Jaguar

Panthera onca

A bite that cracks tough shells

Numbers

Weight: 170 lbmost adults weigh between 120 and 210 lb; males up to 350 lb documented
Length: 58 infrom nose to base of tail, 44 to 73 in; tail adds 18 to 30 in
Height: 28 inshoulder height, from 27 to 30 in
Lifespan: 11 yearsin the wild rarely over 11 years; up to 22 in captivity
Bite force: 887 newtonsaverage force recorded at the tip of the canine
Home range: 312 sq mimaximum living space recorded for a male in the Cerrado
Maximum weight: 350 lbexceptional males, compared to an average of 120 to 210 lb

it kills mammals by biting directly through the skull between the ears, a unique technique among all big cat species.
its bite force reaches 887 newtons at the tip of the canine tooth, ranking third among all pantherine cats.
its powerful bite can easily pierce the hard shells of Amazonian river turtles and yellow-footed tortoises living in the forest.
it has the shortest tail of all big cats, measuring only 18 to 30 inches long from base to tip.
its favorite prey are capybaras and giant anteaters, though it hunts animals weighing anywhere from two to 290 pounds.
an isolated jaguar population living in the Brazilian Pantanal feeds almost exclusively on aquatic reptiles and various species of fish.
black jaguars, often called black panthers, owe their dark coat pattern to a dominant gene allele that causes melanism.
in the Atlantic Forest, a male jaguar territory can exceed 228 square miles, while a female range covers 90 square miles.
in 1999 the historic range of the species was estimated at seven million square miles, now reduced to under three million.
among all the world big cat species, the jaguar is responsible for the lowest number of fatal attacks on human beings.

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

How does the jaguar kill the mammals it hunts?

Question 2 of 5

What is the favorite prey of the jaguar?

Question 3 of 5

How long does a jaguar usually live in the wild?

Question 4 of 5

What distinguishes the rosettes of the jaguar from those of the leopard?

Question 5 of 5

Can the jaguar swim?

Experiment 1

Place three pounds of food on a kitchen scale. That is the amount of meat a 75 pound jaguar eats in a single day.

Experiment 2

Draw a rosette like a jaguar coat pattern: a ring of dark spots with small black dots inside the center. Leopards do not have those internal dots.

Experiment 3

Look up how large your county is on a map. Some male jaguars roam across territories of 310 square miles, and sometimes even larger areas.