Jaguar - The Largest Big Cat In South America / Documentary

Spotted all over with a pattern design similar to an ornament made of pleated material, the jaguar is a big cat ranked as the third largest in the world. Among one of the dearest and most recognized animals of the world, the jaguar has been given its name by the “Tupi-Guarani” tribe of South America and means something like “the beast that conquers its prey with one leap”.

With the scientific name “Panthera onca”, jaguars once roamed a lot of southern parts of the United States of America and almost the whole continent of South America. Today, however, only 3 wild jaguars have been seen roaming in the US (in southern Arizona to be more precise) since 2015.

They prefer inhabiting open landscapes, wetlands, subtropical and tropical zones of moist broad-leaf forests and the majority of them alive today are found in the biggest tropical regions - the Pantanal and the Amazon Rainforest.

With the males usually weighing between 50 to 160 kg (about 110 to 350 lbs) and reaching lengths of up to 1.9 meters (or a bit more than 6 feet) without tail. The tail alone can measure an additional 45 to 75 cm (that’s about 2.5 to 3.5 feet). Overall, males are usually about 15 to 20% larger than their female counterparts.

However, both male and female sizes can vary based on several factors like regional differences, availability of food supply and so on. For example, it has been observed that jaguars everywhere else generally weigh less than those in the Pantanal.

With the base coat color typically in between orange to yellowish-brown, the jaguar has spots that if not properly accessed can be mistaken for a leopard (one of the few things leopards and jaguars have in common). Jaguars however, are a bit bulkier than leopards. Jaguars have more muscular legs, a larger skull, and their physique in general looks a bit more robust compared to leopards.

However, there is also a very special type of jaguar, namely jaguars with black fur named “black panthers”. These black jaguars are pretty rare. According to estimates, only about 11% of jaguars have that notorious black coloration. These shiny, black-coated variants are the rarest jaguar classification. Therefore, it’s not surprising that they are also the most threatened by consistent hunting compared to their yellowish-cousins.

In contrast to some other cats, jaguars do not avoid water. Actually, they do love swimming and taking baths. Having adapted to living in damp environments, they have developed excellent swimming abilities and can be often found wading through large river and lakes.

Similar to the tiger, male jaguars are lonesome and solitary felines, found to be in the company of themselves. Although females could also be found alone, but rarely when they are with cubs.

Another interesting characteristic of the jaguar is the tendency of opportunistic hunting, taking delight in hunting for food whenever the opportunity arises, even if they just feasted on a large prey. That’s not surprising if you consider their large body that needs a lot of food in order to sustain itself. They are carnivorous with an appetite for a variety of flesh.

Known to be a heavy eater of almost anything flesh, jaguars would sometimes feast on crocodilians, turtles, capybaras, and even monkeys. They prefer animals such as the giant anteater, marsh deer, caimans, and even the largest land animal known in South America - the tapir.

Narrator: Larry G. Jones

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