Jaguar Facts
Jaguar Facts
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Jaguar is third largest cat in the world (tiger and lion are on the first two places), and largest cat that lives in America. It can be found in North, Central and South America, in the wide variety of ecosystems: rainforests, swamps, grasslands, scrub woodlands, forests… Jaguars are endangered species. Around 5680 animals are left in the wild. People hunt them because of their beautiful fur and because they kill livestock on the nearby farms. Besides intentional killing, number of jaguars is decreasing because of the habitat destruction.
| Interesting Jaguar Facts: |
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| Jaguars are large cats: they can weigh 200-250 pounds and reach 5-7 feet in length. |
| They have tan or orange fur covered with black spots arranged in rosettes (sports are organized in the shape of rose). |
| Some jaguars are melanistic, which means that they are almost entirely black. Only from the close distance, characteristic spots could be seen. |
| Name jaguar is derived from Indian word "yaguar" which means: "he who kills in a single leap". |
| Jaguars are ambush predators that kill their victims using the element of surprise. They will pierce the skull of an animal and kill it with a single bite. |
| They can eat 85 different types of animals. Fish, caimans, capybaras, peccaries, tapirs...are usually on the jaguar's menu. |
| Although jaguars eat meat almost exclusively, they can eat avocado occasionally. |
| Jaguars are nocturnal (hunt at night) and solitary animals (live on their own). |
| Anaconda is the only natural enemy of jaguar. Worst enemies of jaguars are humans. |
| Unlike most cats, jaguars like to spend time in water and they are excellent swimmers. |
| They climb the trees easily and mark their territory by scratching the bark. |
| Size of their territory depends on the availability of food. When food is abundantly present - they hunt in smaller radius. Jaguars that live in areas where food is scarce need to walk long distances to find food. |
| When female is ready to become a mother, she roars to inform the male that she is ready for the mating. Pregnancy lasts 92-113 days and usually 2-3 cubs are born. |
| Cubs are blind at birth and they depend on their mother in the first few months of their life completely. With three months they start eating meat and with 2 years they become completely independent from their mothers. |
| Jaguars live 12-15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity. |
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