Jaguar
Panthera onca
About
Jaguars are the third largest of the big cats after the lion and tiger. ‘Beast of prey’ is thought to be the meaning of the word ‘jaguar’, originally ‘yaguara’ from the Tupian language.
Solitary animals, they mark their territory by clawing trees, and live and hunt alone. They come together only for the purpose of mating. It takes 90 – 110 days for gestation and a mother will have between 1 and 4 cubs who will stay with her for up to 2 years.
Whilst jaguars hunt mainly on the ground, they do climb trees to pounce on their prey. Their limbs are short and thick set, making jaguars particularly adept at climbing and swimming. Their enormously powerful jaws, combined with their ability to climb and swim, gives them a varied diet, ranging from fish and turtles, mammals like tapirs and monkeys and armoured skinned animals like crocodiles as well. They have the most powerful bite of all the big cats.
Their hunting helps to prevent overgrazing of vegetation by keeping herbivore populations under control.
Jaguar facts
Threats
Jaguars are at risk of becoming extinct - deforestation, habitat fragmentation and hunting are causing their numbers to decline in the wild.
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), almost 70% of deforestation in Latin America is driven by intensive farming, mainly for soy, oil palm and beef. As these products are then exported to countries like the UK, our diets and weekly food shop can have a huge impact on global biodiversity loss.
We’re working to protect jaguars in the wild - to help combat this, we’re working to influence policy here in the UK and internationally. We’re supporting efforts to improve the production standards and legislation associated with these foods so that deforestation is minimised or stopped for good.
Our goal is to help create a deforestation-free economy that also helps countries to sustainably meet their development needs. By breaking the link between habitat loss and food production, we can secure a brighter future for both people and wildlife.
Human intervention
Hunting or collection
Climate change & severe weather
Energy production and mining
A jaguar's coat
Their coats can look very different! They can be yellow with black spots or look black all over. This is caused by a natural genetic mutation. There is no such species as a black panther; this is just a cat with a dark colour genetic mutation known as melanism.
