Jaguarmania!
Jaguar (Panthera onca)
Of all cat’s my favourite has always been the leopard because of its elusiveness and stealth! But the Jaguars is now the second best , because they are very mind-blowing creatures. When you watch yrm in action you be so baffled you are drawn into wanting to know every little thing about how they operate.For that reason only l shall have to visit the Americas soon!
AMAZING! Jaguars are the only Big cat that is only native to the Americas! The majority of the 173,000 jaguars that remain in the world today can be found in the largest tropical wetland, the Pantanal, and the Amazon rainforest. Brazil may be home to about half of the total wild population, making it their stronghold! Too bad though wish they were everywhere!
Jaguars have unique tan and orange fur with black rosettes, each a jagged circle with a single black spot in the middle, unlike other spotted cats.People mostly confuse leopards and Jaguars because they are large, spotted, tawny-colored cat’s.
Leopards are only found in Africa and Asia but Jaguars are only in the Americas. They are also stockier than leopards.But the difference is in the spots or rosettes.In actuality, jaguar markings are more fractured and enclose smaller areas—if you look closely.
Jaguars are the third largest of the Cat families after the lion and tiger. They are also the second fastest cat at 50mph (80km/h). They almost happen to have the strongest jaw muscles of all cats. Their bite force is roughly stronger than a tigers 1050 pounds, at 1,500 pounds per square inch!You should see it hunting and picking up a Caiman for supper! It’s crazy and baffling! It does it with so much ease !
Normaly Jaguars would weigh around 120 Kgs but it’s been discovered their size vares per region. For example generally the Jaguars in South America are relatively half the size of Jaguars in Pantanal. Their weight is what gives them advantages over their prey thus it can easily dismantle a giant caiman and even the hard shell of a tortoise!
Where most cat’s hate water Jaguars are exceptional and they are excellent swimmers. Because they have adapted to live in damp surroundings, you can find them swimming in marshes, rivers, and lakes. They can traverse big rivers since they are assured swimmers.
The breeding process of Jaguars is definitely exhausting,they mate for about a 100 times. Their pregnancy lasts about 14 weeks, and keeping their cubs until their 2 years old. The females give birth to two or Four cubs. Jaguar cubs weigh about the same as a loaf of bread when they’re born, but they soon grow. At two years old, males can be 50% heavier than their female siblings.In the wild the lifespan of a Jaguar is 12-15 year’s but in captivity it’s 15-20 years!
Naturally like most cat’s Jaguars are loners and the makes occupy double the size of land. For example Mexican jaguars have a home range of 100 sq km for males and 46 sq km for females, covering 2,600 meters more in the dry season for territorial defense.Males devote more time to scent marking, vocalization, scraping trees, and other techniques to mark territory and defend their home ranges from other males.
As opportunistic hunters Jaguars will eat almost anything but ,50% of their prey is large. You see this cat is clever it’s opts to kill larger prey which it can feed on for 4 days enabling them to conserve energy. They eat mammals ( wild and livestock) as well as reptiles.
Jaguars are not typically diurnal or nocturnal, being crepuscular and nocturnal, active during dusk and dawn, but can also hunt during the day. As they are opportunistic they don’t do well on open space they prefer rainforests and wetkands that’s why half of its population is in Brazil .
They mostly hunt on the ground but on occasion they may climb tree and pounce on prey. Aside from it’s incredible bite voice they have a help from their spiky tongue. The tongue has spiny papillae that help consume meat and lick bones!
Much like leopards there are also Black Jaguars! .About 10% of jaguars have evolved black coats due to a single dominant allele, with 25% in Costa Rica being melanistic, suggesting camouflage advantages. Black jaguars are more active during the full moon and have a base coat of black fur with dark black spots. So basically no species is actually a Panther, they’re usually a tiger, leopard or Jaguar
Male and female jaguars roar for mating, using a’saw’ sound. They greet each other with a nasally snuffling noise.Jaguars possess an extra-stretchy ligament behind their nose and mouth, enabling them to open their mouth wider than regular cats, allowing them to roar.
Jaguars like most big cat’s are also on The IUCN Red List of threatened Species lists them as nearly threatened. cats.Jaguar populations are decreasing due to human activities in the Americas’ jungles, necessitating conservation efforts. To combat this, pressure big businesses and governments to change their policies. Jaguars are also vulnerable to poaching, but their parts, including paws and teeth, are still sought after for traditional medicine and ornaments, despite the illegal practice.
Last not you should be part of #savecats because the jaguar, once a dominant species, has been almost eradicated from northern regions like Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, with the Amazon basin rainforest currently holding 57% of the global jaguar population.
References
https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/jaguars
https://www.treehugger.com/jaguar-facts-5093384
https://www.beano.com/posts/jaguar-facts
https://www.worldanimalprotection.ca/news/16-fascinating-jaguar-facts