| Once native to the southwestern United States, breeding populations of Jaguars no longer exist in the region, and populations in Central and South America have become very small. Only in parts of the Amazon rain forest and the Pantanal are they relatively abundant. These giant spotted cats are the largest felids in the Americas. They are flesh-eaters, hunting by day or night; they concentrate on the most common of the large mammals living in their particular area. Very capable swimmers, they also sometimes hunt along watercourses, taking prey such as caiman, turtles, and fish. The home range of a Jaguar varies from 10-170 square km. They are not territorial, but do avoid one another, occasionally by calling out in a series of deep grunts, sounds that travel well through thick forest
Also known as:
Tigre
Sexual Dimorphism:
Males are 10%-20% larger than females.
Length:
Range:
1,100-1,850 mm
Weight:
Range:
31-158 kg
References:
Linnaeus, C., 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classis, ordines, genera, species cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tenth Edition. Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 1:42, 824 pp.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
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