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Jaguar map Panthera onca Near threatened

Where the jaguar lives: an interactive map of its subspecies and recorded sightings worldwide.

Approximate range, based on recorded sightings. Shapes are drawn by World Animal Map from 4,510 wild occurrence records on GBIF (CC0/CC BY 4.0; captive and fossil records excluded, isolated outliers removed), grouped into 1° grid cells and clipped to land. They show where the animal has been recorded, not an official range; gaps can simply mean no open data. Method · Records on GBIF

Standing jaguar
Photo: USFWS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Scientific namePanthera onca
StatusNear threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Mapped range layers5
Records used4,510 wild occurrence records (GBIF, CC0/CC BY)
GroupBig cats

Interesting facts

  • Jaguars are good swimmers and play and hunt in the water, possibly more than tigers. [source]
  • The jaguar's bite force allows it to pierce the carapaces of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle and the yellow-footed tortoise. [source]
  • The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; it is strong enough to haul carcasses as large as a heifer up a tree to avoid flood levels. [source]

About the jaguar

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 features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered with spots that transition to rosettes on the sides; some individuals have a melanistic spotted coat. With a body length of up to 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) and a weight of up to 158 kg (348 lb), it is the biggest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. The jaguar's powerful bite allows it to pierce the carapaces of turtles and tortoises, and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of mammalian prey between the ears to deliver a fatal blow to the brain.

Subspecies (10)

Subspecies listed in Wikidata as children of Panthera onca (fossil-only taxa excluded). Classification is debated for many animals and lists differ between authorities.

Photos

Text in “About”, “Interesting facts” and “Population” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Jaguar (revision 1377484790), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: sentences excerpted verbatim, citations and formatting removed. No text added. Taxa and status: Wikidata Q35694 (CC0).

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