Jaguar, King of the South American Jungle

Probably the most famous of animals in South America is the rare and elusive Jaguar. Native only to the Americas, it is a member of the Genus Panthera, along with lions, tigers and leopards. There are eight subspecies of Jaguar and all are endangered.

Iwokrama Forest "may be the very best place in the world to see a wild jaguar", according to Audubon Magazine (March 2003, "The Treasure of Iwokrama").

Jaguar

Panthera onca

(Photo © A. Holland / G. Duncan)

Physical Description

The largest cat and top terrestrial predator in South America, Jaguars weigh anywhere from 45-90 kilos (100-200 lbs.) by adulthood. Farther south in the savannahs, male jaguars have been recorded at weights of over 136 kilos (300 lbs.) and lengths of 2.5 metres (8 ft.) from nose to tail tip.

Jaguars are usually tawny brown with black rings and dots. They may also be completely black, although upon close inspection a pattern similar to that of the "spotted" jaguar may be seen. Males have visible testicles and also will also have finer spots on their shoulders. Females are smaller and have white underparts. The male looks different enough to perhaps have been given a separate name in the Makushi (Amerindian) language.

Leopards and Jaguars look very similar and both may have black coats.  However, Jaguars have larger heads and generally stockier bodies than their Eurasian-African cousins.

Habitat and Lifestyle

Residents of both forests and savannas, Jaguars are excellent swimmers and fishermen. They are one of the few cats that regularly go into the water and can easily swim the mighty Essequibo River.  They are found throughout the Iwokrama Forest region.

Jaguars are most likely to be seen in the early morning, late afternoon, and at night near fruiting trees where they wait for prey. Compared to other cats, they are not great tree climbers, and seem to prefer to live in caves.

A young Jaguar shows off its swimming skills.

Jaguars travel long distances, some times along the road, alone and generally at night and leave noticeable prints, scats, and scratch marks on trees. They occasionally "roar" during the night with a series of single deep hoarse grunts that can be heard for several hundred metres.

Diet

Unlike most cats, which kill by grabbing the prey's throat and suffocating it, Jaguars usually kill their prey by pouncing on it and piercing its skull or neck with one swift bite. Females do most of the hunting.

These cats have a preference for turtles and fish, but also eat armadillos, Capybara, monkeys, peccaries and deer (see armadillos, large rodents, primates and hoofed mammals in the online mammal guide), and domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, and dogs. When they catch prey, they carry it into dense foliage to eat. They sometimes also bury prey to eat at a later date. Vultures will often accumulate above kills.

They do not seem to have many predators except for humans. However, Giant Anteaters are known to have killed Jaguars.

Jaguars, possibly a mating pair, lounge on a fallen tree.

(Photo © A. Holland / G. Duncan)

Family Life

The Jaguar usually give birth to two or three young. These cats may mate all year round, though some feel that they may mate from August to December or during the rainy season (May to August). They are solitary except when mating or the mother is rearing a cub, which usually lasts for one to two years. Jaguar cubs are thought to have high mortality because of infection with maggots from the food that are brought to them by the parents.

Jaguars have often been spotted

along the Iwokrama Road Corridor.

Interaction with Local People

Jaguars are not hunted locally for fur, meat or sport, and killing them is expensive for local residents because each shot costs about GD$400 (US$2). However, they may be killed because they eat dogs and other domestic animals. In 1987 and 1988 Jaguars killed 45 cattle and 11 horses in the indigenous community of Surama. As a result, five Jaguars were shot in a period of three months. Then in 1998, a Jaguar killed seven dogs and also appeared to be threatening children.  After a public meeting to discuss the problem, the marauding animal was shot.

Jaguar skin and teeth were historically used as ornaments. Teeth amulets are believed to protect the wearer against snakebites.

Species in the Wild

As of 11th November 2004:

• Listed as Appendix I by the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) - threatened with extinction.
• Listed as Lower Risk - near threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List - does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable now, but has a relatively lower risk of qualifying for a threatened category in the near future.