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60-484: The reserve was established in 1986 as the first protected area for protection of the jaguar ( Panthera onca ). It is regarded as a premier site for jaguar preservation in the world. The name 'Cockscomb' derives from the appearance of the Cockscomb Mountain ridge, that resembles a rooster 's comb, which is situated at the northern fringe of the reserve and which is easily visible from the coastal plain of

120-551: A keystone species , it plays an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and in regulating prey populations. The jaguar is threatened by habitat loss , habitat fragmentation , poaching for trade with its body parts and killings in human–wildlife conflict situations, particularly with ranchers in Central and South America . It has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2002. The wild population

180-485: A considerable variation in morphometry . The Panthera lineage is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae around 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago to 11.75 to 0.97 million years ago . Some genetic analyzes place the jaguar as a sister species to the lion with which it diverged 3.46 to 1.22 million years ago , but other studies place

240-494: A low-lying north–south ridge at the east, which separates the West from East Basin. The Swasey Branch exits through the south transverse range via a deep 300 m (980 ft) gorge . The East Basin is also bounded on the north by the namesake Cockscomb ridge, to the west by the low-lying north–south ridge separating the two basins, to the east by Cabbage Haul Ridge and to the south by Stann Creek Ridge. South Stann Creek flows out of

300-515: A north–south dimension of approximately 14 km (9 mi). Elevation extremes are 50 m (160 ft) above sea level in the lower reaches of South Stann Creek to 1,160 m (3,810 ft) atop Victoria Peak . The West Basin is bounded by the ridge of the Maya Mountains on the west, Cockscomb Mountains on the north, a prominent transverse ridge of the Maya Mountains at the south (of about elevation 1,000 m (3,300 ft)) and

360-418: A product of its role as an apex predator in several different environments. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels. After killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot. It begins eating at

420-409: Is secondary due to Mayan era farming as well as modern logging, some of the steeper reaches exhibit primary forest characteristics. Dominant trees in this forest type are mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla ) and cedar ( Cedrela odorata ), which were prized and hence heavily logged from the early 1900s to late in the 20th century. Fast flowing clear mountain streams flow to the valley floors of

480-452: Is sexually dimorphic , with females typically being 10–20% smaller than males. The length from the nose to the base of the tail varies from 1.12 to 1.85 m (3 ft 8 in to 6 ft 1 in). The tail is 45 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) long and the shortest of any big cat . Its muscular legs are shorter than the legs of other Panthera species with similar body weight. Size tends to increase from north to south. Jaguars in

540-627: Is a compact and muscular animal. It is the largest cat native to the Americas and the third largest in the world, exceeded in size only by the tiger and the lion. It stands 57 to 81 cm (22.4 to 31.9 in) tall at the shoulders. Its size and weight vary considerably depending on sex and region: weights in most regions are normally in the range of 56–96 kg (123–212 lb). Exceptionally big males have been recorded to weigh as much as 158 kg (348 lb). The smallest females from Middle America weigh about 36 kg (79 lb). It

600-402: Is an apex predator , meaning it is at the top of the food chain and is not preyed upon in the wild. The jaguar has also been termed a keystone species , as it is assumed that it controls the population levels of prey such as herbivorous and seed-eating mammals and thus maintains the structural integrity of forest systems. However, field work has shown this may be natural variability, and

660-862: Is considered to be locally extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay . Jaguars have been occasionally sighted in Arizona , New Mexico and Texas , with 62 accounts reported in the 20th century. Between 2012 and 2015, a male vagrant jaguar was recorded in 23 locations in the Santa Rita Mountains . Eight jaguars were photographed in the southwestern US between 1996 and 2024. The jaguar prefers dense forest and typically inhabits dry deciduous forests , tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , rainforests and cloud forests in Central and South America; open, seasonally flooded wetlands , dry grassland and historically also oak forests in

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720-567: Is evidence of Mayan habitation since at least 10,000 BCE. The Pearce Ruin was the first Mayan site to have been catalogued in modern history archives in a report to the British Museum in 1931; however, the ruin was not re-sighted until 1995 with the Dunham surveys. At that late date two other Mayan sites were documented: Hun' Tul Mo' (one macaw ) and Xa'a Yul Ha' (many rivers ). The first modern explorations that led to recorded features of

780-522: Is native to the Americas . 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. Its distinctively marked coat features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered by spots that transition to rosettes on the sides, although a melanistic black coat appears in some individuals. The jaguar's powerful bite allows it to pierce

840-588: Is possibly derived from the Tupi-Guarani word yaguara meaning 'wild beast that overcomes its prey at a bound'. In North America, the word is pronounced disyllabic / ˈ dʒ æ ɡ w ɑːr / , while in British English, it is pronounced with three syllables / ˈ dʒ æ ɡ juː ər / . Because that word also applies to other animals, indigenous peoples in Guyana call it jaguareté , with

900-506: Is thought to have declined since the late 1990s. Priority areas for jaguar conservation comprise 51 Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs), defined as large areas inhabited by at least 50 breeding jaguars. The JCUs are located in 36 geographic regions ranging from Mexico to Argentina. The jaguar has featured prominently in the mythology of indigenous peoples of the Americas , including those of the Aztec and Maya civilizations . The word "jaguar"

960-660: The Caribbean Sea . Habitation by the ancient Mayas occurred in the Cockscomb Basin as early as 10,000 BCE . However, the first modern exploration in the recorded history of the basin did not occur until 1888. The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is actually comprised by two adjacent geographic basins . The West Basin is drained by the Swasey Branch, which is one of the main tributaries to

1020-657: The Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Pacific coast of central Mexico weighed around 50 kg (110 lb). Jaguars in Venezuela and Brazil are much larger, with average weights of about 95 kg (209 lb) in males and of about 56–78 kg (123–172 lb) in females. The jaguar's coat ranges from pale yellow to tan or reddish-yellow, with a whitish underside and covered in black spots. The spots and their shapes vary: on

1080-518: The Monkey River . The East Basin consists of the upper watershed of South Stann Creek . The West Basin, being more difficult to access given distance from trailheads and higher forest density, is as of the current time still relatively unexplored from the standpoint of species mapping, Mayan ruins and other environmental details. The reserve is generally lozenge -shaped, spanning an east–west dimension of approximately 36 km (22 mi) and

1140-565: The Pantanal are largely active by day, whereas jaguars in the Atlantic Forest are primarily active by night. The activity pattern of the jaguar coincides with the activity of its main prey species. Jaguars are good swimmers and play and hunt in the water, possibly more than tigers. They have been recorded moving between islands and the shore. Jaguars are also good at climbing trees but do so less often than cougars. The adult jaguar

1200-759: The Pantanal to 53.6 km (20.7 sq mi) in the Amazon to 233.5 km (90.2 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest . Male jaguar home ranges vary from 25 km (9.7 sq mi) in the Pantanal to 180.3 km (69.6 sq mi) in the Amazon to 591.4 km (228.3 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest and 807.4 km (311.7 sq mi) in the Cerrado . Studies employing GPS telemetry in 2003 and 2004 found densities of only six to seven jaguars per 100 km (62 mi) in

1260-553: The Southwestern United States across Mexico and much of Central America , the Amazon rainforest and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina . It inhabits a variety of forested and open terrains, but its preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest , wetlands and wooded regions. It is adept at swimming and is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush apex predator . As

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1320-459: The canine tip of 887.0 Newton and a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 118.6. A 100 kg (220 lb) jaguar can bite with a force of 4.939 kN (1,110 lbf) with the canine teeth and 6.922 kN (1,556 lbf) at the carnassial notch. Melanistic jaguars are also known as black panthers . The black morph is less common than the spotted one. Black jaguars have been documented in Central and South America. Melanism in

1380-536: 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. The modern jaguar's ancestors probably entered the Americas from Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene via the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait . Today, the jaguar's range extends from

1440-533: The gene flow between jaguar populations in Colombia was high in the past. Since 2017, the jaguar is considered to be a monotypic taxon , though the modern Panthera onca onca is still distinguished from two fossil subspecies, Panthera onca augusta and Panthera onca mesembrina . However, the 2024 study suggested that the validity of subspecific assignments on both P. o. augusta and P. o. mesembrina remains unresolved, since both fossil and living jaguars show

1500-503: The yellow-footed tortoise . It employs an unusual killing method: it bites mammalian prey directly through the skull between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain. It kills capybara by piercing its canine teeth through the temporal bones of its skull, breaking its zygomatic arch and mandible and penetrating its brain, often through the ears. It has been hypothesized to be an adaptation to cracking open turtle shells; armored reptiles may have formed an abundant prey base for

1560-532: The 19th and 20th centuries, several jaguar type specimens formed the basis for descriptions of subspecies . In 1939, Reginald Innes Pocock recognized eight subspecies based on the geographic origins and skull morphology of these specimens. Pocock did not have access to sufficient zoological specimens to critically evaluate their subspecific status but expressed doubt about the status of several. Later consideration of his work suggested only three subspecies should be recognized. The description of P. o. palustris

1620-488: The Brazilian Pantanal is recorded to primarily feed on aquatic reptiles and fish. The jaguar also preys on livestock in cattle ranching areas where wild prey is scarce. The daily food requirement of a captive jaguar weighing 34 kg (75 lb) was estimated at 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) of meat. The jaguar's bite force allows it to pierce the carapaces of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle and

1680-733: The Cockscomb Basin were conducted by the British in expeditions of 1888 and 1889. These adventures began with river excursions up the South Stann Creek and resulted in attainment of what these explorers thought to be Victoria Peak , the highest point in Belize; in fact, later reconstructions showed that the mounting of a nearby peak to Victoria had been scaled. Further exploration of the Cockscomb Basin did not transpire until 1927, when further British expeditions were launched to assess timber reserves; subsequently, logging began to occur until

1740-534: The East Basin on the south in a meandering gentle gradient that was easily navigated by the British explorers in the 1880s. The site consists of two distinct adjacent watersheds and is accessible via a low-intensity trail system to accommodate visitors and research environmental scientists . The Maya Mountains and foothills are among the oldest surface rock formations of Central America ; these Paleozoic sediments were uplifted about 200 million years ago in

1800-625: The Pantanal region, compared with 10 to 11 using traditional methods; this suggests the widely used sampling methods may inflate the actual numbers of individuals in a sampling area. Fights between males occur but are rare, and avoidance behavior has been observed in the wild. In one wetland population with degraded territorial boundaries and more social proximity, adults of the same sex are more tolerant of each other and engage in more friendly and co-operative interactions. The jaguar roars /grunts for long-distance communication; intensive bouts of counter-calling between individuals have been observed in

1860-787: The United States was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California prior to 1860. The jaguar persisted in California until about 1860. The last confirmed jaguar in Texas was shot in 1948, 4.8 km (3 miles) southeast of Kingsville, Texas . In Arizona, a female was shot in the White Mountains in 1963. By the late 1960s, the jaguar was thought to have been extirpated in the United States. Arizona outlawed jaguar hunting in 1969, but by then no females remained, and over

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1920-514: The United States. It has been recorded at elevations up to 3,800 m (12,500 ft) but avoids montane forests . It favors riverine habitat and swamps with dense vegetation cover. In the Mayan forests of Mexico and Guatemala, 11 GPS-collared jaguars preferred undisturbed dense habitat away from roads; females avoided even areas with low levels of human activity, whereas males appeared less disturbed by human population density. A young male jaguar

1980-491: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 538887088 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:32:13 GMT Jaguar   Former range The jaguar ( Panthera onca ) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera that

2040-482: The added sufix eté , meaning "true beast". "Onca" is derived from the Portuguese name onça for a spotted cat that is larger than a lynx ; cf. ounce . The word "panther" is derived from classical Latin panthēra , itself from the ancient Greek πάνθηρ ( pánthēr ). In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the jaguar in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis onca . In

2100-429: The age of about 2.5 years. Estrus lasts 7–15 days with an estrus cycle of 41.8 to 52.6 days. During estrus, she exhibits increased restlessness with rolling and prolonged vocalizations. She is an induced ovulator but can also ovulate spontaneously. Gestation lasts 91 to 111 days. The male is sexually mature at the age of three to four years. His mean ejaculate volume is 8.6±1.3 ml. Generation length of

2160-523: The close relationship between P. gombaszoegensis (which is primarily known from Europe) and the modern jaguar. The oldest fossils of modern jaguars ( P. onca ) have been found in North America dating between 850,000-820,000 years ago. Results of mitochondrial DNA analysis of 37 jaguars indicate that current populations evolved between 510,000 and 280,000 years ago in northern South America and subsequently recolonized North and Central America after

2220-805: The extinction of jaguars there during the Late Pleistocene . Two extinct subspecies of jaguar are recognized in the fossil record: the North American P. o. augusta and South American P. o. mesembrina . Felinae [REDACTED] Lion ( P. leo ) [REDACTED] Jaguar [REDACTED] Leopard ( P. pardus ) [REDACTED] Tiger ( P. tigris ) [REDACTED] Snow leopard ( P. uncia ) [REDACTED] Neofelis [REDACTED] Felinae [REDACTED] Lion [REDACTED] Leopard [REDACTED] Snow leopard [REDACTED] Jaguar [REDACTED] Tiger [REDACTED] Neofelis [REDACTED] The jaguar

2280-849: The holding to the Bladen Branch Nature Reserve . In 1988, the IUCN declared the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary "The major achievement in cat conservation for the triennium". In that year, Prince Philip as president of World Wide Fund for Nature—WWF , honoured Ignacio Pop for his work in encouraging creation of the reserve. In 1998, the Victoria Peak National Monument area was established embracing 19.59 km of protected land. List of protected areas of Belize Too Many Requests If you report this error to

2340-467: The jaguar following the late Pleistocene extinctions . However, this is disputed, as even in areas where jaguars prey on reptiles, they are still taken relatively infrequently compared to mammals in spite of their greater abundance. Between October 2001 and April 2004, 10 jaguars were monitored in the southern Pantanal. In the dry season from April to September, they killed prey at intervals ranging from one to seven days; and ranging from one to 16 days in

2400-723: The jaguar in human-altered landscapes. The jaguar is an obligate carnivore and depends solely on flesh for its nutrient requirements. An analysis of 53 studies documenting the diet of the jaguar revealed that its prey ranges in weight from 1 to 130 kg (2.2 to 286.6 lb); it prefers prey weighing 45–85 kg (99–187 lb), with the capybara and the giant anteater being the most selected. When available, it also preys on marsh deer , southern tamandua , collared peccary and black agouti . In floodplains, jaguars opportunistically take reptiles such as turtles and caimans . Consumption of reptiles appears to be more frequent in jaguars than in other big cats. One remote population in

2460-746: The jaguar is caused by deletions in the melanocortin 1 receptor gene and inherited through a dominant allele . Black jaguars occur at higher densities in tropical rainforest and are more active during the daytime. This suggests that melanism provides camouflage in dense vegetation with high illumination. In 2004, a camera trap in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains photographed the first documented black jaguar in Northern Mexico. Black jaguars were also photographed in Costa Rica's Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve , in

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2520-438: The languid meandering valley drainages. There are particularly interesting assemblages of vegetation along the rocky bedded mountain streams which have frequent rapids , waterfalls and deep pools. Due to the density of vegetation and frequent precipitation events, the forest floor often appears fresh and verdant even after several rainless days. Throughout much of the foothills of the eastern slopes in southern Belize, there

2580-718: The later part ( Pennsylvanian ) of the Carboniferous period and the Early Permian period. The principal uplifted rock formations in the Sanctuary are quartzite and sandstone . Principal plant communities and habitats are Belizean pine forests, elfin scrub , Petén–Veracruz moist forests , sheltered valley forests, and floodplain thickets . The principal forest type is tropical moist broadleaf forest , which covers moderate to steep slopes, and in some cases sheltered mountain valleys . While much of this forest

2640-581: The lion closer to the leopard. The lineage of the jaguar appears to have originated in Africa and spread to Eurasia 1.95–1.77 mya. The living jaguar species is often suggested to have descended from the Eurasian Panthera gombaszoegensis . The ancestor of the jaguar entered the American continent via Beringia , the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait , Some authors have disputed

2700-616: The mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca , in Barbilla National Park and in eastern Panama . In 1999, the jaguar's historic range at the turn of the 20th century was estimated at 19,000,000 km (7,300,000 sq mi), stretching from the southern United States through Central America to southern Argentina. By the turn of the 21st century, its global range had decreased to about 8,750,000 km (3,380,000 sq mi), with most declines occurring in

2760-492: The neck and chest. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders. The jaguar is generally solitary except for females with cubs. In 1977, groups consisting of a male, female and cubs, and two females with two males were sighted several times in a study area in the Paraguay River valley. In some areas, males may form paired coalitions which together mark, defend and invade territories, find and mate with

2820-562: The next 25 years only two males were sighted and killed in the state. In 1996, a rancher and hunting guide from Douglas, Arizona came across a jaguar in the Peloncillo Mountains and became a researcher on jaguars, placing trail cameras, which recorded four more jaguars. The jaguar is mostly active at night and during twilight . However, jaguars living in densely forested regions of the Amazon Rainforest and

2880-506: The population increases may not be sustained. Thus, the keystone predator hypothesis is not accepted by all scientists. The jaguar is sympatric with the cougar . In central Mexico, both prey on white-tailed deer , which makes up 54% and 66% of jaguar and cougar's prey, respectively. In northern Mexico, the jaguar and the cougar share the same habitat, and their diet overlaps dependent on prey availability. Jaguars seemed to prefer deer and calves. In Mexico and Central America, neither of

2940-511: The same females and search for and share prey. A radio-collared female moved in a home range of 25–38 km (9.7–14.7 sq mi), which partly overlapped with another female. The home range of the male in this study area overlapped with several females. The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and feces to mark its territory . The size of home ranges depends on the level of deforestation and human population density. The home ranges of females vary from 15.3 km (5.9 sq mi) in

3000-544: The sides, they become rosettes which may include one or several dots. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail where they may merge to form bands near the end and create a black tip. They are elongated on the middle of the back, often connecting to create a median stripe, and blotchy on the belly. These patterns serve as camouflage in areas with dense vegetation and patchy shadows. Jaguars living in forests are often darker and considerably smaller than those living in open areas, possibly due to

3060-440: The smaller numbers of large, herbivorous prey in forest areas. The jaguar closely resembles the leopard but is generally more robust, with stockier limbs and a more square head. The rosettes on a jaguar's coat are larger, darker, fewer in number and have thicker lines, with a small spot in the middle. It has powerful jaws with the third-highest bite force of all felids, after the tiger and the lion. It has an average bite force at

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3120-480: The southern United States, northern Mexico, northern Brazil, and southern Argentina. Its present range extends from Mexico through Central America to South America comprising Belize , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , particularly on the Osa Peninsula , Panama , Colombia , Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana , Ecuador , Peru , Bolivia , Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina . It

3180-420: The two basins to yield a more turbid water quality , especially during periods of peak rain. This site is known worldwide as the premier habitat for the jaguar ( Panthera onca ), which is most often found in the vast almost unexplored West Basin wilderness . The riparian zone forest areas generally feature lush broadleaf rainforest intruding into the verges of fast flowing steep mountain streams as well as

3240-464: The two cats are considered to be the dominant predator. In South America, the jaguar is larger than the cougar and tends to take larger prey, usually over 22 kg (49 lb). The cougar's prey usually weighs between 2 and 22 kg (4 and 49 lb), which is thought to be the reason for its smaller size. This situation may be advantageous to the cougar. Its broader prey niche, including its ability to take smaller prey, may give it an advantage over

3300-469: The wet season from October to March. The jaguar uses a stalk-and-ambush strategy when hunting rather than chasing prey. The cat will slowly walk down forest paths, listening for and stalking prey before rushing or ambushing. The jaguar attacks from cover and usually from a target's blind spot with a quick pounce; the species' ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers and are probably

3360-435: The wild. This vocalization is described as "hoarse" with five or six guttural notes. Chuffing is produced by individuals when greeting, during courting , or by a mother comforting her cubs. This sound is described as low intensity snorts, possibly intended to signal tranquility and passivity. Cubs have been recorded bleating, gurgling and mewing. In captivity, the female jaguar is recorded to reach sexual maturity at

3420-512: The year 1984, primarily with extraction of cedar ( Cedrela odorata ) and mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla ). At about the same time as exploitation of these resources was virtually complete, a nationwide study of the jaguar was initiated. This scientific investigation led by Alan Rabinowitz , a recent recipient of the PhD degree from the University of Tennessee , found that the Cockscomb Basin

3480-432: Was a particularly important habitat for the jaguar, not only in Belize, but from a Central America perspective. In 1986, Rabinowitz and Archie Carr III convinced the government of Belize to establish a no hunting zone with respect to jaguars in a portion of the Cockscomb Basin. By 1990, after further convincing, the Belize government expanded the Sanctuary substantially, and in 1995 another 160 km were added to connect

3540-603: Was also recorded in the semi-arid Sierra de San Carlos at a waterhole. In the 19th century, the jaguar was still sighted at the North Platte River 48–80 km (30–50 miles) north of Longs Peak in Colorado , in coastal Louisiana , northern Arizona and New Mexico. Multiple verified zoological reports of the jaguar are known in California, two as far north as Monterey in 1814 and 1826. The only record of an active jaguar den with breeding adults and kittens in

3600-565: Was based on a fossil skull. By 2005, nine subspecies were considered to be valid taxa: Reginald Innes Pocock placed the jaguar in the genus Panthera and observed that it shares several morphological features with the leopard ( P. pardus ). He, therefore, concluded that they are most closely related to each other. Results of morphological and genetic research indicate a clinal north–south variation between populations, but no evidence for subspecific differentiation. DNA analysis of 84 jaguar samples from South America revealed that

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