The biggest cat in the Americas and the only one of the roaring big cats native there. A stocky, heavily spotted hunter that sticks close to rivers and swamps.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?Yes
Attacks on people are rare, and most happened when a jaguar was cornered or wounded.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Varies by region: largely active by day in parts of the Amazon and the Pantanal, and mainly by night in the Atlantic Forest.
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inSouth America, Central America
HabitatRainforest, Wetland, Forest, Grassland
ColoursGold, Black
SizeLarge
LengthUp to 1.85 m plus tail
Height57–81 cm at the shoulder
Weight56–96 kg in most regions
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for12–15 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- From Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina, with strongholds in the Amazon basin and the Pantanal wetlands.
- What it eats
- Broad: capybara, peccaries and deer, but also caimans, turtles and fish, especially in the Pantanal.
- Conservation
- Near Threatened (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Bites straight through the skull rather than the throat.
Often confused with
- Leopard
Leopards are slimmer, with smaller, empty rosettes, and live in Africa and Asia. In the Americas, a big spotted cat is a jaguar.
Compare side by side - Cougar
An adult cougar has a plain tawny coat with no spots at all.
Compare side by side - Black panther
A black panther in the Americas is a jaguar with black fur.
Compare side by side
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