Jaguars

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Geographical Location
Type of Environment
Anatomy
Senses & Attributes
Lifestyle
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Jaguars at the Zoo

Geographical range	CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, United States, Venezuela back to top
Type of Environment	Temperate forest Subtropical forest Tropical dry forest Seasonably flooded swamp areas Grassland Thorny Scrub Woodland Savanna. back to top
Anatomy	Size: Body length (including tail) 1.6m - 2.6m. Shoulder height 0.6m - 0.8m Weight: 35 - 130kg Females usually one third smaller than males. Body Shape: Powerfully built. Short, thick legs. Deep-chested. Larger head and broader face than the leopard. Thicker, shorter tail than the leopard. Pelage: Background colour either pale yellow, reddish yellow, reddish brown, dark brown or black (melanistic). Black spots on head, neck, limbs and underside of body. Rosettes enclosing dots on shoulders, back and flanks. Rosettes extend to tail. Outside of ear marked with white or tawny dot. All rosette and spot patterns are individual to each animal. back to top
Senses & Attributes	Eyesight: Particularly good at night with highly reflective layers behind the retinas to throw back as much light as possible through the pupils. Night vision up to 7 times better than ours. Excellent binocular vision for accurately judging distances. Monochromatic (black and white) vision. Hearing: Range from 2kHz to 65kHz (approx. 5 times better than ours). Used as a primary source of detecting prey animals or potential danger. Smell: Like all cats sense of smell is much lower than a dogs. Only a very small part of the brain is dedicated to interpreting scent. Dogs have a greater area devoted to olfactory cells and the density of cells around their nasal passages is 125 per square centimetre rather than only 13.9 per square centimetre for cats. Experiments have shown that even rotten meat can go undetected. Interpretation of scents, especially each others, seems to be quite advanced and is carried out via the 'flehman gesture' which is identified by a facial grimace as the mouth is opened, nose is wrinkled, chin is raised and tongue hangs out. This allows the opening of the vomeronasal, or Jacobson's Organ, which is located in the roof of the mouth. As a result, the full capacity to draw in chemical scents for analysis is obtained. The 'flehman gesture' is vitally important for assessing reproductive and territorial behaviour. Whiskers: Used to locate position of killing bite and to then detect death of prey from twitching of animal's skin nerves. Trap scent particles. Display mood i.e. positioned forward = inquisitive, backward = relaxed, upwards = threatened. Also used for judging distances. Teeth: Generally 32 in all. 4 canines (up to 5cm long) for killing. Carnassials for cutting flesh and crushing bone and incisors to gnaw at soft ends of bones and scrape off fibres & tendons. Paws: Particularly large fore paws for grabbing prey and fighting. Cushioned by soft pads for silent walking and grip/balance. Claws: Sharp and retractable (up to 3cm long) and protected by lobes of skin. Used for fighting, gripping prey animals & scratch-marking trees around territory boundaries. Tail: Used mostly to act like a rudder to maintain balance while running at speed. back to top
Lifestyle	Social Structure: Usually solitary for economic, survival reasons. Territory: Territory area covers 10sqkm - 168sqkm depending on type of environment and prey density. A female's territory is usually a third smaller than a males. Self Protection: Will avoid face-to-face confrontation by marking out territory boundaries and leaving scratches on trees, scats and urine scents, also by frequently patrolling perimeters and 'calling' (which can be heard 2km away). If fighting does occur it will normally be between males competing for territory and/or a female mate. Injuries are likely to be caused by claws rather than teeth. Fatalities through infected wounds or inability to hunt after conflict are not uncommon. Hunting: Active during day and night (cathemeral) but hunting mainly at dawn and dusk (crepuscular) or at night (nocturnal). Opportunistic. Technique involves detection of prey via senses: eyesight, hearing and smell. Stalking will then give way to an ambush often comprising of just a few short bounds. After stabilization, a killing bite will be administered to the posterior part of the cranium or, alternatively, to the nape of the neck or the throat. Will often enter water to catch reptilian and mammalian prey and will fish along riverbanks. Feeding Habits: The carcass is either eaten on the spot of the kill or dragged to a secluded area. Feeding normally takes place terrestrially. Food Consumed (includes): Peccary, tapir, capybara, deer, cattle, monkey, prehensile-tailed porcupine, otter, squirrel, armadillo, birds, snake, turtle, caiman, fish, insects, snails and some vegetation for nutritional, digestive and medicinal purposes. Reproduction: Breeding may occur all year-round in the tropics and is usually in the spring in the extreme north of the distribution. Females will come into oestrus approximately every 60 days for 7-10 days. During this time she will attract the resident male by scent and with a series of 'hooting' calls. On his arrival, they will mate maybe 100 times a day for a few days. Ovulation must be stimulated by the act of copulation. The gestation period lasts approx. 90-111 days. Cubs will be born in a sheltered area (e.g. cave or under fallen trees). The average litter size is 2 cubs but can be 1-4. Cub to Adult: At birth cubs will weigh 0.7-0.9kg. They are born with their markings and with vaguely protruding teeth. Their eyes however remain shut for protection against the sunlight and to prevent them from straying. By day 14 their eyes open. At approximately 10 weeks the cubs will be offered regurgitated meat from the mother as the start of the weaning process off milk. By about 5 months they will be weaned. By 6 months cubs will be accompanying their mother on hunting excursions but will not be permitted to take part in killing large prey until 9 months to 1 year of age. During this time play is a fun but crucially important pastime, enabling the youngsters to get to grips with their hunting/killing instinct and attributes. At 18 months onwards juveniles will seek out their own territories. Sexual maturity is reached by 4 years old and often much earlier. Lifespan is between 10-15 years in the wild (although infant mortality rate is very high) and up to 20 years in human care. back to top
Population	Used to occur as far north as Texas and New Mexico until the 1940's. 8 subspecies exist in Central and South America. Strongest populations lie within the rainforests of the Amazonian Basin. Present total population < 50,000. IUCN Red List Category - Near Threatened. CITES - Appendix I (No trade allowed). back to top
Natural threats	Injury sustained through hunting large or dangerous prey animals. Injury or death as a result of conflict with each other or other predators. Infanticide. Disease. Malnutrition and starvation. Natural disasters (e.g. forest fires, flooding & drought). back to top
Human induced threats	Habitat destruction. Loss of wild prey. Revenge killing by livestock owners. Poaching for the fur trade.
Jaguars available for adoption	Chiquita, Tequila back to top