The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only extant Panthera species native to the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Americas. Scientific name of Jaguar is Panthera onca.
Fast Facts about Jaguar
1. With its spotted coat the jaguar most closely resembles the leopard which is found in Asia and Africa, however, the jaguar is larger and has a stockier build than the leopard, it also has less but bigger rosettes (spots) with small dots in the middle. While the Jaguar’s behavioural habits more resemble that of a tiger.
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2. Like Tigers, Jaguars enjoy water and are good at swimming.
3. Jaguar are also solitary animals who live and hunt alone, except during mating season.
4. Known as rosetting, the pattern on the Jaguar’s fur is unique to each animal much like fingerprints are unique to individual people, and despite it’s beauty, it actually acts as the perfect camouflage in the surrounding jungle.
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5. The weight of the jaguar is about 200 to 250 pounds with a length of 5 to 7 feet.
6. Jaguars hunt mainly at night.
7. A jaguar’s roar sounds like a deep, chesty cough.
8. The jaguar’s name means “a beast that kills its prey with a single bound.”
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9. Newborn jaguars are blind and helpless. Hence, they stay with their mother nearly 2 years to learn hunting.
10. Lifespan of a Jaguar in the wild is 12- 15 years while in captivity, a Jaguar can live up to 20 years.
