text x_quick_Title2=Class: Mammalia ~Order: Carnivora ~Family: Felidae~(Panthera onca)
text x_quick=Where In the World~\
` Jaguars are found from Mexico, through Central America, to Peru and Argentina.~\
` Their population is unknown because they are such secretive cats, but their numbers are definitely declining. There are probably less than 1,000 in Mexico, and less than 100 in Argentina.~\
` At one time, the jaguar's range extended much further north, into California and as far east as Louisiana.~~\
Take a Look!~\
` Jaguars are about four and a half feet long, although some used to be as big as six feet long. Their tails are about two and a half feet long, and they stand about two~\
and a half feet at the shoulder. ~\
` There are reports that jaguars can weigh up to 300 pounds, these days, that seems unlikely. Today, male jaguars weigh about 120 pounds and females weigh about 80 pounds.~\
` Jaguars have beautiful coats with tawny fur and black spots and rosettes.~~\
All in the Family~\
` The jaguar is related to some of the largest cats on earth, including the tigers, lions, leopards, and snow leopards.~~\
Just the Facts~\
` Jaguars tend to be solitary. The only close bonds are between a mother and her cubs.~\
` They hunt at night and rest during the hot daylight hours.~\
` Jaguars climb trees very well, and they love to swim.~\
` Jaguars hunt and eat wild peccaries, capybaras, agouti, sloths, birds, turtles and turtle eggs, frogs, small rodents, tapirs, crocodilians, and fish.~\
` Jaguars mate at any time in the year. The female usually has one to four cubs, who are born helpless but open their eyes within two weeks.~\
` The female cares for her cubs and trains them to hunt for about two years. They leave her when she has her next litter of cubs.~` The jaguar's life span in the wild is not known, but animals in captivity have lived to be 22 years old.
;Habitat
text x_hab= We think of jaguars as being very exotic and tropical. But at one time, jaguars were\
common in North America. In prehistoric times, there were many jaguars in Florida, and when the first\
Europeans arrived in North America, the jaguars were common from California to Louisiana and as far\
north as the Red River in Arkansas. The last jaguar was reported in Palm Springs, California in 1860, and\
in New Mexico in 1903. ~\
Today the jaguar is found in Central and South America. It is particularly rare in the most northern and\
the most southern parts of its range, Mexico and Argentina and Peru. (Jaguars from Mexico occasionally\
wandered into southern Texas through the 1940s but were rapidly shot. The last sighting was in Arizona\
in 1971.) The cats are found in Central America to Venezuela, Brazil, eastern Colombia, and south into\
Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. ~\
Jaguars can survive in a variety of habitats. In the north, it's found in scrubland and deserts. In the\
remainder of its range, it lives in forests and rainforests, savannahs (grasslands with scattered trees), and\
swamps. Jaguars need the same four elements every species needs - a good supply of food, a source of\
water, places to hide and rest, and a safe place to raise their young. Female jaguars need about 25 square\
miles of land and will share their home ranges with other females. Males need twice that amount of land,\
and won't share with other males, although their territory will overlap or contain the ranges of several\
females.
;Food
text x_eat= Jaguars hunt and eat the various animals of Central and South America - it is the largest\
predator, and can prey on almost any animal. Among its prey species are the wild peccary, which is a\
well-haired wild pig. The capybara is the largest rodent in the world and can weigh up to 175 pounds.\
The agouti is a much smaller rodent, at about 20 pounds, and looks like a fuzzy pig with a rabbitlike\
head. Jaguars also hunt for birds and sloths, which they find by climbing into the trees, and tapirs, a\
funny looking animal that's about the size of a donkey. ~\
Because jaguars like the water, they will often pursue their prey into rivers and streams. Once there, they\
may find other prey they like, including turtles and turtle eggs, frogs, fish, and the smaller crocodilians of\
the region. The jaguar hunts by stalking - sneaking up on its prey and pouncing when it is close. (House\
cats stalk, too - sometimes they stalk a bare foot or a ball of yarn. House cats, unlike the jaguar, don't\
have to hunt to live, so they spend more time playing than a jaguar or other wild cat can.) Once the\
jaguar has made a kill, it will often drag it for some distance to a safe place where it can eat without\
being bothered by other animals that want some food.
;Habits and Characteristics
text x_life= Jaguars and leopards look a lot alike. How can you tell them apart? Well, the jaguar tends\
to be bigger but shorter (it has a stockier, more heavily muscled body). Its tail is a bit shorter than a\
leopard's, and its head is broader. Of course, all of those comparatives are only good if you have both\
species to look at, and to compare to each other. At a glance, the best way to tell is by the markings on\
the fur. Both cats have tawny coats and black spots that form circles, called rosettes. But the leopard's\
rosettes are empty, while the jaguar's rosettes surround one or more black dots. To help you remember,\
think of the dot that goes over a lower case "j" - just remember that you dot the J of jaguar, like the dots\
in a jaguar's rosettes.~\
Leopards are only found in Africa and jaguars live only in the Americas, so that's another good way to\
tell them apart. These two cats don't only look alike, they act like each other, too. Leopards are often\
found in trees - they like to climb, and will drag up whatever animal they've killed to keep it safe from\
other predators. Jaguars are almost as happy in trees as leopards are, and will climb into a tree to chase\
whatever they're hunting. But there is one place a jaguar will go where a leopard would rather not, and that's\
into the water. Like a tiger, jaguars love to swim. (In most of the Central and South American countries\
where the jaguar lives it is called "el tigre," the tiger.) On hot days, jaguars will head for the nearest river\
or stream and swim around in the water until they cool off. Cubs from the same litter love to play\
together in water, and will splash each other and push each other over. ~\
Litter mates are friendly towards each other and towards their mother. But as they grow, they develop a\
strong sense of independence. By the time their mother has another litter of cubs, the two-year-old\
jaguars are ready to leave their mother, brothers, and sisters and set out on their own. From then on,\
jaguars do their best to avoid seeing each other. Only when they mate will jaguars allow another jaguar to\
come close, and only mothers and cubs stay together for longer than just a few hours. Males have their\
own territory, usually about 50 square miles, and won't let any other male jaguar cross their range. A\
male's range usually overlaps or includes a female's range - the females need only half the space of the\
males, and they aren't as hostile to other females. In fact, as long as they don't have to see each other, two\
females can live in the same range, or have overlapping ranges. ~\
Jaguars are nocturnal. They hunt at night, and sleep during the hot, tropical days stretched out on a tree\
branch, in thick bushes, or on a cool, rocky ledge. Jaguars not only go up trees well - they come down\
well, too, and can descend head-first to keep an eye on what's going on below them on the ground. They\
can jog along almost all night long - if necessary, a jaguar can travel 45 miles in a single night. Usually,\
they go about 15 miles in the course of an average evening, checking on various points in their home\
territory. Jaguars sneak up on their prey and pounce, but they can sprint along quickly when they n
