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Meet the Jaguar
Characteristics of the Jaguar:
- The jaguar is the largest cat and top terrestrial predator in the Western
Hemisphere.
- Generally smaller than the lion and the tiger, jaguars are similar in
appearance to the African and Asian leopard but have shorter tails, a more
powerful and compact body, and a more robust head.
- The jaguar's short muscular limbs make it perfectly adapted to climbing,
swimming, crawling - and capturing prey like peccaries, caimans, and deer.
- More than 85 species have been recorded in the jaguar's diet.
- Jaguars are the only big cats that regularly kill prey (especially
capybaras) by piercing the skull with their canines.
- Jaguars, like leopards, are known for their elegant, spotted
coat. Normally yellow and tan, the coat can also vary from a reddish brown
color to black. Spotting is highly variable and the black rosettes can
sometimes include one or several dots.
Distribution:
- Jaguars are only found in the Americas.
- Jaguars were historically found from the southwestern United States to
southern Argentina. Its range is now reduced; Jaguars have lost over 50%
of their range since 1900.
- Most of the loss has occurred in Mexico and the United States in the
north, and in Brazil and Argentina in the south. The largest contiguous
area of jaguar range is centered in the Amazon Basin and includes adjoining
areas in the Cerrado, Pantanal, and Chaco to the south and extending to the
Caribbean coast in Venezuela and the Guianas.
Threats:
- During the peak of its decline in the sixties and seventies, around
18,000 jaguars were killed every year for their much-sought-after coat.
- 27 percent of the jaguar's current range is threatened by the lack of adequate
prey because of hunting pressure by humans.
- 21 percent of the current range of jaguars is threatened by habitat
conversion such as agriculture, cattle ranching, and human settlement.
- In those areas most important for jaguar conservation, only 4 percent of
the total area is effectively protected.
Protection Efforts:
- Last year, Wildlife Conservation Society kicked off a major Jaguar protection campaign. Noted big cat expert, WCS researcher Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, oversees these efforts, along with other authorities that form the Jaguar Advisory Group. Dr. Rabinowitz' experience with Jaguars is unique, helping form the world's first Jaguar reserve in Belize's Cockscomb Basin in 1986.
- In 1973 Jaguars were listed on Appendix I of CITES (Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), making
it illegal to trade their skins or parts for commercial gain. CITES
listing, in combination with anti-fur campaigns and the development and
enforcement of national legislation, effectively helped reduce the trade in
jaguar skins and reduced the pressure on jaguar populations in the wild.
- An important aspect of this Jaguar Conservation Program focuses on
working with ranchers to reduce the amount of conflict between cattle and
jaguars.
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