Animal Facts: All About Jaguars

The jaguar's power and force command respect from every animal in the rainforest. In one swift bite, this ferocious cat will pierce the skull of an enemy prey. It stalks the ground for deer, and leaps from trees to assault the unsuspecting birds. The jaguar's sharp claws will effortlessly catch a fish or turtle. Yet for all its powerful prowess, the beautiful jaguar is still an endangered species. Humans are the only rival that the jaguar cannot defeat and we are slowly ending its reign over the animal kingdom.

The jaguar's home used to range from New Mexico to Argentina, but now only a few are roaming the remote forests of Central America. Humans constantly threaten the jaguar's existence with hunting and habitat conversion. Deforestation, agriculture, and cattle ranching are driving the jaguar further and further into extinction. Hunters are constantly killing these powerful cats for their exquisite furs and we are growing farther and farther away from yesterday's reverence for this important species.

For thousands of years, jaguars have been a spiritual and cultural symbol for many civilizations. The Mayans, Incans, and Aztecs all respected jaguars and considered them highly symbolic of power and strength. The Mayans believed that these sneaky cats were rulers of the underworld and preserved their lives with great reverence. The Aztecs formed jaguar societies, such as the jaguar knights who were the most elite warriors of the tribe. Native Americans often offered human sacrifices to their idols which ended with the victim's heart being fed to a captured jaguar.

The jaguar is the largest cat known to the western hemisphere and the third largest cat in the world. Only being outweighed by lions and tigers, jaguars vary in eight subspecies, which are all endangered. Jaguars are the top predators of the Americas, with an average size of 100 to 200 pounds and some as large as 300 pounds. The largest of these felines are eight feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail.

Jaguars are very solitary animals, making enemies everywhere they go. Only mothers keep company with their cubs for around two years, and they fiercely defend their children against any approaching visitors. Mother jaguars do not even allow their mates to near the babies. Females may have one to four cubs in each litter. Baby jaguars are born blind and helpless, and must learn to hunt and survive by watching their mothers.

While jaguars are some of the most beautiful animals in creation, they are quickly becoming the rarest. We must carefully guard their habitats and the wildlife that they feed on if we are to preserve these legacies of power and strength in the Central American heritage.