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Fast Facts:

There are four big cats in the biological grouping Panthera: jaguars, lions, tigers, and leopards. These are the only cats that can roar.
Jaguars once lived throughout the Americas, from Arizona to the north to Argentina in the south. But hunting and forest clearing has reduced their numbers and forced them out of their habitat into interaction with man.
Researchers have counted over 85 species in the jaguar diet, including peccaries, deer, tapirs, cattle, capybaras, fish, frogs, and turtles.
Jaguars are completely at home in water are seldom very far from a river or lake.
A jaguar may go "fishing" by waving its tail over the water to attract a hungry fish.

Jaguar

Scientific Name	Panthera onca
Classification	Classification: Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Felidae
Status	Endangered.
Range	North, Central, and South America
Habitat	Lowland rain forests, along the coasts, swampy areas, grasslands, dry and even deserts.
Diet	Jaguars eat anything from mice to birds.
Size	Length: 3.8-6 feet plus 18-30 inch tail Weight: Males average 121 pounds. Females average 79 pounds.
Lifespan	12 - 15 yrs.
Location

Jaguars vs Leopards

Jaguars and leopards look a lot alike. Jaguars are stockier,with shorter, thick tails. Most jaguars are tawny-colored with black rosettes.

The rosettes are more concentrated on the back and have a black spot in the middle. But some are black-on-black. Usually jaguars that are found in darker rain forest areas are black. There is so such thing as a black panther.

The powerful jaguar has a deep chest and massive, strong limbs. Although not as graceful and agile as the leopard, the jaguar can climb trees to await their prey.

Conservation

With less and less prey available to them, jaguars have started feeding on livestock. Ranchers respond by trapping and poisoning them.

The coats of jaguars have always been important to people who share their habitat. CITES outlaws jaguar skins internationally.

Unfortunately, jaguar coats are still illegally bought in countries where jaguars live.

Special Features

Jaguars hunt mainly on the ground and mainly at night. Like other cats, jaguars have eyes adapted for night hunting.
Jaguars cannot sustain high speeds and depends on getting close to prey for successful kills.
Their large jaw muscles allow them to kill their prey by piercing the skull with their teeth.
Jaguars are the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere and the third largest overall. Only lions and tigers are bigger.

Social Structure & Behavior

Adult jaguars are solitary and only come together for a short time to breed staying together for a few weeks while breeding.

The size of the jaguar's territory depends on the availability of food. The most common sound it makes is the grunt.

Breeding & Care of Young:
Sexual maturity comes at 2-4 years of age. Mating can happen at any time of year. The male will make a mewing noise during mating season.

After a gestation of 93 to 105 days, a litter of 1 to 4 cubs are born. The average litter is 2. They range at birth from 1.5 to 2 pounds. The young are fully furred at birth and blind. They first emerge from the den at two weeks of age. The young are born in a secure den of vegetation, among rocks or in a hole in a riverbank.

The female is aggressive in her protection of the young from any intruder, including the father.