
SOME QUICK NOTES:
Our Scientific Name: Panthera Onca.
Our Identification: Big cat having yellowish-red body with round spots called rosettes.
Our Habitat: rainforests, open, seasonally flooded wetlands and dry grassland terrain.
Our range:
Our Food habits: Carnivorous; frogs, mice, ground-based birds, fish, sloths, monkeys, turtles, deer, capybaras, tapirs, peccaries, dogs, zorros, and sometimes even anacondas.
Our Breeding Period: Anytime of the year.
Our Gestation Period: 93-105 days.
Number of cubs born: 2-4
Lifespan: 12-15 years.
Estimated Population: about 15,000 individuals
IUCN red list status: Near Threatened.
CITES: Appendix I.
Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Not Listed.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P.onca
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
We are the Jaguars belonging to the large cats’ family. Let us tell you more about our species. Our name is derived from Tupian word yaguara, meaning “the one who kills with one leap”.
We are scientifically called as Panthera Onca.
HOW WE LOOK:
We are wild compact wild cats with a muscular build. We have a coat color ranging from yellow to reddish brown. The fur is covered with rosettes similar to Leopards. These spots or rosettes vary in shapes and vary for individuals. These rosettes include one or more several dots inside them.
We have a length of about 1.12 to 1.85 m while female jaguar being 10-20 percent smaller than a male jaguar. We weigh around 56-96 kg and have a tail length of about 45-75 cm which is smaller than any other big cat.
We have short and stocky limbs helping it to climb, crawl and swim easily. We have robust heads and very powerful jaws with a very strong bite.
Males and females of our species look alike and the young look similar to adults.
WE ARE FOUND IN:
We usually have our habitats in the rainforests, open, seasonally flooded wetlands and dry grassland terrain. We prefer dense forest and also near rivers and swamps.
We are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico through Central America to South America, including much of Amazonian Brazil.
We live in the following countries: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica (particularly on the Osa Peninsula), Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, the United States, and Venezuela. It is locally extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay.
WHAT WE EAT:
We are fearsome carnivores and can virtually take down any vertebrate found in Central and South America except for large crocodiles.
We are opportunistic hunters and have an unusual method of hunting where it kills its prey by biting directly into the skull and damaging the brain.
We hunt by stalking the prey and then ambushing it rather than chasing the prey. We eat about 1.4 kg of meat if we live in the wild and about 2kg meat if captive as we are bulkier.
Our prey includes small to big animals, small animals being frogs, mice, ground-based birds, fish, sloths, monkeys, and turtles, large animals including deer, capybaras, tapirs, peccaries, dogs, zorros, and sometimes even anacondas.
OUR REPRODUCTION:
Like all the cat species, males of our species are solitary (live alone) and females live with their cubs. They meet only for mating. We mate any time in the year.
The gestation period is about 93-105 days and the females generally give birth to 2 cubs which may extend up to 4 cubs. The females don’t allow the males to live with their cubs.
The young cubs are born blind and gain sight after two weeks. They become independent within three months, yet they live in their birth dens for 6 months. They live and hunt with their mother for 2 years and leave after 2 years.
Sexual maturity for a male jaguar occurs at 3-4 years whereas for a female it is 2 years of age. Our Lifespan is about 12-15 years both in wild and captivity.
MORE ABOUT US:
We being a fearsome wildcat are excellent swimmers and climber.
We have the strongest bite force of all the big cats, and we attack and kill the prey unlike any other wild cat piercing our teeth into the brain of the prey.
We have a robust skull and are very powerful dragging prey of more than 100 kg and also eating turtles weighing more than 350 kg.
We mark our territory and roar like other wild cats to show dominance.
OUR CONSERVATION:
As per the IUCN red list, we are “near threatened” species. The major reason for the decline in our population is due to hunting for our coat, deforestation and natural disasters like hurricanes, etc. We are listed on CITES as “Appendix I”, which means that all international trade of us or our body parts are prohibited.
Hunting us is prohibited in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Peru.
We are about 15,000 individuals estimated to be present across the world.
