The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera that is native to the Americas. Its coat has pale yellow to tan fur covered with spots that change to rose-like patterns on the sides. Some jaguars have completely black fur. The jaguar can grow up to 1.85 meters (6 feet 1 inch) long and weigh as much as 158 kilograms (348 pounds). It is the largest cat in the Americas and the third largest cat in the world. The jaguar’s strong bite allows it to break the shells of turtles and tortoises. It also kills prey by biting through the skull between the ears to hit the brain.

Jaguar ancestors likely moved from Eurasia to the Americas during the Early Pleistocene through a land bridge across the Bering Strait. The oldest jaguar fossils found in North America are between 0.85 and 0.82 million years old. Today, jaguars live in the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Amazon rainforest, and parts of Paraguay and northern Argentina. They live in forests, wetlands, and open areas, but prefer tropical and subtropical forests. Jaguars are good swimmers and usually hunt alone. They are top predators that stalk and ambush prey. As a keystone species, jaguars help balance ecosystems and control prey populations.

Jaguars face threats such as losing their habitat, habitat fragmentation, hunting for their body parts, and conflicts with humans, especially ranchers in Central and South America. Jaguars are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2002. Their numbers have likely decreased since the late 1990s. Conservation efforts focus on 51 large areas called Jaguar Conservation Units, which are in 36 regions from Mexico to Argentina. These areas are home to at least 50 breeding jaguars.

Jaguars have played an important role in the myths and stories of indigenous peoples in the Americas, including the Aztec and Maya civilizations.

Etymology

The word "jaguar" may come from the Tupi-Guarani word yaguara, which means "wild beast that overcomes its prey at a bound." Since the word "jaguar" is also used for other animals, native people in Guyana call it jaguareté, adding the suffix -té to mean "true beast." The word "onca" comes from the Portuguese name onça, which refers to a spotted cat larger than a lynx; this is similar to the word "ounce." The word "panther" comes from classical Latin panthēra, which itself is from the ancient Greek pánthēr.

In North America, the word is pronounced with two syllables, as /ˈdʒæɡwɑːr/, while in British English, it is pronounced with three syllables, as /ˈdʒæɡjuːər/.

Taxonomy and evolution

In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the jaguar in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis onca.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, scientists used several jaguar specimens to describe different subspecies. In 1939, Reginald Innes Pocock identified eight subspecies based on where the specimens were found and the shape of their skulls. However, Pocock did not have enough animal samples to confirm their classification and questioned some. Later studies suggested only three subspecies should be recognized. The description of P. o. palustris was based on a fossil jaw bone.

By 2005, nine subspecies were considered valid:
– P. o. onca (Linnaeus, 1758) was a jaguar from Brazil.
– P. o. peruviana (De Blainville, 1843) was a jaguar skull from Peru.
– P. o. hernandesii (Gray, 1857) was a jaguar from Mazatlán, Mexico.
– P. o. palustris (Ameghino, 1888) was a fossil jaw bone found in the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdova District, Argentina.
– P. o. centralis (Mearns, 1901) was a skull of a male jaguar from Talamanca, Costa Rica.
– P. o. goldmani (Mearns, 1901) was a jaguar skin from Yohatlan, Campeche, Mexico.
– P. o. paraguensis (Hollister, 1914) was a skull of a male jaguar from Paraguay.
– P. o. arizonensis (Goldman, 1932) was a skin and skull of a male jaguar from near Cibecue, Arizona.
– P. o. veraecrucis (Nelson and Goldman, 1933) was a skull of a male jaguar from San Andrés Tuxtla, Mexico.

Reginald Innes Pocock placed the jaguar in the genus Panthera and noted that it shares physical traits with the leopard (P. pardus). He concluded that the jaguar and leopard are closely related. Later research, including genetic studies, showed gradual differences between jaguar populations from north to south but no clear subspecies. DNA analysis of 84 jaguar samples from South America found strong gene flow between jaguar populations in Colombia in the past. Since 2017, the jaguar has been classified as a monotypic taxon, meaning it has no subspecies. However, the modern Panthera onca onca is still distinguished from two fossil subspecies, Panthera onca augusta and Panthera onca mesembrina. A 2024 study suggested that the classification of these two fossil subspecies remains uncertain due to variations in their physical traits.

The Panthera lineage is estimated to have split from the common ancestor of the Felidae family between 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago and 11.75 to 0.97 million years ago. Some genetic studies suggest the jaguar is closely related to the lion, with the two species diverging 3.46 to 1.22 million years ago. Other studies place the lion closer to the leopard.

The jaguar lineage is believed to have originated in Africa and spread to Eurasia 1.95–1.77 million years ago. Modern jaguars are thought to descend from the Eurasian Panthera gombaszogensis. The ancestor of the jaguar likely entered the Americas through Beringia, a land bridge that once connected Asia and North America. Some scientists question the close relationship between P. gombaszogensis and modern jaguars. The oldest known fossils of modern jaguars (P. onca) are from North America and date to 850,000–820,000 years ago. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of 37 jaguars suggests that current populations evolved between 510,000 and 280,000 years ago in northern South America and later spread to North and Central America after jaguars in those regions went extinct during the Late Pleistocene.

Two extinct jaguar subspecies are recognized in the fossil record: P. o. augusta from North America and P. o. mesembrina from South America.

The oldest jaguar fossil from the Rancholabrean age is estimated to be 38,600 years old and was found at Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve.

Leopard (P. pardus)
Snow leopard (P. uncia)

Description

The jaguar is a small but strong animal. It is the largest cat that lives in the Americas and the third largest cat in the world, after the tiger and the lion. A jaguar stands 57 to 81 cm (22.4 to 31.9 in) tall at the shoulders. Its size and weight depend on its sex and where it lives. Most jaguars weigh between 56–96 kg (123–212 lb). Some very large male jaguars have been recorded weighing up to 158 kg (348 lb). Female jaguars in Middle America are usually smaller, weighing about 36 kg (79 lb). Jaguars are sexually dimorphic, meaning females are typically 10–20% smaller than males. The distance from the nose to the base of the tail ranges from 1.12 to 1.85 m (3.7 to 6.1 ft). The tail is 45 to 75 cm (17.7 to 29.5 in) long and the shortest among big cats. Jaguars have strong legs that are shorter than the legs of other Panthera species with similar body weight.

Jaguars grow larger as you move from north to south. Jaguars in the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico weigh about 50 kg (110 lb). Jaguars in Venezuela and Brazil are much bigger, with males averaging about 95 kg (209 lb) and females averaging 56–78 kg (123–172 lb).

The jaguar’s coat color ranges from pale yellow to tan or reddish-yellow, with a white underside and black spots. These spots change shape: on the sides, they form rosettes, which may have one or more dots inside. The spots on the head and neck are usually solid, as are those on the tail, which may join to form bands near the end and create a black tip. On the middle of the back, spots are longer and often connect to form a stripe. On the belly, the spots are blotchy. These patterns help jaguars hide in thick forests with many shadows. Jaguars in forests are often darker and smaller than those in open areas, possibly because there are fewer large herbivores to hunt in forests.

The jaguar looks similar to the leopard but is more muscular, with thicker limbs and a broader head. The rosettes on a jaguar’s coat are larger, darker, and fewer than those on a leopard’s coat, with a small spot in the center of each. Jaguars have strong jaws with the third-highest bite force among all cats, after tigers and lions. The average bite force at the canine tip is 887.0 Newton, and the bite force quotient at the canine tip is 118.6. A 100 kg (220 lb) jaguar can bite with a force of 4.939 kN (1,110 lbf) at the canine teeth and 6.922 kN (1,556 lbf) at the carnassial notch.

Melanistic jaguars, also called black panthers, are less common than spotted jaguars. Black jaguars have been seen in Central and South America. Melanism in jaguars is caused by changes in the melanocortin 1 receptor gene and is inherited through a dominant allele. Black jaguars are more common in tropical rainforests and are more active during the day. This suggests that their black color helps them hide in the deep shadows of dense forests with bright light.

In 2004, a camera trap in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in Northern Mexico captured the first recorded image of a black jaguar in that region. Black jaguars have also been photographed in Costa Rica’s Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve, in the Cordillera de Talamanca mountains, in Barbilla National Park, and in eastern Panama.

Distribution and habitat

In 1999, scientists estimated that the jaguar’s old living area at the start of the 20th century covered about 19,000,000 square kilometers (7,300,000 square miles), extending from the southern United States through Central America to southern Argentina. By the start of the 21st century, its living area had dropped to about 8,750,000 square kilometers (3,380,000 square miles), with the biggest losses in the southern United States, northern Mexico, northern Brazil, and southern Argentina. Today, the jaguar lives in areas from the United States and Mexico through Central America to South America, including Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, especially the Osa Peninsula, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It is no longer found in El Salvador and Uruguay.

Jaguars have been seen in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, with 62 sightings reported in the 20th century. Between 2012 and 2015, a male jaguar was recorded in 23 places in the Santa Rita Mountains. Eight jaguars were photographed in the southwestern United States between 1996 and 2024.

The jaguar lives in thick forests and usually prefers dry deciduous forests, tropical and subtropical moist forests, rainforests, and cloud forests in Central and South America. It also lives in open, seasonally flooded wetlands, dry grasslands, and historically in oak forests in the United States. Jaguars have been found at elevations up to 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) but avoid mountain forests. They like areas near rivers, swamps, and places with thick plant cover. In the Mayan forests of Mexico and Guatemala, 11 jaguars with GPS trackers preferred undisturbed, dense areas far from roads. Female jaguars avoided areas with even low human activity, while males seemed less affected by human presence. A young male jaguar was also seen in the semi-arid Sierra de San Carlos near a waterhole.

In the 19th century, jaguars were still seen near the North Platte River 48–80 kilometers (30–50 miles) north of Longs Peak in Colorado, in coastal Louisiana, northern Arizona, and New Mexico. Verified reports of jaguars in California include two sightings as far north as Monterey in 1814 and 1826. The only known jaguar den in the United States with adult jaguars and kittens was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California before 1860. Jaguars lived in California until about 1860. The last confirmed jaguar in Texas was shot in 1948, 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) southeast of Kingsville, Texas. In Arizona, a female jaguar was shot in the White Mountains in 1963. By the late 1960s, jaguars were thought to no longer live in the United States. Arizona banned jaguar hunting in 1969, but by then no females remained, and only two males were seen and killed in the state over the next 25 years. In 1996, a rancher and guide from Douglas, Arizona found a jaguar in the Peloncillo Mountains and began studying them, placing cameras that recorded four more jaguars.

Old photos show that jaguars lived in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina until at least 1984.

Behavior and ecology

The jaguar is mostly active during the night and at twilight. However, jaguars living in dense forests of the Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal are often active during the day, while those in the Atlantic Forest are mainly active at night. Jaguars are active when their main prey species are active. Jaguars are good swimmers and often play and hunt in water, possibly more than tigers. They have been seen swimming between islands and the shore for distances of at least 1.3 kilometers. Jaguars can also climb trees but do so less often than cougars.

The adult jaguar is an apex predator, meaning it is at the top of the food chain and is not hunted by other animals in the wild. The jaguar is also called a keystone species because it is thought to control the numbers of prey like herbivores and seed-eating mammals, helping to keep forest systems healthy. However, some research suggests that these effects might be due to natural changes, and the prey populations may not always stay low. Scientists disagree about whether the jaguar is truly a keystone species.

The jaguar lives in the same area as the cougar. In central Mexico, both animals hunt white-tailed deer, which makes up 54% of the jaguar’s diet and 66% of the cougar’s diet. In northern Mexico, jaguars and cougars share the same habitat, and their diets depend on the availability of prey. Jaguars in Mexico and Central America do not dominate over cougars. In South America, jaguars are larger than cougars and hunt bigger prey, usually weighing more than 22 kg (49 lb). Cougars hunt prey weighing between 2 and 22 kg (4 and 49 lb), which may explain their smaller size. This situation might help cougars, as they can hunt smaller prey and may have an advantage in areas changed by humans.

The jaguar is an obligate carnivore, meaning it eats only meat. A captive jaguar weighing 34 kg (75 lb) needs about 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) of meat each day. Studies show that jaguars hunt prey ranging from 1 to 130 kg (2.2 to 286.6 lb), but they prefer prey weighing 45–85 kg (99–187 lb). Capybaras and giant anteaters are their most common prey. Jaguars also hunt marsh deer, southern tamanduas, collared peccaries, and black agoutis. In floodplains, they eat reptiles like green anacondas, caimans, and turtles. In the Pantanal, they mainly eat aquatic reptiles and fish, such as thorny catfish, small-scaled pacu, red-bellied piranhas, and barred catfish. Jaguars may also hunt livestock in areas where wild prey is scarce.

The jaguar’s strong bite allows it to break the shells of yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles and yellow-footed tortoises. It kills mammals by biting through the skull between the ears to hit the brain. It kills capybaras by piercing their canine teeth through the skull, breaking bones and entering the brain through the ears. Some scientists think this method evolved to crack open turtle shells, but others argue that jaguars still hunt more mammals than reptiles, even where reptiles are common.

Between October 2001 and April 2004, 10 jaguars in the southern Pantanal were studied. During the dry season (April to September), they killed prey every 1 to 7 days. During the wet season (October to March), they killed prey every 1 to 16 days.

Jaguars use a stalk-and-ambush strategy to hunt, not chasing prey. They walk slowly through forests, listen for prey, and then pounce or ambush from cover. They attack from a prey’s blind spot and are known for their excellent ambush skills. Jaguars can swim while carrying large prey and may drag carcasses as heavy as a heifer up trees to avoid flooding. After killing prey, they drag the carcass to a hidden spot and eat the neck and chest first, then the heart, lungs, and shoulders.

Jaguars are usually alone except for females with cubs. In 1977, groups of jaguars, including males, females, and cubs, were seen in the Paraguay River valley. A female jaguar had a home range of 25–38 km (9.7–14.7 sq mi), which partly overlapped with another female. Male jaguars’ ranges overlapped with several females. In the Venezuelan Llanos and Brazilian Pantanal, male jaguars have been seen hunting and defending territory together.

Jaguars mark their territory with scratch marks, urine, and feces. The size of their home ranges depends on deforestation and human activity. Female jaguar ranges vary from 15.3 km (5.9 sq mi) in the Pantanal to 53.6 km (20.7 sq mi) in the Amazon to 233.5 km (90.2 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest. Male ranges vary from 25 km (9.7 sq mi) in the Pantanal to 591.4 km (228.3 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest. Studies using GPS found fewer jaguars in the Pantanal than older methods suggested, showing that some counting methods may overestimate numbers. Male jaguars rarely fight, but they avoid each other in the wild. In some areas, males are more tolerant and work together.

Jaguars roar or grunt to communicate over long distances. They have been seen calling back and forth in the wild. Their roar is described as hoarse with five to six deep sounds. Jaguars also make low snorts called prusten when greeting or comforting cubs. Adults growl during courtship, and cubs make sounds like bleating, gurgling, and meowing. Female jaguars meow to stay in touch with their cubs.

In captivity, female jaguars reach sexual maturity at about 2.5 years. Estrus lasts 7–15 days, with a cycle of 41.8 to 52.6 days. During estrus, females become restless and vocal. They can ovulate on their own or be induced to ovulate. Pregnancy lasts 91 to 111 days. Male jaguars reach sexual maturity at 3–4 years. Their average ejaculate volume is

Threats

The jaguar is in danger because of losing and breaking up its home, being killed illegally for hurting livestock or for trading in its body parts. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2002 because its population has likely decreased by 20 to 25% since the mid-1990s. Deforestation is a major threat to jaguars across their range. Habitat loss happened fastest in dry areas like the Argentine pampas, the arid grasslands of Mexico, and the southwestern United States.

In 2002, it was estimated that the jaguar’s range had shrunk to about 46% of its size in the early 20th century. By 2018, its range had decreased by 55% over the past 100 years. The only place where jaguars still live in large numbers is the Amazon rainforest, which is quickly being broken into smaller pieces due to deforestation. Between 2000 and 2012, forests in jaguar areas were lost over an area of 83,759 km² (32,340 mi²), with fragmentation increasing especially in areas connecting Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs). By 2014, two JCUs in Bolivia no longer had direct connections, and two JCUs in northern Argentina became completely separated because of deforestation.

In Mexico, jaguars are mainly threatened by poaching. Their habitat is broken up in northern Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Yucatán Peninsula because of changes in land use, roads, and tourism projects. In Panama, 220 out of 230 jaguars were killed between 1998 and 2014 for attacking livestock. In Venezuela, jaguars were lost from about 26% of their range in the country since 1940, mostly in dry savannas and scrubland in the northeastern region of Anzoátegui. In Ecuador, jaguars are threatened by fewer prey in areas where roads made it easier for humans to hunt in forests. In the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, at least 117 jaguars were killed in Iguaçu National Park and the nearby Misiones Province between 1995 and 2008. Some Afro-Colombians in the Colombian Chocó Department hunt jaguars for meat to eat or sell. Between 2008 and 2012, at least 15 jaguars were killed by farmers in central Belize.

The trade in jaguar skins grew quickly after World War II until the early 1970s. Large declines happened in the 1960s, with more than 15,000 jaguars killed yearly in the Brazilian Amazon for their skins. The trade in jaguar skins dropped after 1973 when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species was created. Surveys with 533 people in northwestern Bolivia showed that locals killed jaguars out of fear, in retaliation, or for trade. Between August 2016 and August 2019, jaguar skins and body parts were found for sale in tourist markets in Lima, Iquitos, and Pucallpa in Peru. Human-wildlife conflict, opportunistic hunting, and hunting for trade in local markets are major reasons jaguars are killed in Belize and Guatemala. Reports show that at least 857 jaguars were involved in trade between 2012 and 2018, including 482 in Bolivia alone; 31 jaguars were seized in China. Between 2014 and early 2019, 760 jaguar fangs were seized from Bolivia, meant for China. Investigations found that smuggling jaguar body parts in Bolivia is managed by Chinese residents.

Conservation

The jaguar is listed on CITES Appendix I, which means that buying and selling jaguars or their body parts internationally is not allowed. Hunting jaguars is not allowed in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States, and Venezuela. Hunting jaguars is limited in Guatemala and Peru. In Ecuador, hunting jaguars is not allowed, and the species is classified as threatened with extinction. In Guyana, jaguars are protected as an endangered species, and hunting them is illegal.

In 1986, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary was created in Belize. This was the first protected area in the world specifically for jaguar conservation.

In 1999, scientists from 18 countries where jaguars live identified the most important areas for long-term jaguar conservation. These areas, called "Jaguar Conservation Units" (JCUs), are large enough to support at least 50 breeding jaguars. They range in size from 566 to 67,598 square kilometers (219 to 26,100 square miles). These 51 JCUs were set up in 36 geographic regions, including:

• The Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra de Tamaulipas in Mexico
• The Selva Maya tropical forests in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala
• The Chocó–Darién moist forests in Honduras, Panama, and Colombia
• The Venezuelan Llanos
• The northern Cerrado and Amazon basin in Brazil
• The Tropical Andes in Bolivia and Peru
• Misiones Province in Argentina

In 2010, scientists identified the best paths for jaguars to travel between important areas. These paths, called wildlife corridors, connect JCUs and help jaguars move safely. The corridors cover 2,600,000 square kilometers (1,000,000 square miles) and vary in length. In Mexico and Central America, they range from 3 to 1,102 kilometers (1.9 to 684.8 miles). In South America, they range from 489.14 to 1,607 kilometers (303.94 to 998.54 miles). Working with local landowners and government agencies is important to keep these areas connected and prevent jaguar populations from becoming isolated. In Mexico, seven of 13 corridors are working well, with widths of at least 14.25 kilometers (8.85 miles) and lengths of no more than 320 kilometers (200 miles). Other corridors may be harder for jaguars to use because they are narrower and longer.

In August 2012, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service protected 3,392.20 square kilometers (838,232 acres) in Arizona and New Mexico to help jaguars survive. In April 2019, the Jaguar Recovery Plan was published. This plan says that Interstate 10 is the northern boundary of the Jaguar Recovery Unit in Arizona and New Mexico.

In Mexico, a national conservation plan was created in 2005 and published in 2016. The number of jaguars in Mexico increased from about 4,000 in 2010 to about 4,800 in 2018. This growth is seen as a result of conservation efforts done with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and landowners.

Studies of JCUs from Mexico to Argentina showed that these areas overlap with high-quality habitats for about 1,500 mammal species. Because other animals also benefit from these areas, the jaguar is called an "umbrella species." In Central America, JCUs overlap with the habitats of 187 of 304 regional endemic amphibian and reptile species. Nineteen of these amphibians are found only in areas where jaguars live.

When creating protected areas, it is important to also focus on the land around the reserves. Jaguars often move outside of protected areas, especially when their numbers are growing. People living near reserves and laws that stop illegal hunting are important for conservation efforts to work.

To count jaguars and track their movements, scientists use camera traps and wildlife tracking technology. They also use detection dogs to find jaguar feces, which helps study their health and diet.

Today, conservation efforts often include teaching ranch owners about protecting jaguars and promoting ecotourism.

In Mexico and the United States, conservationists have created the Northern Jaguar Reserve, which covers 56,000 acres (23,000 hectares) in northern Mexico. Efforts to bring jaguars back to their former range in Arizona and New Mexico are supported by evidence of jaguars naturally moving into these areas, the recent loss of jaguars in these regions due to human actions, and arguments about biodiversity, ecology, and practical needs.

In culture and mythology

In the pre-Columbian Americas, the jaguar was a symbol of power and strength. In the Andes, a jaguar cult spread by the early Chavín culture became widely accepted across most of today’s Peru by 900 BC. The later Moche culture in northern Peru used the jaguar as a symbol of power on many of their ceramic artworks. In the Muisca religion of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense region, the jaguar was considered a sacred animal. People wore jaguar skins during religious rituals, and these skins were traded with groups in the nearby Orinoquía Region. The name of the Muisca ruler Nemequene came from the Chibcha words nymy and quyne, which mean "force of the jaguar."

Sculptures with "Olmec were-jaguar" designs were found on the Yucatán Peninsula in Veracruz and Tabasco. These artworks show jaguars with stylized, half-human faces. In the later Maya civilization, the jaguar was called balam or bolom in many Mayan languages. It was used to represent warriors and the elite class because of their bravery, strength, and fierceness. The jaguar was linked to the underworld, and its image appeared on tombs and vessels used in burials.

The Aztec civilization called the jaguar ocelotl and considered it the king of all animals. They believed the jaguar was fierce, courageous, wise, dignified, and careful. The military had two warrior classes: the ocelotl or jaguar warriors and the cuauhtli or eagle warriors. Each group dressed like their animal symbol. Members of the royal family also wore jaguar skins. The jaguar was the totem animal of powerful deities, including Tezcatlipoca and Tepeyollotl.

A conch shell gorget with a jaguar carving was found in a burial mound in Benton County, Missouri. The gorget has evenly engraved lines and measures 104 mm × 98 mm (4.1 in × 3.9 in). Rock drawings created by the Hopi, Anasazi, and Pueblo peoples in the desert and chaparral regions of the American Southwest show a spotted cat, likely a jaguar, drawn much larger than an ocelot.