| |
|
| |
| Jaguar |
| |
| Common
Name: |
jaguar |
| |
|
| Class:
|
Mammalia |
| |
|
| Order: |
Carnivora |
| |
|
| Family:
|
Felidae |
| |
|
| Genus
species: |
Panthera
onca |
|
|
 |
| |
| Fast
Facts |
| Description:
|
The
base color of their coat varies from pale yellow to reddish brown
(with melanistic - black - coloration commonly exhibited). A subtle
countershading is characteristic, with a deeper tone to the dorsal
coat fading to a light/white ventral coat. Solid, black spots are
found along the head, underbelly, and legs. Oscellated spots occur
along the back and flanks. The general build is stout, compact, and
powerful. |
| |
|
| Size:
|
Head
& body length = 1,120 - 1,850 mm
Tail length = 450 - 750 mm |
| |
|
| Weight:
|
36 -
185 kg; males are generally 90-120 kg, females are generally 60-90
kg |
| |
|
| Diet:
|
Most
significantly, peccaries, capybaras, tapirs, crocodilians, and fish |
| |
|
| Gestation: |
93-105
days; weaned at 5-6 months |
| |
|
| Sexual
maturity: |
2-4
years |
| |
|
| Life
span: |
approximately
24 years |
| |
|
| Range:
|
Southern
United States to Argentina |
| |
|
| Habitat:
|
Forests
and savannahs, with occasional intrusion into scrub and desert environments.
Presence is often tied to a substantial fresh water source. |
| |
|
| Population: |
Documented
figures include 600-1,000 in Belize; 500 in Guatemala; 500 in Mexico. |
| |
|
| Status:
|
Endangered
by USDI; near threatened by IUCN; appendix I of CITES |
| |
|
| RETURN
TO TOP |
|
| |
| Fun
Facts |
| 1. |
Though
territorial ranges are usually established by jaguars, these territories
may shift due to seasonal conditions. Additionally, male jaguars are
known to wander for hundreds of kilometers beyond their established
territory. |
| |
|
| 2. |
A population
density study in southwestern Brazil indicated that (for the region)
there was one jaguar per every 25 km2. While females maintained
a home range of 25-38 km2 (with little overlap), males
maintained ranges roughly twice as large (with overlap into multiple
female home ranges). |
| |
|
| 3. |
Through
the end of the Pleistocene, jaguars could be found throughout the
southern United States. |
| |
|
| RETURN
TO TOP |
|
| |
| Ecology
and Conservation |
| |
While
the jaguar once populated the southern United States, Central America,
and South America, its presence throughout this range has been extremely
diminished. It is rare or non-existant within the United States,
Mexico, most of Central America, eastern Brazil, Uruguay, and much
of Argentina. The jaguar's numbers have fallen primarily as a result
of commercial fur hunting (with an estimated 15,000 Brazilian jaguars
being killed annually throughout the 1960's), habitat loss, and
culling actions attempting to diminish their threat to livestock
and humans.
|
| |
|
| RETURN
TO TOP |
|
| |
| Bibliography |
| |
Nowak,
Ronald M. Walker's Mammals of the World - Volume I (Sixth
Edition)
|
| |
|
| RETURN
TO TOP |
|
| |
| Return
to Expedition
Pantanal 2002 |
| |
| Return
to Animal Bytes |
| |
| |