The jaguar is one of the most fascinating creatures found in the wild. Presented below are some jaguar animal facts that will be interesting to read.
The jaguar is a feline animal specifically found in the continent of America. The jaguar, or the Panthera onca, belongs to the Panthera genus is one of the big cats found in South America. It is often confused with a leopard due to the similarity between the two. However, on a closer look, the spots or the rosette shaped prints found on a jaguar are distinctly different from those found on a leopard. There are several interesting facts that help us know more about this fascinating animal. Let us first see the classification of jaguar, as in, where it figures in Kingdom Animalia.
Jaguar Animal Classification
Kingdom ― Animalia
Phylum ― Chordata
Class ― Mammalia
Order ― Carnivora
Family ― Felidae
Genus ― Panthera
Jaguar Facts
A jaguar is one of the three big cats (others being lion and tiger). It is also the largest feline creature or cat found in the continent of America.
- It weighs in between 50-100 kilograms. The length of a full-grown jaguar is 5.5-6 ft, and it is 25-30 inches tall.
- Jaguars are solitary animals with a lifespan of 12 years. On the other hand, in captivity, these are even found to live for up to 20-23 years.
- The spots on the skin of the jaguar consist of a pattern where the smaller dots are surrounded by larger ones. Its skin color is yellow or reddish-brown. However, sometimes, due to melanism, jaguars can also have black skin with black spots. These species are sometimes known as black panthers.
- Albinism can also be found in these species in extremely rare cases. These species are then called white jaguars (or white panthers) as they have a white skin coat.
- Jaguar habitat facts state that these animals are found in rain forests, swamp areas, pampas grassland as well as deciduous forests; specifically northern Mexico, north and central parts of South America, and the rain forests of the Amazon Basin. They live alone and mark their territory with their waste.
- A jaguar usually hunts at night and is a carnivorous animal. Deer, monkeys, cattle, peccaries, reptiles are its main prey. Their typical hunting style is by piercing the skull in a single powerful bite. Jaguars hide and attack rather than chasing their prey.
- This feline enjoys swimming and often lives near water. The jaguar also has the capacity to carry its prey while swimming.
- Jaguars mate throughout the year and separate after the birth of young ones. Only the female is involved in the process of bringing up young ones.
- The gestation period in jaguars is 90-105 days after which the female gives birth to the young ones, which are generally 2-4 in number. The males are never let near the young ones as they have a tendency of killing the young ones.
- These animals can roar typically like other species of the cat family and have a hoarse and deep roar. The males, usually, have a deeper roar than females.
As there is a lot of demand for the jaguar skin, these animals are endangered or threatened species today. It is unfortunate that man is jaguar’s biggest predator. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, jaguars are near extinction. We should all try to save this fascinating creature from getting extinct.
