Jaguar are the only large cats that can be found in North, South and central America and the third largest in the world after tigers and lions. They are very similar in appearance to leopards, which live in Asia and Africa, but jaguars have more complex and dark spot and they have short legs.

Here are 7 interesting facts about JAGUAR:

 

1. Jaguar name comes from the native American word “yaguar”, which means ‘he who kills with one leap’. The scientific name of jaguar is “Panthera onca”.

2.  Jaguar have extremely powerful jaws, strong enough to stab  a shull and crash a sea turtle’s shell. They are impressive hunters and hunt frog, fish and reptiles, they also eat deer, capybaras, peccaries tapirs and a number of other land animals which they  choose to ambush at night.


3.  Jaguars are good swimmers. Unlike many other cats, jaguar don’t avoid water. They frequently live near rivers, lakes and wetlands and are excellent swimmers, and easily cross long rivers.

4.   From the trip of his nose to the end of his tail, jaguar’s length is in the range of 180cm to 240cm (6 to 8 feet), and its shoulder height up to 75cm (2.5 feet). Their tails are quite short as compared to other big cats.

5.  Males are heavier than females. Adult Males can weigh from 45 to 113 kilograms (100-250lbs.) while females weigh 42 to 90 kg (92-200lbs.)

6.   Jaguars are lonely animals. They live alone and they are territorial, they mark their territory with their waste or by clawing trees. They only come together with females to mate. Breeding occurs throughout the year, pregnancy lasts around 14 weeks, and females give birth up to four cubs.

7.   Age of jaguar in the wild is estimated at around 12-15 years; in captivity, the jaguar lives up to 23 years.