The ferocious king of the rainforest.
Imagine traveling along the Amazon river. Suddenly, like a rocket a huge spotted cat leaps out from the bushes and dives into the river. For a few seconds you see nothing but swirling water. Then everything becomes silent before the big cat drags a cayman out of the water and disappears into the forest. It is a Jaguar, the undisputed king of the Amazon rainforest. A majestic animal, but so elusive we know very little about it
Origins Scientists belive Its ancestors, a cat similar to the the Leopard, crossed the Bering strait hundred of thousands years ago. From Alaska the leopard lie cat spread southward and became the Jaguar.
Habitat
Jaguars live from the scrub lands of Argentina in the South all the way to the border between Mexico and the US in the north. Still most of them are found in the Amazon rainforest.
Description The Jaguar is quite similar to the Leopard but has a larger head with an incredibly powerful jaw.
The fur too is similar, black rings but larger than the Leopard’s and with black dots in them. In edition it has several black spots on the forehead and the lower body. The fur gives the jaguar perfect camouflage. in the rainforest one may encounter panther jaguars. ( Almost black jaguars).
It has relatively short legs and a powerfully built body
The Jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas and third largest cat in the world, although size varies. Males living along the Atlantic coast of Mexico weigh on average no more than 50 kg/ 110 lb. Males living further south in the Pantal region in Brazil weigh on average 97kg/ 214 lb
Some specimens have weighed as much as 120 kg/ 265 lb.
The Jaguars incredible bite force
The jaguar’s is extremely muscular and has the strongest bite force of all cats, including tigers and lions. (1000kg/ 2200 pounds per square centimeter) Jaguar teeth can even penetrate turtle shells. The big cat can also kill mammals like deer and capybara by crushing their skulls with its jaw.
An expert hunter
The Jaguar is agile and a terrific climber that can catch monkeys in the trees. Unlike other Big cats it is a great swimmer too and has a taste for fish. It is even able to kill caymans, the large corcodillian of South America.
Other animals are on the menue as well. Jaguars preys on anteaters, monkeys and sloths. occasionally it will kill tapirs and can kill an adult anaconda, the largest snake in the world.
The Anaconda slayer
The anaconda is not on the Jaguar's menu, so when jaguars kills anacondas it is usually in self defense or to get rid of a threat to the jaguar cubs. However it is not eager to encounter the big snake and will avoid it if it can.
Jaguar problems In recent years the Jaguar has lost much of it habitat. This has forced it to prey on livestock, and in recent years it has attacked humans. Still, this rarely happens. The Jaguar in an extremely elusive animal which prefers to stay as far away from humans as possible. Thus, as humans move into the the Jaguar's natural habitat the big cat withdraws. Luckily the Jaguar has many friends. organizations like World Wildlife Fund, Panthera, Wildlife Conservation society and many others work for the survival of this magnificient cat.
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