Amazing species - Day 3

The Jaguar

The Jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest feline in America and the third largest in the world, with only its congeners Tiger (Panthera tigris) in Asia and Lion (Panthera leo) in Africa being larger.

They are mostly solitary animals and are known for their elusive behavior.

They are excellent swimmers and can easily move through the water to capture its prey, which includes fish, turtles, and alligators. On land they feed on peccaries, deer, rodents, tapirs, birds and even monkeys, since they are also skilled climbers. Given this large variety of prey, Jaguars are apex predators, and therefore play an important role in the ecosystem, namely in controlling herbivore populations that, in excess, cause pressure on the natural regeneration of vegetation.

Jaguars are very powerful felines, having massive musculature which, as we have seen, allows them to swim, climb and hunt large prey.

It has one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom and the strongest bite in the cat family.

They have a yellowish fur, with dark spots that are called rosettes. To the common eye, it can be confused with the Leopard’s fur (Panthera pardus), however, unlike their African relatives, Jaguars have small spots within their rosettes.

There is also a genetic mutation in the population of Jaguars, which gives them melanism, a condition in which the fur of this animal acquires excess melanin and gives the animal an almost completely black appearance.

In the last century, the distribution of the jaguar has brutally decreased, being currently present in only 50% of its original territory, however it is still distributed from New Mexico and Arizona, in the United States of America, to the north of Argentina, and can be found in a wide range of habitats. The destruction and fragmentation of its natural habitat, as well as illegal hunting and conflict with humans are the main threats to this species.

The Jaguar is currently categorized as “Near Threatened” by the IUCN Red List, and if conservation efforts are not made, its status could deteriorate.

References

Quigley, H., Foster, R., Petracca, L., Payan, E., Salom, R. & Harmsen, B. 2017. Panthera onca (errata version published in 2018). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T15953A123791436. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T15953A50658693.en

Miller, B. J., Dugelby, B., Foreman, D., Del Rio, C., Noss, R. F., Phillips, M., Reading, R., Soulé, M. E., Terborgh, J., & Willcox, L. (2001). The Importance of Large Carnivores to Healthy Ecosystems. Endangered Species Update, 18(5), 202–211.

Sanderson, E. W., Redford, K. H., Chetkiewicz, C. B., Medellín, R. A., Rabinowitz, A., Robinson, J., & Taber, A. B. (2002). Planning to Save a Species: the Jaguar as a Model. Conservation Biology, 16(1), 58–72. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00352.x

Terborgh, J. (1988). The Big Things that Run The World-A Sequel to E. O. Wilson. Conservation Biology, 2(4), 402–403. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1988.tb00207.x