THE PANTHERA ONCA:
THE JAGUAR
By Helen Barnes
Description
The jaguar is the largest member of the cat family in the world. It is known for its iconic coat, which appears as spotted dark rings, called rosettes, on their tan or light brown skin. Another identifying factor is their jaws, which are the strongest of any American feline. They have large heads, sharp teeth, a muscular build, and strong legs and chest that all contribute to their natural ability to hunt well. The size of this cat averages around five to eight feet in length and eighty to three hundred and fifty pounds in weight. Male jaguars are typically 20% larger than females. These distinct features set apart the jaguar from most large cats in the world.
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| Melanistic jaguar |
Fun Facts
- The name jaguar derives from a Native American word meaning "he who kills with one leap."
- There are solid black jaguars, called Melanistic, that exist due to a genetic mutation that contains more of the black pigments.
- The only predator to a jaguar is a human (hunting).
Ecology
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| Mother jaguar and her cub, from San Diego Zoo |
The jaguar's lifespan is anywhere from ten to fifteen years and can start reproducing at an early age of two to four years. Their year round gestation period usually lasts about 100 days and when they have cubs, the litters range from one to four offspring.
This cat was already described as an avid hunter based on its body build, so it is of little surprise that this is how they feed themselves. The jaguar relies heavily of stalking and capturing their prey which consists of deer, opossums, rabbits, armadillos, turtles, other livestock, fish and birds, just to name a few of the eighty five species the jaguar is known to ambush and kill. A unique fact about their diet is that they can adapt eating habits in their location based on the abundance of medium-sized prey, in other words, this cat is not a picky eater. Check out this video of a hunting jaguar!
The jaguars range is highly dependent on where they can find food. The cats are especially fond of wet lowland ecosystems near water, for example marshy swamps or rainforests. It is essential that the cats are near water, which does effect their habitat location and where they can survive. The ranges do differ between male and female jaguars, for example, females can survive in drier areas and grasslands. The location of these cats is monitored by the use of camera traps or telemetry-based methods.
Geographic and Population Changes
Their location ranges from the southern states of the United States of America down to the middle of Argentina, including the following countries: Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), Uruguay, and Venezuela. Jaguars were once ranging in the United States as far north as the Grand Canyon, but now, only about 100 jaguars actually live in the border where Mexico and Arizona meet, and this is the largest of three populations in the Sonora mountain range along the border, and the last hope for jaguars to survive in the United States. The jaguars have large home ranges as well and travel to different ranges through corridors, the travel highways for jaguars to navigate around. Unfortunately, these corridors are being blocked by human traffic, such as roads and highways, which is endangering the species.
Listing Date and Listing Type
On April 20, 2012 the jaguar was listed as endangered from the United States and Mexico border all the way to central South America by the Technical Subgroup of Jaguar Recovery Team in conjunction with Implementation Subgroup of the Jaguar Recovery Team and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The jaguar was originally found in 21 countries, and now only in 19 (the two without jaguars are El Salvador and Uruguay). The jaguar's location and type of listing was changed several times throughout history, but this was the most recent update of the jaguars listing. To see the entire history of the jaguar's listing, click on the link below.
Main Threats
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| Jaguar pelt from illegal hunting |
The number one reason for species declination is also the number one threat to jaguars: habitat destruction. Most of their loss is in the southern states of USA and northeastern parts of South America. This is because of the high rates of deforestation in these areas. 60% of their habitat in these areas is lost due to deforestation and fragmentation. One of the main reasons behind this threat is human growth and roads that are overtaking areas that jaguars can survive in. Mortality of jaguars increases because road development due to death by traveling vehicles, death of jaguar prey due to cars, and increased human hunting access.
A second large factor that is threatening the jaguar is the illegal hunting and killing of the cat. The jaguar is hunted for its beautiful coat, paws, and teeth. Jaguars are also targeted by livestock owners because the cats often hunt cattle.
Other lesser threats to the cats include disease, the lack of CITES regulation in regards to trade, overexploitation of the prey of jaguars, border issues, wildlife damage management control programs, genetics in regards to a reduced fitness, and climate change, which is projected to be a more severe threat in future centuries.
It is estimated there are only 15,000 jaguars left in the wild today!
Recovery Plan Summarization
The goal of the recovery plan is to conserve the jaguar's habitat and reduce its degradation rate and effects. The ultimate goal is to delist this animal from the list of endangered species. The approach plan can be summarized into two main strategies. The first is to understand and gather information about what is known about the range of the jaguars and their current status. This also includes locating their habitat gaps and finding plans to address the loss of their habitat in United States and northern Mexico. The second approach method is to begin completing the actions that will start conserving jaguars and their habitat range. Smaller objectives of the recovery plan include addressing other issues that are contributing to the decline of the cat, such as human population growth including roads or highways, increasing regulations of the illegal killing of jaguars themselves and their prey, education on the status of the jaguars, and maintaining the overall health of the cats. The plans also differ between locations for a more accurate approach.
Personal Action
The action steps of the recovery plan include a variety of steps: recording where current jaguars are surviving, observing the current quality of their habitat, researching and gaining more knowledge about the impacts of human actions such as highways, improving their landscape and corridors, encouraging the protection of the jaguars in regards to illegal hunting, and improving livestock and jaguar problems to lower hunting of jaguars by ranchers.
These steps may seem overwhelming and you may be wondering how you can help as an individual, so how can we protect this animal?
Unfortunately, what has already happened to the jaguar cannot be erased so it is up to us now to prevent any further habitat destruction and declination of this animal. There are several simple steps that can go a long way. A few examples include sending messages to government officials and stating your stance on jaguar conservation, staying up to date on what is affecting the animal, and simply becoming a advocate for the cat. Click on the link below to help a jaguar and their endangered life.
Another simple step is signing an online petition and voicing your opinion in saving the jaguars. Click on the link below to sign online.
Resources
"Basic Facts About Jaguars." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Bradford, Alina. "Jaguar Facts: Biggest Cat in Americas." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 19 June 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
"Jaguar, South America's Big Cat." World Wide Fund for Nature. N.p., 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
United States of America. Endangered Species Act. US Fish and Wildlife Service.Recovery Plan for the Jaguar. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
I can't believe people still hunt Jaguars for their pelts, I found the Melanistic Jaguar interesting. I knew that some animals lack pigment but didn't realize that there existed genetic abnormalities resulting in abundance of dark pigment. #BIO227Fall2015
ReplyDeleteI also found the Melanistic Jaguar very interesting. The endangerment of the Jaguar will always be a sad story in my mind. Such a beautiful animal. #bio227Fall2015
ReplyDeleteThis was written by Clay Boswell^ posting on social media didn't work for me. #bio227Fall2015
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