Scientific Classification

Common Name

jaguar

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

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 to 1,850 mm (3.67 to 6.07 ft.)
Tail length: 450 to 750 mm (1.48 to 2.46 ft.)

Weight

36–185 kg (79 to 408 lbs.)
Male: Generally 90 to 120 kg (200 to 270 lbs.)
Female: Generally 60 to 90 kg (130 to 200 lbs.)

Diet

Most significantly, peccaries, capybaras, tapirs, crocodilians, and fish

Incubation

93 to 105 days

Nursing Duration

Weaned at 5 to 6 months

Sexual Maturity

2 to 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

Global: Unknown

Status 

IUCN: Near Threatened
CITES: Appendix I
USFWS: Endangered

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 (9.7 mi²). While females maintained a home range of 25 to 38 km² (9.7 to 14.7 mi²) (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.

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-existent within the United States, Mexico, most of Central America, eastern Brazil, Uruguay, and much of Argentina. The jaguars numbers have fallen primarily as a result of commercial fur hunting (with an estimated 15,000 Brazilian jaguars being killed annually throughout the 1960s), habitat loss, and culling actions attempting to diminish their threat to livestock and humans.

Bibliography

Nowak, Ronald M. Walker's Mammals of the World - Volume I (Sixth Edition). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.