Jaguars are amazing animals. These predators are able to cope with almost any prey, while they are extremely secretive and resourceful. See the jaguar if he doesn’t want to, practically impossible – any wildlife researcher can attest to that. Fortunately, for the most part, jaguars rarely attack people, preferring more familiar prey to them.
Interesting facts about jaguars.
Jaguars are the third largest of all big cats (see big cat facts ).
The largest jaguar ever found by researchers weighed 158 kilograms. However, usually jaguars weigh less – in the range of 100-120 kilograms.
The jaguar lives only in the countries of the New World – in South and Central America.
The name “jaguar” quite possibly comes from a similar-sounding word from the Guarani language, which is spoken by the Indians in what is now Paraguay. This word is translated as “a beast that kills with one blow” (see facts about languages ).
At one time, many Indian tribes worshiped jaguars, revering them as sacred animals.
Jaguars climb trees no worse than leopards.
Jaguars, contrary to popular belief, cannot growl at all. An angry jaguar hisses and snorts rather than growls before attacking.
Jaguars can interbreed with lions. True, the offspring obtained in this way is born sterile, without the ability to further reproduce.
The color of the jaguar is very similar to the color of other members of the cat family – ocelots, cheetahs and leopards (see facts about leopards ).
The hunting grounds of one jaguar can reach fifty square kilometers, or even more.
Jaguars are excellent swimmers. There is evidence that they swam huge distances – tens of kilometers.
The pattern of spots on the skin of the jaguar is unique – two identical jaguars do not exist in nature.
Jaguars sometimes even attack crocodiles, though mostly young ones – an adult crocodile is too dangerous for this proud feline (see facts about crocodiles ).
To overcome water obstacles, jaguars often use logs in the same way as a person would use them – they cling to them and row.
The jaws of the jaguar are larger and more massive than those of any other member of the cat family.
Jaguars are able to imitate the voices of monkeys in order to lure the relatives of the latter. In particular, researchers have observed how a jaguar imitated the cries of a baby monkey. Adult monkeys rushed to the rescue, but, fortunately, they noticed the predator in time and disappeared (see facts about monkeys ).
Jaguars are exclusively nocturnal, preferring to sleep somewhere in a shelter during the day.
The jaguar hunts for any prey – from small rodents to large mammals like deer or capybara.
The oldest jaguar fossil ever found has been buried in the ground for about two million years.
There have been cases of jaguars attacking even large anacondas, which are the largest snakes on the planet (see snake facts ).
Unlike the cheetah, which prefers to attack the victim with a swift jerk, jaguars attack from an ambush.
Jaguars attack people extremely rarely, mostly only in case of self-defense.
Jaguars spend their entire lives alone, meeting each other only during the breeding season.
The best warriors of the Mayan Indians in ancient times called themselves jaguars. Only they were allowed to wear the robe of the skin of this beast.
Only half of jaguar cubs survive to the age of two.