jaguar#Etymology

The word "jaguar" is possibly derived from the Tupi-Guarani word {{lang|und|yaguara}} meaning 'wild beast that overcomes its prey at a bound'.{{Cite book |last=Guggisberg |first=C. A. W. |title=Wild Cats of the World |year=1975 |publisher=Taplinger Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8008-8324-9 |chapter=Jaguar Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) |pages=247–265}} In North America, the word is pronounced disyllabic {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|æ|g|w|ɑːr}}, while in British English, it is pronounced with three syllables {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|æ|g|juː|ər}}.{{cite book |author=Qualls, E. J. |year=2012 |title=The Qualls Concise English Grammar |publisher=Danaan Press |isbn=9781890000097 |chapter=The dialects of English |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tjrd5UnFT2gC&pg=PT29}}{{cite web |title=Jaguar |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/jaguar |website=Cambridge Dictionary |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012608/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/jaguar |url-status=live}} Because that word also applies to other animals, indigenous peoples in Guyana call it {{lang|gyn|jaguareté}}, with the added sufix eté, meaning "true beast".{{cite book |author=Labat, J.B. |author-link=Jean-Baptiste Labat |year=1731 |chapter=Once, espèce de Tigre |title=Voyage du chevalier Des Marchais en Guinée, isles voisines, et à Cayenne, fait en 1725, 1726 & 1727 |location=Amsterdam |publisher=La Compagnie |volume=III |page=285 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dfdWAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA6-PA5 |access-date=13 August 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021340/https://books.google.com/books?id=dfdWAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA6-PA5 |url-status=live}}

"Onca" is derived from the Portuguese name {{lang|pt|onça}} for a spotted cat that is larger than a lynx; cf. ounce.{{cite book |author=Ray, J. |author-link=John Ray |year=1693 |chapter=Pardus an Lynx brasiliensis, Jaguara |title=Synopsis Methodica Animalium Quadrupedum et Serpentini Generis. Vulgarium Notas Characteristicas, Rariorum Descriptiones integras exhibens |publisher=S. Smith & B. Walford |location=London |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/synopsismethodic00rayj/page/168/mode/1up |page=168}} The word "panther" is derived from classical Latin {{lang|la|panthēra}}, itself from the ancient Greek {{lang|grc|πάνθηρ}} ({{transliteration|grc|pánthēr}}).{{cite book |author1=Liddell, H. G. |author2=Scott, R. |year=1940 |name-list-style=amp |script-chapter=el:πάνθηρ |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |edition=Revised and augmented |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2377441 |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411203109/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2377441 |url-status=live}}

In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the jaguar in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis onca.{{cite book |author=Linnaeus, C. |year=1758 |chapter=Felis onca |title=Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |edition=Decima, reformata |language=la |location=Holmiae |publisher=Laurentius Salvius |volume=I |page=42 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753000798865#page/41/mode/2up}}

In 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.{{cite journal |last=Pocock |first=R. I. |year=1939 |title=The races of jaguar (Panthera onca) |journal=Novitates Zoologicae |volume=41 |pages=406–422 |url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_123320_theracesofjaguarpantheraonca9999}}

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 was based on a fossil skull.{{cite journal |last=Seymour |first=K. L. |year=1989 |title=Panthera onca |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=340 |pages=1–9 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-340-01-0001.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620231016/http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-340-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=20 June 2010 |doi=10.2307/3504096 |jstor=3504096|s2cid=253932256 }}

By 2005, nine subspecies were considered to be valid taxa:

• P. o. onca {{small|(Linnaeus, 1758)}} was a jaguar from Brazil.
• P. o. peruviana {{small|(De Blainville, 1843)}} was a jaguar skull from Peru.{{cite book |author=Blainville, H. M. D. de |year=1843 |chapter=F. leo nubicus |title=Ostéographie ou description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossils pour servir de base à la zoologie et la géologie |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=J. B. Baillière et Fils |volume=II |page=Plate VIII |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6538959f/f171.item |access-date=13 August 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021313/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6538959f/f171.item |url-status=live }}
• P. o. hernandesii {{small|(Gray, 1857)}} was a jaguar from Mazatlán in Mexico.{{cite journal |author=Gray, J. E. |year=1857 |title=Notice of a new species of jaguar from Mazatlan, living in the gardens of the Zoological Society |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=25 |page=278 |url=https://archive.org/details/lietuvostsrmoksl56liet/page/278/mode/2up}}
• P. o. palustris {{small|(Ameghino, 1888)}} was a fossil jaguar mandible excavated in the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdova District, Argentina.{{cite book |author=Ameghino, F. |year=1888 |chapter=Formación Pampeana |title=Los Mamíferos fósiles de la República Argentina |language=es |location=Buenos Aires |publisher=Pablo E. Coni é hijos |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mamferosfsil00ameg/page/476/mode/1up |pages=473–493}}
• P. o. centralis {{small|(Mearns, 1901)}} was a skull of a male jaguar from Talamanca, Costa Rica.{{cite journal |author=Mearns, E. A. |year=1901 |title=The American Jaguars |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=14 |pages=137–143 |url=https://archive.org/details/3908800952802714biolrich/page/138/mode/2up}}
• P. o. goldmani {{small|(Mearns, 1901)}} was a jaguar skin from Yohatlan in Campeche, Mexico.
• P. o. paraguensis {{small|(Hollister, 1914)}} was a skull of a male jaguar from Paraguay.{{cite journal |author=Hollister, N. |year=1915 |title=Two new South American jaguars |journal=Proceedings of the United States National Museum |volume=48 |issue=2069 |pages=169–170 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofuni481915unit/page/168/mode/2up |doi=10.5479/si.00963801.48-2069.169}}
• P. o. arizonensis {{small|(Goldman, 1932)}} was a skin and skull of a male jaguar from the vicinity of Cibecue, Arizona.{{cite journal |author=Goldman, E. A. |year=1932 |title=The jaguars of North America |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=45 |pages=143–146 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofbi451932biol/page/142/mode/2up}}
• P. o. veraecrucis {{small|(Nelson and Goldman, 1933)}} was a skull of a male jaguar from San Andrés Tuxtla in Mexico.{{cite journal |author1=Nelson, E. W. |author2=Goldman, E. A. |year=1933 |name-list-style=amp |title=Revision of the jaguars |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=221–240 |doi=10.2307/1373821 |jstor=1373821}}

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.{{cite journal |last=Larson |first=S. E. |year=1997 |title=Taxonomic re-evaluation of the jaguar |journal=Zoo Biology |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=107–120 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1997)16:2<107::AID-ZOO2>3.0.CO;2-E}} DNA analysis of 84 jaguar samples from South America revealed that the gene flow between jaguar populations in Colombia was high in the past.{{cite journal |author1=Ruiz-Garcia, M. |author2=Payan, E. |author3=Murillo, A. |author4=Alvarez, D. |year=2006 |name-list-style=amp |title=DNA microsatellite characterization of the jaguar (Panthera onca) in Colombia |journal=Genes & Genetic Systems |volume=81 |issue=2 |pages=115–127 |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ggs/81/2/81_2_115/_pdf |doi=10.1266/ggs.81.115 |doi-access=free |pmid=16755135 |access-date=13 December 2014 |archive-date=16 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216093206/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ggs/81/2/81_2_115/_pdf |url-status=live }} Since 2017, the jaguar is considered to be a monotypic taxon,{{cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O'Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |year=2017 |name-list-style=amp |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |volume=Special Issue 11 |pages=70–71 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=70 |access-date=13 May 2018 |archive-date=30 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730142355/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=70 |url-status=live }} 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 a considerable variation in morphometry.{{cite journal|author1=Srigyan, M.|author2=Schubert, B.W.|author3=Bushell, M.|author4=Santos, S.H.D.|author5=Figueiró, H.V.|author6=Sacco, S.|author7=Eizirik, E.|author8=Shapiro, B.|year=2024|title=Mitogenomic analysis of a late Pleistocene jaguar from North America|journal=Journal of Heredity|volume=115|issue=4|pages=424–431|doi=10.1093/jhered/esad082|pmid=38150503 |pmc=11235123}}

File:Panthera onca augusta.JPG

The Panthera lineage is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae around {{Ma|9.32|4.47|million years ago}} to {{Ma|11.75|0.97|million years ago}}.{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=W. E. |last2=Eizirik |first2=E. |last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy |first4=W. J. |last5=Antunes |first5=A. |last6=Teeling |first6=E. |last7=O'Brien |first7=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=The late miocene radiation of modern Felidae: A genetic assessment |journal=Science |volume=311 |issue=5757 |pages=73–77 |date=2006 |pmid=16400146 |doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-date=4 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004075725/https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Werdelin |first1=L. |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=O'Brien |first4=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |date=2010 |pages=59–82 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925141956/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=G. |last2=Davis |first2=B. W. |last3=Eizirik |first3=E. |last4=Murphy |first4=W. J. |name-list-style=amp |date=2016 |title=Phylogenomic evidence for ancient hybridization in the genomes of living cats (Felidae) |journal=Genome Research |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1101/gr.186668.114 |pmid=26518481 |pmc=4691742}} Some genetic analyzes place the jaguar as a sister species to the lion with which it diverged {{Ma|3.46|1.22|million years ago}}, but other studies place the lion closer to the leopard.{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=B. W. |last2=Li |first2=G. |last3=Murphy |first3=W. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Supermatrix and species tree methods resolve phylogenetic relationships within the big cats, Panthera (Carnivora: Felidae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |year=2010 |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=64–76 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.036 |pmid=20138224 |bibcode=2010MolPE..56...64D |url=https://www.academia.edu/12157986 |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-date=21 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121100453/https://www.academia.edu/12157986 |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Mazák|first1=J. H. |last2=Christiansen |first2=P. |last3=Kitchener |first3=A. C. |last4=Goswami |first4=A. |name-list-style=amp |title=Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger |journal=PLOS ONE |year=2011 |volume=6 |issue=10 |pages=e25483 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0025483 |pmid=22016768 |pmc=3189913 |bibcode=2011PLoSO...625483M|doi-access=free}}

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,{{cite journal |first1=A. |last1=Argant |first2=J. |last2=Argant |name-list-style=amp |title=The Panthera gombaszogensis story: the contribution of the Château Breccia (Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France) |journal=Quaternaire |issue=Hors-serie 4 |year=2011 |pages=247–269 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286036249 |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021307/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286036249_The_Panthera_Gombaszogensis_story_The_contribution_of_the_chateau_breccia_Saone-Et-Loire_Burgundy_France |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Jiangzuo|first1=Q. |last2=Liu |first2=J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020|title=First record of the Eurasian jaguar in southern Asia and a review of dental differences between pantherine cats|journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |volume=35|issue=6|pages=817–830 |doi=10.1002/jqs.3222|bibcode=2020JQS....35..817J |s2cid=219914902}} Some authors have disputed the close relationship between P. gombaszoegensis (which is primarily known from Europe) and the modern jaguar.{{Cite journal |last1=Chatar |first1=Narimane |last2=Michaud |first2=Margot |last3=Fischer |first3=Valentin |date=September 2022 |editor-last=Silcox |editor-first=Mary |title=Not a jaguar after all? Phylogenetic affinities and morphology of the Pleistocene felid Panthera gombaszoegensis |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1464 |journal=Papers in Palaeontology |language=en |volume=8 |issue=5 |doi=10.1002/spp2.1464 |bibcode=2022PPal....8E1464C |hdl=2268/294237 |issn=2056-2799 |s2cid=252489047 |hdl-access=free |access-date=13 March 2024 |archive-date=27 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927093151/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1464 |url-status=live }} 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 the extinction of jaguars there during the Late Pleistocene.{{cite journal |author1=Eizirik, E. |author2=Kim, J. H. |author3=Menotti-Raymond, M. |author4=Crawshaw P. G. Jr. |author5=O'Brien, S. J. |author6=Johnson, W. E. |year=2001 |name-list-style=amp |title=Phylogeography, population history and conservation genetics of jaguars (Panthera onca, Mammalia, Felidae) |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=65–79 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-294X.2001.01144.x |pmid=11251788 |bibcode=2001MolEc..10...65E |s2cid=3916428 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1236534 }}

Two extinct subspecies of jaguar are recognized in the fossil record: the North American P. o. augusta and South American P. o. mesembrina.{{cite journal|last1=Chahud|first1=A. |last2=Okumura|first2=M. |year=2020|title=The presence of Panthera onca Linnaeus 1758 (Felidae) in the Pleistocene of the region of Lagoa Santa, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil |journal=Historical Biology |volume=33|issue=10|pages=2496–2503 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2020.1808975 |s2cid=225408043}}

{{clade gallery |align=left |width=520px; |main-caption=Phylogenetic relationships of the jaguar as derived through analysis of

|header1=nuclear DNA:

|cladogram1={{clade |label1=Felidae

|1={{clade |label2=Pantherinae

|1=Felinae 70 px

|2={{clade |label1=Panthera

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Lion (P. leo) 70 px

|2=Jaguar 70 px}}

|2=Leopard (P. pardus) 70 px}}

|2={{clade

|1=Tiger (P. tigris) 70 px

|2=Snow leopard (P. uncia) 70 px}} }}

|2=Neofelis 70 px}} }} }}

|header2=mitochondrial DNA:

|cladogram2={{clade |label1=Felidae

|1={{clade |label2=Pantherinae

|1=Felinae 70 px

|2={{clade |label1=Panthera

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade|1=Lion 70 px|2=Leopard 70 px}}

|2=Snow leopard 70 px}}

|2=Jaguar 70 px}}

|2=Tiger 70 px}}

|2=Neofelis 70 px}} }} }}

}}{{clear|left}}

{{multiple image |direction=vertical |align=right

|image1=Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Panthera onca skull).jpg |caption1=Skull of a jaguar

|image2=Cheetah, leopard & jaguar (en).jpg |caption2=Illustration of cheetah, leopard and jaguar

|image3=Black Jaguar (Panthera onca).JPG |caption3=A black jaguar. Such melanistic jaguars as well as leopards are commonly called black panthers}}

The jaguar 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.{{cite journal |last1=Hayward |first1=M. W. |last2=Kamler |first2=J. F. |last3=Montgomery |first3=R. A. |last4=Newlove |first4=A. |year=2016 |name-list-style=amp |title=Prey Preferences of the Jaguar Panthera onca Reflect the Post-Pleistocene Demise of Large Prey |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |volume=3 |page=148 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2015.00148 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Hope |first1=M. K. |last2=Deem |first2=S. L. |year=2006 |name-list-style=amp |title=Retrospective Study of Morbidity and Mortality of Captive Jaguars (Panthera onca) in North America: 1982–2002 |journal=Zoo Biology |volume=25 |issue=6 |pages=501–512 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11687/Zoo%20Biology%2C%20Vol.%2025%2C%20Issue%206%20Retrospective%20Study%20of%20Morbidity%20and%20Mortality%20of%20Captive%20Jaguars....pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |doi=10.1002/zoo.20112 |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=9 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909000241/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11687/Zoo%20Biology%2C%20Vol.%2025%2C%20Issue%206%20Retrospective%20Study%20of%20Morbidity%20and%20Mortality%20of%20Captive%20Jaguars....pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live }} It stands {{cvt|57|to|81|cm|1}} tall at the shoulders.{{cite magazine |author1=Rich, M.S. |year=1976 |title=The jaguar |magazine=Zoonoz |volume=49 |issue=9 |pages=14–17}}{{cite journal |author1=Scognamillo, D. |author2=Maxit, I. E. |author3=Sunquist, M. |author4=Polisar, J. |year=2003 |name-list-style=amp |title=Coexistence of jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) in a mosaic landscape in the Venezuelan llanos |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=259 |issue=3 |pages=269–279 |doi=10.1017/S0952836902003230}}

Its size and weight vary considerably depending on sex and region: weights in most regions are normally in the range of {{cvt|56|-|96|kg}}. Exceptionally big males have been recorded to weigh as much as {{cvt|158|kg}}.{{cite book |author1=Burnie, D. |author2=Wilson, D.E. |year=2001 |name-list-style=amp |title=Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife |location=New York City |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-0-7894-7764-4}}

The smallest females from Middle America weigh about {{cvt|36|kg}}. It 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 {{cvt|1.12|to|1.85|m|ftin}}. The tail is {{cvt|45|to|75|cm}} long and the shortest of any big cat.{{cite book |author=Nowak, R.M. |year=1999 |title=Walker's Mammals of the World |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |volume=2 |page=831 |url={{Google books|T37sFCl43E8C|page=PA831|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8}}

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 the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Pacific coast of central Mexico weighed around {{cvt|50|kg}}.{{cite journal |author1=Nuanaez, R. |author2=Miller, B. |author3=Lindzey, F. |year=2000 |name-list-style=amp |title=Food habits of jaguars and pumas in Jalisco, Mexico |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=252 |issue=3 |pages=373–379 |url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=58851 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00632.x |access-date=8 September 2006 |archive-date=10 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810211518/http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=58851 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}

Jaguars in Venezuela and Brazil are much larger, with average weights of about {{cvt|95|kg}} in males and of about {{cvt|56|-|78|kg}} 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 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.{{cite journal |author1=Allen, W.L. |author2=Cuthill, I.C. |author3=Scott-Samuel, N.E. |author4=Baddeley, R. |year=2010 |name-list-style=amp |title=Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume=278 |issue=1710 |pages=1373–1380 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2010.1734 |pmc=3061134 |pmid=20961899}}

Jaguars living in forests are often darker and considerably smaller than those living in open areas, possibly due to the smaller numbers of large, herbivorous prey in forest areas.{{cite book |author1=Nowell, K. |author2=Jackson, P. |year=1996 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Jaguar, Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) |title=Wild Cats. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |location=Gland, Switzerland |chapter-url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf#page=143 |pages=118–122 |access-date=31 August 2006 |archive-date=7 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807215533/http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf#page=143 |url-status=live }}

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.{{cite journal |last=Gonyea |first=W.J. |year=1976 |title=Adaptive differences in the body proportions of large felids |journal=Acta Anatomica |volume=96 |issue=1 |pages=81–96 |doi=10.1159/000144663 |pmid=973541}}

It has powerful jaws with the third-highest bite force of all felids, after the tiger and the lion.{{cite journal |author1=Wroe, S. |author2=McHenry, C. |author3=Thomason, J. |year=2006 |name-list-style=amp |title=Bite club: comparative bite force in big biting mammals and the prediction of predatory behavior in fossil taxa |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume=272 |issue=1563 |pages=619–625 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2004.2986 |doi-access=free |pmc=1564077 |pmid=15817436}}

It has an average bite force at the canine tip of 887.0 Newton and a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 118.6.{{cite journal |author=Christiansen, P. |year=2007 |title=Canine morphology in the larger Felidae: implications for feeding ecology |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=91 |issue=4 |pages=573–592 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00819.x |doi-access=free}}

A {{cvt|100|kg}} jaguar can bite with a force of {{cvt|4.939|kN|lbf}} with the canine teeth and {{cvt|6.922|kN|lbf}} at the carnassial notch.{{cite journal |last1=Hartstone-Rose |first1=A. |last2=Perry |first2=J.M.G. |last3=Morrow |first3=C.J. |year=2012 |name-list-style=amp |title=Bite Force Estimation and the Fiber Architecture of Felid Masticatory Muscles |journal=The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology |volume=295 |issue=8 |pages=1336–1351 |doi=10.1002/ar.22518 |doi-access= |pmid=22707481 |s2cid=35304260}}

Melanistic jaguars are also known as black panthers. The black morph is less common than the spotted one.{{cite book |author1=Brown, D.E. |author2=Lopez-Gonzalez, C.A. |date=2001 |name-list-style=amp |title=Borderland jaguars: tigres de la frontera |publisher=University of Utah Press |location=Salt Lake City, UT}}

Black jaguars have been documented in Central and South America. Melanism in the jaguar is caused by deletions in the melanocortin 1 receptor gene and inherited through a dominant allele.{{cite journal |author1=Eizirik, E. |author2=Yuhki, N. |author3=Johnson, W.E. |author4=Menotti-Raymond, M. |author5=Hannah, S.S. |author6=O'Brien, S.J. |year=2003 |name-list-style=amp |title=Molecular Genetics and Evolution of Melanism in the Cat Family |journal=Current Biology |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=448–453 |doi=10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00128-3 |pmid=12620197 |s2cid=19021807 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2003CBio...13..448E }} 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.{{cite journal |last1=Dinets |first1=V. |last2=Polechla |first2=P.J. |year=2005 |name-list-style=amp |title=First documentation of melanism in the jaguar (Panthera onca) from northern Mexico |journal=Cat News |volume=42 |page=18 |url=http://dinets.travel.ru/blackjaguar.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926024755/http://dinets.travel.ru/blackjaguar.htm |archive-date=26 September 2006}} Black jaguars were also photographed in Costa Rica's Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve, in the mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca, in Barbilla National Park and in eastern Panama.{{cite journal |author1=Núñez, M.C. |author2=Jiménez, E.C. |year=2009 |name-list-style=amp |title=A new record of a black jaguar, Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae) in Costa Rica |journal=Brenesia |volume=71 |pages=67–68 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313473228 |access-date=12 April 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021258/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313473228_New_record_of_a_black_jaguar_Panthera_onca_Carnivora_Felidae_in_Costa_Rica |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |author1=Mooring, M. S. |author2=Eppert, A. A. |author3=Botts, R. T. |year=2020 |name-list-style=amp |title=Natural Selection of Melanism in Costa Rican Jaguar and Oncilla: A Test of Gloger's Rule and the Temporal Segregation Hypothesis |journal=Tropical Conservation Science |volume=13 |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1177/1940082920910364 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |author1=Sáenz-Bolaños, C. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Montalvo, V. |author3=Fuller, T.K. |author4=Carrillo, E. |year=2015 |title=Records of black jaguars at Parque Nacional Barbilla, Costa Rica |journal=Cat News |issue=62 |pages=38–39}}{{cite journal |author1=Yacelga, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Craighead, K. |year=2019 |title=Melanistic jaguars in Panama |journal=Cat News |issue=70 |pages=39–41 |url=https://www.academia.edu/41977728 |access-date=17 April 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021257/https://www.academia.edu/41977728 |url-status=live }}

{{multiple image |direction=vertical |align=right

|image1=Jaguar (Panthera onca palustris) female Piquiri River.JPG |caption1=A female jaguar at Piquiri River, Mato Grosso state, Brazil

|image2=Jaguar (Panthera onca) male back in the water (29173428825).jpg |caption2=A jaguar in São Lourenço River}}

In 1999, the jaguar's historic range at the turn of the 20th century was estimated at {{cvt|19000000|km2}}, 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 {{cvt|8750000|km2}}, with most declines occurring in the southern United States, northern Mexico, northern Brazil, and southern Argentina.{{cite journal |last1=Sanderson |first1=E. W. |last2=Redford |first2=K. H. |last3=Chetkiewicz |first3=C. L. B. |last4=Medellin |first4=R. A. |last5=Rabinowitz |first5=A. R. |author5-link=Alan Rabinowitz |last6=Robinson |first6=J. G. |last7=Taber |first7=A. B. |year=2002 |name-list-style=amp |title=Planning to save a species: the jaguar as a model |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=58–72 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00352.x |pmid=35701976 |s2cid=3955250 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2002ConBi..16...58S }}

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 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.{{cite journal |author1=Brown, D. E. |author2=González, C. A. L. |year=2000 |name-list-style=amp |title=Notes on the occurrences of jaguars in Arizona and New Mexico |journal=The Southwestern Naturalist |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=537–542 |doi=10.2307/3672607 |jstor=3672607|bibcode=2000SWNat..45..537B}}{{Cite journal |last=Pavlik |first=S. |year=2003 |title=Rohonas and spotted Lions: The historical and cultural occurrence of the Jaguar, Panthera onca, among the native tribes of the American Southwest |journal=Wíčazo Ša Review |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=157–175 |doi=10.1353/wic.2003.0006 |jstor=1409436 |s2cid=161236104}}

Between 2012 and 2015, a male vagrant jaguar was recorded in 23 locations in the Santa Rita Mountains.{{cite report |author=Culver, M. |title=Open-File Report |year=2016 |chapter=Jaguar surveying and monitoring in the United States |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |location=Reston, VA |series=2016-1095 |doi=10.3133/ofr20161095 |doi-access=free}} Eight jaguars were photographed in the southwestern US between 1996 and 2024.{{cite web|date=2024|title=Endangered jaguar previously unknown to U.S. is caught on camera in Arizona|website=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/endangered-jaguar-spotted-in-arizona-previously-unknown-to-us/|access-date=June 21, 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 the United States. It has been recorded at elevations up to {{cvt|3800|m}} 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.{{cite journal |author1=Colchero, F. |author2=Conde, D. A. |author3=Manterola, C. |author4=Chávez, C. |author5=Rivera, A. |author6=Ceballos, G. |year=2011 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguars on the move: modeling movement to mitigate fragmentation from road expansion in the Mayan Forest |journal=Animal Conservation |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1111/J.1469-1795.2010.00406.X |bibcode=2011AnCon..14..158C |s2cid=62820463 |url=https://www.demogr.mpg.de/publications/files/4097_1300970681_1_ArticlePdf.pdf |access-date=14 March 2021 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126211109/https://www.demogr.mpg.de/publications/files/4097_1300970681_1_ArticlePdf.pdf |url-status=live}} A young male jaguar was also recorded in the semi-arid Sierra de San Carlos at a waterhole.{{cite journal |author1=Caso, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Domínguez, E. F. |year=2018 |title=Confirmed presence of jaguar, ocelot and jaguarundi in the Sierra of San Carlos, Mexico |journal=Cat News |issue=68 |pages=31–32}}

In the 19th century, the jaguar was still sighted at the North Platte River {{cvt|30|-|50|mile|km|order=flip}} north of Longs Peak in Colorado, in coastal Louisiana, northern Arizona and New Mexico.{{cite journal |author1=Daggett, P. M. |author2=Henning, D. R. |year=1974 |name-list-style=amp |title=The Jaguar in North America |journal=American Antiquity |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=465–469 |doi=10.2307/279437 |jstor=279437|s2cid=160927286}}

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 the United States was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California prior to 1860.{{Cite journal |author=Merriam, C.H. |author-link=Clinton Hart Merriam |year=1919 |title=Is the Jaguar entitled to a place in the Californian fauna? |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=38–42 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/1.1.38 |url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-abstract/1/1/38/875846?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118210048/https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-abstract/1/1/38/875846?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }} The jaguar persisted in California until about 1860.

The last confirmed jaguar in Texas was shot in 1948, {{cvt|3|mile|km|order=flip}} southeast of Kingsville, Texas.{{Cite book |last1=Schmidly |first1=D. J. |last2=Bradley |first2=R. D. |date=2016 |title=The Mammals of Texas |publisher=University of Texas Press |edition=Seventh |url=https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/mammals-of-texas-online-edition/Accounts_Extinct_Carnivora/Panthera_onca.php |place=Lubbock |doi=10.7560/308868 |isbn=9781477310021 |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118025353/https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/mammals-of-texas-online-edition/Accounts_Extinct_Carnivora/Panthera_onca.php |url-status=live }}

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 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.{{cite magazine |title=Return of the Jaguar? |last=Rizzo |first=W. |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |date=2005 |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/return-of-the-jaguar-110630052/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429091904/http://smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/return-of-the-jaguar-110630052/ |url-status=live |archive-date=2017-04-29 |access-date=23 November 2011}}

The jaguar is mostly active at night and during twilight.{{cite journal |author1=Harmsen, B. J. |author2=Foster, R. J. |author3=Silver, S. C. |author4=Ostro, L. E. T. |author5=Doncaster, C. P. |year=2009 |name-list-style=amp |title=Spatial and temporal interactions of sympatric jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) in a neotropical forest |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=612–620 |doi=10.1644/08-MAMM-A-140R.1 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |author1=Foster, V.C. |author2=Sarmento, P. |author3=Sollmann, R. |author4=Tôrres, N. |author5=Jácomo, A. T. |author6=Negrões, N. |author7=Fonseca, C. |author8=Silveira, L. |year=2013 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar and Puma Activity Patterns and Predator-Prey Interactions in Four Brazilian Biomes |journal=Biotropica |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=373–379 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234153943 |doi=10.1111/btp.12021 |bibcode=2013Biotr..45..373F |s2cid=86338173 |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021315/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234153943_Jaguar_and_Puma_Activity_Patterns_and_Predator-Prey_Interactions_in_Four_Brazilian_Biomes |url-status=live}}

However, jaguars living in densely forested regions of the Amazon Rainforest and the Pantanal are largely active by day, whereas jaguars in the Atlantic Forest are primarily active by night.{{cite journal |last1=Astete |first1=S.R. |last2=Sollmann |first2=R. |last3=Silveira |first3=L. |year=2008 |name-list-style=amp |title=Comparative ecology of jaguars in Brazil |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 4 |pages=9–14 |citeseerx=10.1.1.528.3603}}

The activity pattern of the jaguar coincides with the activity of its main prey species.{{cite journal |last1=Harmsen |first1=B.J. |last2=Foster |first2=R.J. |last3=Silver |first3=S. C. |last4=Ostro |first4=L.E.T. |last5=Doncaster |first5=C.P. |year=2011 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar and puma activity patterns in relation to their main prey |journal=Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=320–324 |doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2010.08.007|bibcode=2011MamBi..76..320H }} 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.

File:Jaguar (Panthera onca palustris) male Three Brothers River 2.jpg

The adult jaguar 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.{{cite journal |author=Nijhawan, S. |year=2012 |title=Conservation units, priority areas and dispersal corridors for jaguars in Brazil |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue |pages=43–47 |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.7._SI_7/Nijhawan_2012_Conservation_units_and_corrdors_for_jaguars_in_Brazil.pdf |access-date=17 August 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021300/http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.7._SI_7/Nijhawan_2012_Conservation_units_and_corrdors_for_jaguars_in_Brazil.pdf |url-status=live}}{{cite journal |author1=Petracca, L.S. |author2=Ramírez-Bravo, O.E. |author3=Hernández-Santín, L. |year=2014 |name-list-style=amp |title=Occupancy estimation of jaguar Panthera onca to assess the value of east-central Mexico as a jaguar corridor |journal=Oryx |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=133–140 |doi=10.1017/S0030605313000069 |s2cid=86460403 |doi-access=free}}

However, field work has shown this may be natural variability, and the population increases may not be sustained. Thus, the keystone predator hypothesis is not accepted by all scientists.{{cite journal |author1=Wright, S. J. |author2=Gompper, M. E. |author3=DeLeon, B. |year=1994 |name-list-style=amp |title=Are large predators keystone species in Neotropical forests? The evidence from Barro Colorado Island |journal=Oikos |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=279–294 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270356084 |doi=10.2307/3546277 |jstor=3546277 |bibcode=1994Oikos..71..279W |access-date=18 June 2019 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021300/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270356084_Are_Large_Predators_Keystone_Species_in_Neotropical_Forests_The_Evidence_from_Barro_Colorado_Island |url-status=live}}

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 the two cats are considered to be the dominant predator.{{cite journal |last1=Gutiérrez-González |first1=C. E. |last2=López-González |first2=C. A. |year=2017 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar interactions with pumas and prey at the northern edge of jaguars' range |journal=PeerJ |volume=5 |issue=5 |page=e2886 |doi=10.7717/peerj.2886 |pmc=5248577 |pmid=28133569 |doi-access=free}}

In South America, the jaguar is larger than the cougar and tends to take larger prey, usually over {{cvt|22|kg}}. The cougar's prey usually weighs between {{cvt|2|and|22|kg|0}}, which is thought to be the reason for its smaller size.{{cite journal |author1=Iriarte, J. A. |author2=Franklin, W.L. |author3=Johnson, W.E. |author4=Redford, K.H. |year=1990 |name-list-style=amp |title=Biogeographic variation of food habits and body size of the America puma |journal=Oecologia |volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=185–190 |bibcode=1990Oecol..85..185I |doi=10.1007/BF00319400 |pmid=28312554 |s2cid=10134066}}

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 the jaguar in human-altered landscapes.

File:Panthera onca at the Toronto Zoo 2.jpg

File:3 Jaguars killing a Caiman, Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas Thomas-Fuhrmann.jpg]]

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 {{cvt|1|to|130|kg}}; it prefers prey weighing {{cvt|45-85|kg}}, 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 green anacondas, turtles and caimans.{{Cite journal |last1=Leite Pitman |first1=R. |last2=Tor |first2=B. |last3=Moreno Gimenes |first3=V. |last4=Mendoza |first4=A. |last5=Nunonca Sencia |first5=E. |last6=Huaman |first6=L. |last7=Jongeneel |first7=A. |date=2019 |title=Feeding on giants: consumption of anacondas by jaguars |journal=Cat News |volume=70 |pages=41–43}} Consumption of reptiles appears to be more frequent in jaguars than in other big cats.{{cite journal |last1=Miranda |first1=E. |last2=Menezes |first2=J. |last3=Rheingantz |first3=M. L. |year=2016 |name-list-style=amp |title=Reptiles as principal prey? Adaptations for durophagy and prey selection by jaguar (Panthera onca) |journal=Journal of Natural History |volume=50 |issue=31–32 |pages=2021–2035 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3993366 |doi=10.1080/00222933.2016.1180717 |bibcode=2016JNatH..50.2021M |s2cid=89150920 |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021309/https://zenodo.org/record/3993366 |url-status=live}} One remote population in the Brazilian Pantanal is recorded to primarily feed on aquatic reptiles and fish.{{cite journal|author1=Eriksson, C. |author2=Kantek, D.L. |author3=Miyazaki, S.S. |author4=Morato, R.G. |name-list-style=amp |author5=dos Santos-Filho, M. |author6=Ruprecht, J.S. |author7=Peres, C.A. |author8=Levi, T. |year=2022 |title=Extensive aquatic subsidies lead to territorial breakdown and high density of an apex predator |journal=Ecology |volume=103 |issue=1 |page=e03543 |doi=10.1002/ecy.3543 |doi-access=free |pmid=34841521 |bibcode=2022Ecol..103E3543E |s2cid=242197640}}

The jaguar also preys on livestock in cattle ranching areas where wild prey is scarce.{{cite journal |author1=Amit, R. |author2=Gordillo-Chávez, E.J. |author3=Bone, R. |year=2013 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar and puma attacks on livestock in Costa Rica |journal=Human-Wildlife Interactions |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=77–84}}{{cite journal |author1=Zarco-González, M.M. |author2=Monroy-Vilchis, O. |author3=Alaníz, J. |year=2013 |name-list-style=amp |title=Spatial model of livestock predation by jaguar and puma in Mexico: conservation planning |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=159 |pages=80–87 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2012.11.007 |bibcode=2013BCons.159...80Z}}

The daily food requirement of a captive jaguar weighing {{cvt|34|kg}} was estimated at {{cvt|1.4|kg}} of meat.

The jaguar's bite force allows it to pierce the carapaces of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle and the yellow-footed tortoise.{{cite journal |author=Emmons, L. H. |year=1987 |title=Comparative feeding ecology of fields in a neotropical rain forest |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=271–283 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225982805 |doi=10.1007/BF00292180 |bibcode=1987BEcoS..20..271E |s2cid=24990860 |access-date=13 April 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021300/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225982805_Comparative_Feeding_Ecology_of_Felids_in_a_Neotropical_Rain-Forest |url-status=live}}{{cite journal |author=Emmons, L. H. |year=1989 |title=Jaguar predation on chelonians |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=311–314 |doi=10.2307/1564460 |jstor=1564460}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Rosa |first1=C. L. de la |last2=Nocke |first2=C. C. |year=2000 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Jaguar (Panthera onca) |title=A guide to the carnivores of Central America: natural history, ecology, and conservation |publisher=University of Texas Press |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5ihAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT39 |pages=39–? |isbn=978-0-292-71604-9 |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021333/https://books.google.com/books?id=x5ihAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT39 |url-status=live}} 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.{{cite journal |author1=Schaller, G.B. |author1-link=George Schaller |author2=Vasconselos, J.M.C. |year=1978 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar predation on capybara |journal=Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=43 |pages=296–301 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-Saeugetierkunde_43_0296-0301.pdf |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=25 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625121230/https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-Saeugetierkunde_43_0296-0301.pdf |url-status=live}}

It has been hypothesized to be an adaptation to cracking open turtle shells; armored reptiles may have formed an abundant prey base for 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 the wet season from October to March.{{cite journal |author1=Cavalcanti, S. M. C. |author2=Gese, E. M. |year=2010 |name-list-style=amp |title=Kill rates and predation patterns of jaguars (Panthera onca) in the southern Pantanal, Brazil |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=722–736 |doi=10.1644/09-MAMM-A-171.1 |doi-access=free}}

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 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 the neck and chest. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders.{{cite book |chapter=Guidelines for Captive Management of Jaguars |author=Baker, W. K. Jr.|pages=8–16 |editor=Law, C. |title=Jaguar Species Survival Plan |publisher=Association of Zoos and Aquariums |url=http://www.jaguarssp.com/Animal%20Mgmt/JAGUAR%20GUIDELINES.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113131137/http://www.jaguarssp.com/Animal%20Mgmt/JAGUAR%20GUIDELINES.pdf

|archive-date=13 January 2012}}

File:Jaguar (Panthera onca) male meeting a young female (back) ... - Flickr - berniedup.jpg, Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil]]

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; a radio-collared female moved in a home range of {{cvt|25-38|km2}}, which partly overlapped with another female. The home range of the male in this study area overlapped with several females.{{cite journal |author1=Schaller, G. B. |author2=Crawshaw, P. G. Jr. |year=1980 |name-list-style=amp |title=Movement patterns of Jaguar |journal=Biotropica |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=161–168 |doi=10.2307/2387967 |jstor=2387967 |bibcode=1980Biotr..12..161S}} In the Venezuelan Llanos and Brazilian Pantanal, male coalitions were detected, which marked, defended and invaded territories together, hunted together and mated with several females.{{cite journal |last1=Jędrzejewski|first1=W. |last2=Hoogesteijn |first2=R. |last3=Devlin |first3=A. L. |name-list-style=amp |year=2022 |title=Collaborative behaviour and coalitions in male jaguars (Panthera onca) – evidence and comparison with other felids |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=76 |issue=9|page=121 |doi=10.1007/s00265-022-03232-3 |s2cid=251713323 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022BEcoS..76..121J}}

The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and feces to mark its territory.{{cite journal |author1=Rabinowitz, A. R. |author1-link=Alan Rabinowitz |author2=Nottingham, B.G. Jr. |year=1986 |name-list-style=amp |title=Ecology and behaviour of the Jaguar (Panthera onca) in Belize, Central America |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=210 |issue=1 |pages=149–159 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1986.tb03627.x}}{{cite journal |last1=Harmsen |first1=B. J. |last2=Foster |first2=R.J. |last3=Gutierrez |first3=S.M. |last4=Marin |first4=S.Y. |last5=Doncaster |first5=C.P. |year=2007 |name-list-style=amp |title=Scrape-marking behavior of jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=91 |issue=5 |pages=1225–1234 |doi=10.1644/09-mamm-a-416.1 |doi-access=free}}

The size of home ranges depends on the level of deforestation and human population density. The home ranges of females vary from {{cvt|15.3|km2}} in the Pantanal to {{cvt|53.6|km2}} in the Amazon to {{cvt|233.5|km2}} in the Atlantic Forest. Male jaguar home ranges vary from {{cvt|25|km2}} in the Pantanal to {{cvt|180.3|km2}} in the Amazon to {{cvt|591.4|km2}} in the Atlantic Forest and {{cvt|807.4|km2}} in the Cerrado.{{cite journal |author1=Morato, R.G. |author2=Stabach, J.A. |author3=Fleming, C.H. |author4=Calabrese, J.M. |author5=De Paula, R.C. |author6=Ferraz, K.M. |author7=Kantek, D.L. |author8=Miyazaki, S.S. |author9=Pereira, T.D. |author10=Araujo, G.R. |author11=Paviolo, A. |year=2016 |name-list-style=amp |title=Space use and movement of a neotropical top predator: the endangered Jaguar |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=11 |issue=12 |page=e0168176 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0168176 |doi-access=free |pmc=5193337 |pmid=28030568 |bibcode=2016PLoSO..1168176M}}

Studies employing GPS telemetry in 2003 and 2004 found densities of only six to seven jaguars per {{cvt|100|km}} in 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.

File:Jaguar saw.flac

The jaguar roars/grunts for long-distance communication; intensive bouts of counter-calling between individuals have been observed in 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=G. |last2=Tonin-Leyhausen |first2=B. |year=1999 |name-list-style=amp |title=Evolution of Acoustic Communication Signals of Mammals: Friendly Close-Range Vocalizations in Felidae (Carnivora) |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=129–159 |doi=10.1023/A:1020620121416 |s2cid=25252052}}{{cite journal |last1=Leuchtenberger |first1=C. |last2=Crawshaw |first2=P. G. |last3=Mourão |first3=G. |last4=Lehn |first4=C. R. |year=2009 |name-list-style=amp |title=Courtship behavior by Jaguars in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul |journal=Natureza & Conservação |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=218–222 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263424625 |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021418/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263424625_Courtship_behavior_by_Jaguars_in_the_Pantanal_of_Mato_Grosso_do_Sul |url-status=live}} Cubs have been recorded bleating, gurgling and mewing.

File:Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas Thomas-Fuhrmann (2023- 11) Jaguar mating - Panthera onca.jpg in the northern Pantanal]]

File:Jaguarpickingupcub08.jpg

In captivity, the female jaguar is recorded to reach sexual maturity at 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.{{cite journal |author1=Wildt, D.E. |author2=Platz, C.C. |author3=Chakraborty, P.K. |author4=Seager, S.W.J. |year=1979 |name-list-style=amp |title=Oestrous and ovarian activity in a female jaguar (Panthera onca) |journal=Reproduction |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=555–558 |doi=10.1530/jrf.0.0560555 |doi-access=free |pmid=383976}}

She is an induced ovulator but can also ovulate spontaneously.{{cite journal |author1=Barnes, S.A. |author2=Teare, J.A. |author3=Staaden, S. |author4=Metrione, L. |author5=Penfold, L.M. |year=2016 |name-list-style=amp |title=Characterization and manipulation of reproductive cycles in the jaguar (Panthera onca) |journal=General and Comparative Endocrinology |volume=225 |pages=95–103 |doi=10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.09.012 |doi-access=free |pmid=26399935}}{{cite journal |author1=Jorge-Neto, P. N. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Luczinski, T. C. |author3=Ribeiro de Araújo, G. |author4=Salomão, J. |author5=de Souza Traldi, A. |author6=Melo dos Santos, J. A. |author7=Requena, L. A. |author8=Machado Gianni, M. C. |author9= de Deco-Souza, T. |author10=Schilbach Pizzutto, C. |author11=Baldassarre, H. |year=2020 |journal=Theriogenology |volume=147 |pages=57–61 |title=Can jaguar (Panthera onca) ovulate without copulation? |doi=10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.02.026|doi-access=free |pmid=32092606 }}

Gestation lasts 91 to 111 days.{{cite book |author=Hemmer, H. |year=1976 |chapter=Gestation period and postnatal development in felids |title=The world's cats |editor=Eaton, R.L. |publisher=Carnivore Research Institute, Univ. Washington |location=Seattle |volume=3. Contributions to Biology, Ecology, Behavior and Evolution |pages=143–165}}

The male is sexually mature at the age of three to four years.{{cite book |author1=Mondolfi, E. |author2=Hoogesteijn, R. |year=1986 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Notes on the biology and status of the jaguar (Panthera onca) in Venezuela |title=Cats of the world: biology, conservation and management |editor1=Miller, S.D. |editor2=Everett, D.D. |publisher=National Wildlife Federation |location=Washington, DC |pages=85–123 |isbn=978-091218679-5}}

His mean ejaculate volume is 8.6±1.3 ml.{{cite journal |author1=Morato, R. G. |author2=Guimaraes, M.A.B. |author3=Ferriera, F. |author4=Verreschi, I.T.d.N. |author5=Barnabe, R.C. |year=1999 |name-list-style=amp |title=Reproductive characteristics of captive male jaguars |journal=Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science |volume=36 |issue=5 |doi=10.1590/S1413-95961999000500008 |doi-access=free}}

Generation length of the jaguar is 9.8 years.{{cite journal |author1=Pacifici, M. |author2=Santini, L. |author3=Di Marco, M. |author4=Baisero, D. |author5=Francucci, L. |author6=Grottolo Marasini, G. |author7=Visconti, P. |author8=Rondinini, C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2013 |title=Generation length for mammals |journal=Nature Conservation |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=87–94 |doi=10.3897/natureconservation.5.5734 |doi-access=free}}

In the Pantanal, breeding pairs were observed to stay together for up to five days. Females had one to two cubs.{{cite journal |author1=Cavalcanti, S. M. C. |author2=Gese, E. M. |year=2009 |name-list-style=amp |title=Spatial ecology and social interactions of jaguars (Panthera onca) in the southern Pantanal, Brazil |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=90 |issue=4 |pages=935–945 |doi=10.1644/08-MAMM-A-188.1 |doi-access=free}}

The young are born with closed eyes but open them after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at the age of three months but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts.{{cite magazine |author=Egerton, J. |date=2006 |title=Jaguars: Magnificence in the Southwest |magazine=Wild Tracks |url=http://www.southwestwildlife.org/pdf/Newsletter/Spring06.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721144027/http://www.southwestwildlife.org/pdf/Newsletter/Spring06.pdf |access-date=6 December 2009 |archive-date=21 July 2011}}

Jaguars remain with their mothers for up to two years. They appear to rarely live beyond 11 years, but captive individuals may live 22 years.

In 2001, a male jaguar killed and partially consumed two cubs in Emas National Park. DNA paternity testing of blood samples revealed that the male was the father of the cubs.{{cite journal |author1=Soares, T. N. |author2=Telles, M. P. |author3=Resende, L.V. |author4=Silveira, L. |author5=Jácomo, A.T.A. |author6=Morato, R.G. |author7=Diniz-Filho, J.A.F. |author8=Eizirik, E. |author9=Brondani, R.P. |author10=Brondani, C. |year=2006 |display-authors=4 |name-list-style=amp |title=Paternity testing and behavioral ecology: A case study of jaguars (Panthera onca) in Emas National Park, Central Brazil |journal=Genetics and Molecular Biology |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=735–740 |doi=10.1590/S1415-47572006000400025 |doi-access=free}} Two more cases of infanticide were documented in the northern Pantanal in 2013.{{cite journal |author1=Tortato, F.R. |author2=Devlin, A.L. |author3=Hoogesteijn, R. |author4=Júnior, J.A.M. |author5=Frair, J.L. |author6=Crawshaw, P.G. |author7=Izzo, T.J. |author8=Quigley, H.B. |year=2017 |name-list-style=amp |title=Infanticide in a jaguar (Panthera onca) population – does the provision of livestock carcasses increase the risk? |journal=Acta Ethologica |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=69–73 |doi=10.1007/s10211-016-0241-4 |s2cid=34002056 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308940647 |access-date=27 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021302/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308940647_Infanticide_in_a_jaguar_Panthera_onca_population-does_the_provision_of_livestock_carcasses_increase_the_risk |url-status=live}} To defend against infanticide, the female may hide her cubs and distract the male with courtship behavior.{{cite journal |author1=Stasiukynas, D. C. |author2=Boron, V. |author3=Hoogesteijn, R. |author4=Barragán2, J. |author5=Martin, A. |author6=Tortato, F. |author7= Rincón, S. |author8=Payán, E. |year=2021 |title=Hide and flirt: observed behavior of female jaguars (Panthera onca) to protect their young cubs from adult males |journal=Acta Ethologica |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=179–183 |doi=10.1007/s10211-021-00384-9|s2cid=239539707}}

{{Further|Man-eating animal#Jaguars}}

The Spanish conquistadors feared the jaguar. According to Charles Darwin, the indigenous peoples of South America stated that people did not need to fear the jaguar as long as capybaras were abundant.{{cite book |author=Porter, J. H. |year=1894 |chapter=The Jaguar |title=Wild beasts; a study of the characters and habits of the elephant, lion, leopard, panther, jaguar, tiger, puma, wolf, and grizzly bear |publisher=C. Scribner's sons |location=New York |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/wildbeastsstud00port#page/n197/mode/2up |pages=174–195}}

The first official record of a jaguar killing a human in Brazil dates to June 2008.{{cite journal |author1=De Paula, R. |author2=Campos Neto, M. F. |author3=Morato, R. G. |year=2008 |name-list-style=amp |title=First official record of Human killed by Jaguar in Brazil |journal=Cat News |issue=49 |pages=31–32}}

Two children were attacked by jaguars in Guyana.{{cite journal |author1=Iserson, K. V. |author2=Francis, A. M. |year=2015 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar attack on a child: Case report and literature review |journal=Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=303–309 |doi=10.5811/westjem.2015.1.24043 |pmc=4380383 |pmid=25834674}}

The majority of known attacks on people happened when it had been cornered or wounded.{{Cite book |last1=Seidensticker |first1=J. |last2=Lumpkin |first2=S. |date=2016 |name-list-style=amp |title=Cats in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09LwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT303 |isbn=978-158834546-2}}

File:Colonel Roosevelt's first South American jaguar.jpg]]

The jaguar is threatened by loss and fragmentation of habitat, illegal killing in retaliation for livestock depredation and for illegal trade in jaguar body parts. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as the jaguar population has probably declined by 20–25% since the mid-1990s. Deforestation is a major threat to the jaguar across its range. Habitat loss was most rapid in drier regions such as the Argentine pampas, the arid grasslands of Mexico and the southwestern United States.

In 2002, it was estimated that the range of the jaguar had declined to about 46% of its range in the early 20th century. In 2018, it was estimated that its range had declined by 55% in the last century. The only remaining stronghold is the Amazon rainforest, a region that is rapidly being fragmented by deforestation.{{cite journal |author1=De La Torre, J.A. |author2=González-Maya, J.F. |author3=Zarza, H. |author4=Ceballos, G. |author5=Medellín, R.A. |year=2018 |name-list-style=amp |title=The jaguar's spots are darker than they appear: assessing the global conservation status of the jaguar Panthera onca |journal=Oryx |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=300–315 |doi=10.1017/S0030605316001046 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Oryx...52..300D }}

Between 2000 and 2012, forest loss in the jaguar range amounted to {{convert|83.759|km2|abbr=on}}, with fragmentation increasing in particular in corridors between Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs).{{cite journal |author1=Olsoy, P.J. |author2=Zeller, K.A. |author3=Hicke, J.A. |author4=Quigley, H.B. |author5=Rabinowitz, A.R. |author6=Thornton, D.H. |year=2016 |name-list-style=amp |title=Quantifying the effects of deforestation and fragmentation on a range-wide conservation plan for jaguars |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=203 |pages=8–16 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307954092 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2016.08.037 |bibcode=2016BCons.203....8O |access-date=13 April 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021307/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307954092_Quantifying_the_effects_of_deforestation_and_fragmentation_on_a_range-wide_conservation_plan_for_jaguars |url-status=live}}

By 2014, direct linkages between two JCUs in Bolivia were lost, and two JCUs in northern Argentina became completely isolated due to deforestation.{{cite journal |author1=Thompson, J.J. |author2=Velilla, M. |year=2017 |name-list-style=amp |title=Modeling the effects of deforestation on the connectivity of jaguar Panthera onca populations at the southern extent of the species' range |journal=Endangered Species Research |volume=34 |pages=109–121 |url=https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2017/34/n034p109.pdf |doi=10.3354/esr00840 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2017ESRes..34..109T |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308132647/https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2017/34/n034p109.pdf |url-status=live}}

In Mexico, the jaguar is primarily threatened by poaching. Its habitat is fragmented in northern Mexico, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, caused by changes in land use, construction of roads and tourism infrastructure.{{cite book |author1=Ceballos, G. |author2=Zarza, H. |author3=Chávez, C. |author4=González-Maya, J.F. |year=2016 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Ecology and Conservation of Jaguars in Mexico |title=Tropical conservation: Perspectives on local and global priorities |editor1=Aguirre, A. |editor2=Sukumar, R. |publisher=Oxford University Press |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307985045 |pages=273–289 |isbn=978-019976698-7 |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021317/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307985045_Ecology_and_conservation_of_jaguars_in_Mexico_state_of_knowledge_and_future_challenges |url-status=live}}

In Panama, 220 of 230 jaguars were killed in retaliation for predation on livestock between 1998 and 2014.{{cite journal |author1=Moreno, R. |author2=Meyer, N. |author3=Olmos, M. |author4=Hoogesteijn, R. |author5=Hoogesteijn, A.L. |year=2015 |name-list-style=amp |title=Causes of jaguar killing in Panama – a long term survey using interviews |journal=Cat News |issue=62 |pages=40–42 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/29640/CN62_Moreno_et_al_2015.pdf |access-date=18 November 2021 |archive-date=18 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118072049/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/29640/CN62_Moreno_et_al_2015.pdf |url-status=live}}

In Venezuela, the jaguar was extirpated in about 26% of its range in the country since 1940, mostly in dry savannas and unproductive scrubland in the northeastern region of Anzoátegui.{{cite journal |last1=Jędrzejewski |first1=W. |last2=Boede |first2=E.O. |last3=Abarca |first3=M. |last4=Sánchez-Mercado |first4=A. |last5=Ferrer-Paris |first5=J.R. |last6=Lampo |first6=M. |last7=Velásquez |first7=G. |last8=Carreño |first8=R. |last9=Viloria |first9=Á.L. |last10=Hoogesteijn |first10=R. |last11=Robinson |first11=H.S. |last12=Stachowicz |first12=I. |last13=Cerda |first13=H. |last14=Weisz |first14=M. del Mar |last15=Barros |first15=T.R. |last16=Rivas |first16=Gilson A. |last17=Borges |first17=G. |last18=Molinari |first18=J. |last19=Lew |first19=D. |last20=Takiff |first20=H. |last21=Schmidt |first21=K. |year=2017 |name-list-style=amp |title=Predicting carnivore distribution and extirpation rate based on human impacts and productivity factors; assessment of the state of jaguar (Panthera onca) in Venezuela |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=206 |pages=132–142 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312059394 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2016.09.027 |bibcode=2017BCons.206..132J |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021303/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312059394_Predicting_carnivore_distribution_and_extirpation_rate_based_on_human_impacts_and_productivity_factors_assessment_of_the_state_of_jaguar_Panthera_onca_in_Venezuela |url-status=live}}

In Ecuador, the jaguar is threatened by reduced prey availability in areas where the expansion of the road network facilitated access of human hunters to forests.{{cite journal |author1=Espinosa, S. |author2=Celis, G. |author3=Branch, L.C. |year=2018 |name-list-style=amp |title=When roads appear jaguars decline: Increased access to an Amazonian wilderness area reduces potential for jaguar conservation |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=e0189740 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0189740 |doi-access=free |pmc=5751993 |pmid=29298311 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1389740E}}

In the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, at least 117 jaguars were killed in Iguaçu National Park and the adjacent Misiones Province between 1995 and 2008.{{cite journal |author1=Paviolo, A. |author2=De Angelo, C.D. |author3=Di Blanco, Y.E. |author4=Di Bitetti, M.S. |year=2008 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar Panthera onca population decline in the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest of Argentina and Brazil |journal=Oryx |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=554–561 |doi=10.1017/S0030605308000641 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |doi-access=free|hdl=11336/61266 |hdl-access=free}}

Some Afro-Colombians in the Colombian Chocó Department hunt jaguars for consumption and sale of meat.{{cite journal |author1=Balaguera-Reina, S. |author2=Gonzalez-Maya, J.F. |year=2008 |name-list-style=amp |title=Occasional jaguar hunting for subsistence in Colombian Chocó |journal=Cat News |issue=48 |page=5 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233399315 |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021347/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233399315_Occasional_Jaguar_Hunting_for_Subsistence_in_Colombian_Choco |url-status=live}}

Between 2008 and 2012, at least 15 jaguars were killed by livestock farmers in central Belize.{{cite journal |author1=Foster, R.J. |author2=Harmsen, B.J. |author3=Urbina, Y. L. |author4=Wooldridge, R.L. |author5=Doncaster, C.P. |author6=Quigley, H. |author7=Figueroa, O.A. |year=2020 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar (Panthera onca) density and tenure in a critical biological corridor |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=101 |issue=6 |pages=1622–1637 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyaa134 |pmid=33505226 |pmc=7816682 |doi-access=free}}

The international trade of jaguar skins boomed between the end of the Second World War and the early 1970s.{{cite book |last=Broad |first=S. |date=1987 |title=The harvest of and trade in Latin American spotted cats (Felidae) and otters (Lutrinae) |publisher=IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre |location=Cambridge |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/119261 |access-date=21 February 2018 |archive-date=13 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113095346/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/119261 |url-status=live}}

Significant declines occurred in the 1960s, as more than 15,000 jaguars were yearly killed for their skins in the Brazilian Amazon alone; the trade in jaguar skins decreased since 1973 when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species was enacted.{{cite journal |last1=Weber |first1=W. |author2=Rabinowitz, A. |year=1996 |name-list-style=amp |title=A global perspective on large carnivore conservation |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=1046–1054 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041046.x |bibcode=1996ConBi..10.1046W |url=http://www.jaguarnetwork.org/pdf/71.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426042409/http://www.jaguarnetwork.org/pdf/71.pdf |archive-date=26 April 2012}}

Interview surveys with 533 people in the northwestern Bolivian Amazon revealed that local people killed jaguars out of fear, in retaliation, and for trade.{{cite journal |author1=Knox, J. |author2=Negrões, N. |author3=Marchini, S. |author4=Barboza, K. |author5=Guanacoma, G. |author6=Balhau, P. |author7=Tobler, M.W. |author8=Glikman, J.A. |year=2019 |name-list-style=amp |title=Jaguar persecution without "cowflict": insights from protected territories in the Bolivian Amazon |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |volume=7 |page=494 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2019.00494 |doi-access=free}}

Between August 2016 and August 2019, jaguar skins and body parts were seen for sale in tourist markets in the Peruvian cities of Lima, Iquitos and Pucallpa.{{cite journal |author1=Braczkowski, A. |author2=Ruzo, A. |author3=Sanchez, F. |author4=Castagnino, R. |author5=Brown, C. |author6=Guynup, S. |author7=Winter, S. |author8=Gandy, D. |author9=O'Bryan, C. |year=2019 |name-list-style=amp |title=The ayahuasca tourism boom: An undervalued demand driver for jaguar body parts? |journal=Conservation Science and Practice |volume=1 |issue=12 |page=e126 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336450042 |doi=10.1111/csp2.126 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019ConSP...1E.126B |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021318/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336450042_The_ayahuasca_tourism_boom_An_undervalued_demand_driver_for_jaguar_body_parts |url-status=live }}

Human-wildlife conflict, opportunistic hunting and hunting for trade in domestic markets are key drivers for killing jaguars in Belize and Guatemala.{{cite journal |author1=Arias, M. |author2=Hinsley, A. |author3=Milner-Gulland, E.J. |year=2020 |name-list-style=amp |title=Characteristics of, and uncertainties about, illegal jaguar trade in Belize and Guatemala |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=250 |page=108765 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108765 |bibcode=2020BCons.25008765A |s2cid=224967913 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344172628 |access-date=18 November 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021310/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344172628_Characteristics_of_and_uncertainties_about_illegal_jaguar_trade_in_Belize_and_Guatemala |url-status=live}}

Seizure reports indicate that at least 857 jaguars were involved in trade between 2012 and 2018, including 482 individuals in Bolivia alone; 31 jaguars were seized in China.{{cite journal |author1=Morcatty, T.Q. |author2=Bausch Macedo, J.C. |author3=Nekaris, K.A.I. |author4=Ni, Q. |author5=Durigan, C.C. |author6=Svensson, M.S. |author7=Nijman, V. |year=2020 |name-list-style=amp |title=Illegal trade in wild cats and its link to Chinese-led development in Central and South America |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=1525–1535 |doi=10.1111/cobi.13498 |pmid=32484587 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020ConBi..34.1525M}}

Between 2014 and early 2019, 760 jaguar fangs were seized that originated in Bolivia and were destined for China. Undercover investigations revealed that the smuggling of jaguar body parts is run by Chinese residents in Bolivia.{{cite report |author=Earth League International |year=2020 |title=Unveiling the criminal networks behind jaguar trafficking in Bolivia |publisher=IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands |location=Amsterdam |url=https://www.iucn.nl/app/uploads/2021/03/iucn_nl_report_jaguar_trafficking_bolivia_media-1.pdf |access-date=26 July 2021 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726070809/https://www.iucn.nl/app/uploads/2021/03/iucn_nl_report_jaguar_trafficking_bolivia_media-1.pdf |url-status=live}}

The jaguar is listed on CITES Appendix I, which means that all international commercial trade in jaguars or their body parts is prohibited. Hunting jaguars is prohibited in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States, and Venezuela. Hunting jaguars is restricted in Guatemala and Peru. In Ecuador, hunting jaguars is prohibited, and it is classified as threatened with extinction.{{cite book |author1=Zapata Ríos, G. |author2=Araguillin, E. |author3=Cevallos, J. |author4=Moreno, F. |author5=Ortega, A. |author6=Rengel, J. |author7=Valarezo, N. |date=2014 |name-list-style=amp |title=Plan de Acción para la Conservación del Jaguar en el Ecuador |trans-title=Action Plan for the Conservation of the Jaguar in Ecuador |publisher=Ministerio del Ambiente y Wildlife Conservation Society Ecuador |location=Quito |language=es |url=http://www.wild4ever.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Ecuador-National-Jaguar-Plan.pdf |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923073232/http://www.wild4ever.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Ecuador-National-Jaguar-Plan.pdf |url-status=live }}

In Guyana, it is protected as an endangered species, and hunting it is illegal.{{cite book |author=Kerman, I. |date=2010 |title=Exploitation of the jaguar, Panthera onca and other large forest cats in Suriname |editor=Felix, M.-L. |publisher=WWF Guianas |location=Paramaribo |url=https://www.a2000greetings.com/downloads/exploitation_of_the_jaguar_and_other_large_forest_cats_in_suriname_irvin_kerman.pdf |access-date=3 March 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918010124/https://www.a2000greetings.com/downloads/exploitation_of_the_jaguar_and_other_large_forest_cats_in_suriname_irvin_kerman.pdf |url-status=live }}

File:El-jefe-jaguar-fws1.jpg, a jaguar in Arizona]]

In 1986, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary was established in Belize as the world's first protected area for jaguar conservation.{{cite journal |author1=Weckel, M. |author2=Giuliano, W. |author3=Silver, S. |year=2006 |name-list-style=amp |title=Cockscomb revisited: jaguar diet in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize |journal=Biotropica |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=687–690 |doi=10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00190.x |bibcode=2006Biotr..38..687W |s2cid=85151201 }}

In 1999, field scientists from 18 jaguar range countries determined the most important areas for long-term jaguar conservation based on the status of jaguar population units, stability of prey base and quality of habitat. These areas, called "Jaguar Conservation Units" (JCUs), are large enough for at least 50 breeding individuals and range in size from {{cvt|566|to|67598|km2}}; 51 JCUs were designated in 36 geographic regions including:

• the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra de Tamaulipas in Mexico
• the Selva Maya tropical forests extending over Mexico, Belize and Guatemala
• the Chocó–Darién moist forests from Honduras and Panama to Colombia
• Venezuelan Llanos
• northern Cerrado and Amazon basin in Brazil
• Tropical Andes in Bolivia and Peru
• Misiones Province in Argentina

Optimal routes of travel between core jaguar population units were identified across its range in 2010 to implement wildlife corridors that connect JCUs. These corridors represent areas with the shortest distance between jaguar breeding populations, require the least possible energy input of dispersing individuals and pose a low mortality risk. They cover an area of {{cvt|2600000|km2}} and range in length from {{cvt|3|to|1102|km}} in Mexico and Central America and from {{cvt|489.14|to|1607|km}} in South America.{{Cite journal |author1=Rabinowitz, A. |author2=Zeller, K.A. |year=2010 |name-list-style=amp |title=A range-wide model of landscape connectivity and conservation for the jaguar, Panthera onca |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=143 |issue=4 |pages=939–945 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2010.01.002 |bibcode=2010BCons.143..939R |url=https://www.panthera.org/cms/sites/default/files/documents/Rabinowitz_Zeller_2010_Arangewidemodeloflandscapeconnectivityandconservationforjaguar_BioCon.pdf |access-date=14 March 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021304/https://www.panthera.org/cms/sites/default/files/documents/Rabinowitz_Zeller_2010_Arangewidemodeloflandscapeconnectivityandconservationforjaguar_BioCon.pdf |url-status=live }}

Cooperation with local landowners and municipal, state, or federal agencies is essential to maintain connected populations and prevent fragmentation in both JCUs and corridors.{{cite book |author1=Zeller, K.A. |author2=Rabinowitz, A. |author3=Salom-Perez, R. |author4=Quigley, H. |year=2013 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=The Jaguar Corridor Initiative: A range-wide conservation strategy |title=Molecular population genetics, evolutionary biology and biological conservation of Neotropical carnivores |editor1=Ruiz-Garcia, M. |editor2=Shostell, J.M. |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |location=New York |chapter-url=https://conservationcorridor.org/cpb/Zeller_et_al_2013.pdf |pages=629–657 |isbn=978-1-62417-071-3 |access-date=14 March 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129021304/https://conservationcorridor.org/cpb/Zeller_et_al_2013.pdf |url-status=live }}

Seven of 13 corridors in Mexico are functioning with a width of at least {{cvt|14.25|km}} and a length of no more than {{cvt|320|km}}. The other corridors may hamper passage, as they are narrower and longer.{{cite journal |author1=Rodríguez-Soto, C. |author2=Monroy-Vilchis, O. |author3=Zarco-González, M.M. |year=2013 |name-list-style=amp |title=Corridors for jaguar (Panthera onca) in Mexico: Conservation strategies |journal=Journal for Nature Conservation |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=438–443 |doi=10.1016/j.jnc.2013.07.002 |bibcode=2013JNatC..21..438R |url=https://www.academia.edu/35225702 |access-date=18 November 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129044432/https://www.academia.edu/35225702 |url-status=live }}

In August 2012, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service set aside {{cvt|838232|acres|km2|order=flip}} in Arizona and New Mexico for the protection of the jaguar.{{cite journal |author=Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service |year=2012 |title=Designation of Critical Habitat for Jaguar; Proposed Rule |journal=Federal Register |volume=77 |issue=161 |pages=50214–50242 |url=https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Documents/SpeciesDocs/Jaguar/Jaguar_pCH_FR_8-20-2012.pdf |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-date=14 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214001827/https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Documents/SpeciesDocs/Jaguar/Jaguar_pCH_FR_8-20-2012.pdf |url-status=live }} The Jaguar Recovery Plan was published in April 2019, in which Interstate 10 is considered to form the northern boundary of the Jaguar Recovery Unit in Arizona and New Mexico.{{cite journal |author1=Sanderson, E.W. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Fisher, K. |author3=Peters, R. |author4=Beckmann, J.P. |author5=Bird, B. |author6=Bradley, C.M. |author7=Bravo, J.C. |author8=Grigione, M.M. |author9=Hatten, J.R. |author10=González, C.A.L. |author11=Menke, K. |author12=Miller, J.R.B. |author13=Miller, P.S. |author14=Mormorunni, C. |author15=Robinson, M.J. |author16=Thomas, R.E. |author17=Wilcox, S. |year=2021 |title=A systematic review of potential habitat suitability for the jaguar Panthera onca in central Arizona and New Mexico, USA |journal=Oryx |volume= 56|issue= |pages=116–127 |doi=10.1017/S0030605320000459 |doi-access=free}}

In Mexico, a national conservation strategy was developed from 2005 on and published in 2016. The Mexican jaguar population increased from an estimated 4,000 individuals in 2010 to about 4,800 individuals in 2018. This increase is seen as a positive effect of conservation measures that were implemented in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental institutions and landowners.{{cite journal |author1=Ceballos, G. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Zarza, H. |author3=González-Maya, J.F. |author4=de la Torre, J.A. |author5=Arias-Alzate, A. |author6=Alcerreca, C. |author7=Barcenas, H.V. |author8=Carreón-Arroyo, G. |author9=Chávez, C. |author10=Cruz, C. |author11=Medellín, D. |year=2021 |title=Beyond words: From jaguar population trends to conservation and public policy in Mexico |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=16 |issue=10 |pages=e0255555 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0255555 |pmid=34613994 |pmc=8494370 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1655555C |doi-access=free}}

An evaluation of JCUs from Mexico to Argentina revealed that they overlap with high-quality habitats of about 1,500 mammals to varying degrees. Since co-occurring mammals benefit from the JCU approach, the jaguar has been called an umbrella species.{{cite journal |author1=Thornton, D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Zeller, K. |author3=Rondinini, C. |author4=Boitani, L. |author5=Crooks, K. |author6=Burdett, C. |author7=Rabinowitz, A. |author8=Quigley, H. |year=2016 |title=Assessing the umbrella value of a range-wide conservation network for jaguars (Panthera onca) |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=1112–1124 |doi=10.1890/15-0602 |jstor=24818150 |pmid=27509752 |bibcode=2016EcoAp..26.1112T |hdl=11573/893793 |url=https://iris.uniroma1.it/retrieve/handle/11573/893793/279408/Thornton_Assessing_2016.pdf |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=16 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116083400/https://iris.uniroma1.it/retrieve/handle/11573/893793/279408/Thornton_Assessing_2016.pdf |url-status=live }}

Central American JCUs overlap with the habitat of 187 of 304 regional endemic amphibian and reptile species, of which 19 amphibians occur only in the jaguar range.{{cite journal |author1=Figel, J.J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Castañeda, F. |author3=Calderón, A.P. |author4=Torre, J. |author5=García-Padilla, E. |author6=Noss, R.F. |year=2018 |title=Threatened amphibians sheltered under the big cat's umbrella: conservation of jaguars Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae) and endemic herpetofauna in Central America |journal=Revista de Biología Tropical |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=1741–1753 |doi=10.15517/rbt.v66i4.32544 |doi-access=free}}

File:Obscured jaguar.jpg]]

In setting up protected reserves, efforts generally also have to be focused on the surrounding areas, as jaguars are unlikely to confine themselves to the bounds of a reservation, especially if the population is increasing in size. Human attitudes in the areas surrounding reserves and laws and regulations to prevent poaching are essential to make conservation areas effective.{{cite journal |last1=Gutierrez-Gonzalez |first1=C.E. |last2=Gomez-Ramirez |first2=M.A. |last3=Lopez-Gonzalez |first3=C.A. |last4=Doherty |first4=P.F. |year=2015 |name-list-style=amp |title=Are Private Reserves Effective for Jaguar Conservation? |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=10 |issue=9 |page=e0137541 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1037541G |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0137541 |pmc=4580466 |pmid=26398115 |doi-access=free}}

To estimate population sizes within specific areas and to keep track of individual jaguars, camera trapping and wildlife tracking telemetry are widely used, and feces are sought out with the help of detection dogs to study jaguar health and diet.{{cite journal |last1=Soisalo |first1=M.K. |last2=Cavalcanti |first2=S.M.C. |year=2006 |name-list-style=amp |title=Estimating the density of a Jaguar population in the Brazilian Pantanal using camera-traps and capture-recapture sampling in combination with GPS radio-telemetry |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=129 |issue=4 |pages=487–496 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2005.11.023 |bibcode=2006BCons.129..487S |url=http://www.ekonoiz.com/Eco_Projects/Jaguar_Conservation/estimatingthedensityofjaguarsinthepantanal.pdf |access-date=29 November 2021 |archive-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113193618/http://www.ekonoiz.com/Eco_Projects/Jaguar_Conservation/estimatingthedensityofjaguarsinthepantanal.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Furtado |first1=M.M. |last2=Carrillo-Percastegui |first2=S.E. |last3=Jácomo |first3=A.T.A. |last4=Powell |first4=G. |last5=Silveira |first5=L. |last6=Vynne |first6=C. |last7=Sollmann |first7=R. |year=2008 |name-list-style=amp |title=Studying jaguars in the wild: past experiences and future perspectives |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 4 |pages=41–47 |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.4._SI_4/Furtado_et_al_2008_Jaguar_field_methods_s.pdf |access-date=2 February 2019 |archive-date=2 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202212055/http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.4._SI_4/Furtado_et_al_2008_Jaguar_field_methods_s.pdf |url-status=live}}

Current conservation efforts often focus on educating ranch owners and promoting ecotourism.{{cite web |author=Estévez, E. |date=2009 |title=Jaguar Refuge in the Llanos Ecoregion |publisher=World Wildlife Fund |url=http://wwf.panda.org/es/nuestro_trabajo/latinoamerica/venezuela/index.cfm?uProjectID=VE0854 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217001905/http://wwf.panda.org/es/nuestro_trabajo/latinoamerica/venezuela/index.cfm?uProjectID=VE0854 |access-date= 1 September 2006 |archive-date=17 December 2014}} Ecotourism setups are being used to generate public interest in charismatic animals such as the jaguar while at the same time generating revenue that can be used in conservation efforts. A key concern in jaguar ecotourism is the considerable habitat space the species requires. If ecotourism is used to aid in jaguar conservation, some considerations need to be made as to how existing ecosystems will be kept intact, or how new ecosystems will be put into place that are large enough to support a growing jaguar population.{{cite journal |last1=Mossaz |first1=A. |last2=Buckley |first2=R.C. |last3=Castley |first3=J.G. |year=2015 |name-list-style=amp |title=Ecotourism contributions to conservation of African big cats |journal=Journal for Nature Conservation |volume=28 |pages=112–118 |doi=10.1016/j.jnc.2015.09.009 |bibcode=2015JNatC..28..112M |hdl=10072/125191 |hdl-access=free}}

Conservationists and professionals in Mexico and the United States have established the {{cvt|56,000|acre}} Northern Jaguar Reserve in northern Mexico. Advocacy for reintroduction of the jaguar to its former range in Arizona and New Mexico have been supported by documentation of natural migrations by individual jaguars into the southern reaches of both states, the recency of extirpation from those regions by human action, and supportive arguments pertaining to biodiversity, ecological, human, and practical considerations.{{cite journal |last1=Sanderson |first1=E. W. |author2=Beckmann, J. P. |author3=Beier, P. |author4=Bird, B. |author5=Bravo, J. C. |author6=Fisher, K. |author7=Grigione, M. M. |author8=Lopez Gonzalez, C. A. |author9=Miller, J. R. |author10=Mormorunni, C. |author11=Paulson, L. |author12=Peters, R. |author13=Polisar, J. |author14=Povilitis, T. |author15=Robinson, M. J. |author16=Wilcox, S. |name-list-style=amp |title=The case for reintroduction: The jaguar (Panthera onca) in the United States as a model |journal=Conservation Science and Practice |date=2021 |volume=3 |issue=6 |page=e392 |doi=10.1111/csp2.392 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021ConSP...3E.392S}}

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical

|image1=Jaguar warrior.jpg |caption1=Jaguar warrior in the Aztec culture

|image2=MocheJaguarLarcoMuseum.jpg |caption2=Moche jaguar figurine dating to 300 CE, at the Larco Museum in Lima, Peru}}

{{Further|Jaguars in Mesoamerican cultures|Maya jaguar gods}}

In the pre-Columbian Americas, the jaguar was a symbol of power and strength. In the Andes, a jaguar cult disseminated by the early Chavín culture became accepted over most of today's Peru by 900 BC.{{cite book |title=The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History |edition=Fifth |editor1=Bulliet, R.W. |editor2=Crossley, P. |editor3=Headrick, D. |editor4=Hirsch, S. |editor5=Johnson, L. |name-list-style=amp |year=2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |volume=A 1: To 1200 |pages=75–76|url={{Google books|aujp0cT_TiEC|page=PA75|plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-1-4390-8476-2}} The later Moche culture in northern Peru used the jaguar as a symbol of power in many of their ceramics.{{cite book|author=Park, Yumi |year=2012 |title=Mirrors of Clay: Reflections of Ancient Andean Life in Ceramics from the Sam Olden Collection |publisher=University Press of Mississippi|page=49|isbn=9781617037955}} In the Muisca religion in Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the jaguar was considered a sacred animal, and people dressed in jaguar skins during religious rituals.{{cite book |last=Ocampo López |first=J. |author-link=Javier Ocampo López |year=2007 |title=Grandes culturas indígenas de América – Great indigenous cultures of the Americas |location=Bogotá, Colombia |publisher=Plaza & Janes Editores Colombia S.A. |language=es |page=231 |isbn=978-958-14-0368-4}}

The skins were traded with peoples in the nearby Orinoquía Region.{{cite thesis |author=Kruschek, M.H. |year=2003 |type=PhD thesis |title=The evolution of the Bogotá chiefdom: A household view |publisher=University of Pittsburgh |location=Pittsburgh |url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7735/1/kruschek2003.pdf |access-date=12 January 2017 |archive-date=15 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815211943/http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7735/1/kruschek2003.pdf |url-status=live }}

The name of the Muisca ruler Nemequene was derived from the Chibcha words nymy and quyne, meaning "force of the jaguar".{{cite web |title=nymy |publisher=Muysc cubun Dictionary Online |language=es |url=http://muysca.cubun.org/nymy |access-date=11 January 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013111835/http://muysca.cubun.org/nymy |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=quyne |publisher=Muysc cubun Dictionary Online |language=es |url=http://muysca.cubun.org/quyne |access-date=11 January 2017 |archive-date=10 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110082526/http://muysca.cubun.org/quyne |url-status=live }}

Sculptures with "Olmec were-jaguar" motifs were found on the Yucatán Peninsula in Veracruz and Tabasco; they show stylized jaguars with half-human faces.{{cite journal |author1=Metcalf, G. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Flannery, K.V. |year=1967 |title=An Olmec "were-jaguar" from the Yucatan Peninsula |journal=American Antiquity |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=109–111 |doi=10.2307/278787 |jstor=278787|s2cid=164201137 }} In the later Maya civilization, the jaguar was known as balam or bolom' in many of the Mayan languages, and was used to symbolize warriors and the elite class for being brave, fierce and strong. The cat was associated with the underworld and its image was used to decorate tombs and grave-good vessels.

The Aztec civilization called the jaguar ocelotl and considered it to be the king of the animals. It was believed to be fierce and courageous, but also wise, dignified and careful. The military had two classes of warriors, the ocelotl or jaguar warriors and the cuauhtli or eagle warriors and each dressed like their representative animal. In addition, members of the royal class would decorate in jaguar skins. The jaguar was considered to be the totem animal of the powerful deities Tezcatlipoca{{cite journal |author=Saunders, N.J. |year=1994 |title=Predators of culture: Jaguar symbolism and Mesoamerican elites |journal=World Archaeology |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=104–117 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1994.9980264 |jstor=124867}} and Tepeyollotl.{{cite book|last=Benson|first=Elizabeth P|contribution=The lord, the ruler: Jaguar symbolism in the Americas|year=2013|title=Icons of Power: Feline Symbolism in the Americas|editor=Saunders, Nicholas J.|pages=64–66|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136605130}}

A conch shell gorget depicting a jaguar was found in a burial mound in Benton County, Missouri. The gorget shows evenly-engraved lines and measures {{cvt|104x98|mm}}.

Rock drawings made by the Hopi, Anasazi and Pueblo all over the desert and chaparral regions of the American Southwest show an explicitly spotted cat, presumably a jaguar, as it is drawn much larger than an ocelot.

{{-}}

• List of largest cats

{{clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Panthera onca}}

{{Wikispecies|Panthera onca}}

{{Wiktionary|Panthera onca}}

• {{cite web |title = Jaguar Panthera onca |publisher = IUCN Cat Specialist Group |url = http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=95 |access-date = 15 December 2014 |archive-date = 7 March 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150307163120/http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=95 |url-status = dead }}
• {{cite web| title = Jaguars: Born free |work=BBC Natural World |year=2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q9djl |access-date=13 August 2021}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110706150720/http://www.amazonarium.com.br/docs/peopleandjaguarcomplete.pdf People and Jaguars a Guide for Coexistence]
• [http://felidaefund.org/ Felidae Conservation Fund]
• {{Cite Americana |short = x |wstitle = Jaguar}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|Jaguar.ogg|date=26 December 2011}}

{{Carnivora|Fe.}}

{{Brazil symbols}}

{{Portal bar|Cats|Mammals|Animals|Biology|North America|Central America|South America|Mesoamerica}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q35694}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Apex predators

Category:Big cats

Category:Carnivorans of Brazil

Category:ESA endangered species

Category:Extant Middle Pleistocene first appearances

Category:Fauna of the Amazon

Category:Fauna of the Cerrado

Category:Fauna of the Pantanal

Category:Fauna of the Southwestern United States

Category:Felids of Central America

Category:Felids of North America

Category:Felids of South America

Category:Mammals described in 1758

Category:Near threatened animals

Category:Near threatened biota of North America

Category:Near threatened biota of South America

onca

Category:Pleistocene mammals of North America

Category:Pleistocene mammals of South America

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus