# Jaguar — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Panthera onca*

> A jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large spotted big cat native to the Americas — the largest cat on the continent and the third-largest in the world — known for the strongest bite of any big cat and a habit of killing prey by piercing the skull.

**IUCN status:** Near Threatened globally — but Endangered or Critically Endangered across most regional populations outside Amazonia  ·  **WARN range:** Brazil, Colombia

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lifespan | ~11–15 years in the wild; up to ~22–23 in captivity |
| Weight | Males ~56–96 kg (up to ~158 kg exceptional); females ~10–20% smaller |
| Length | Head-body 1.1–1.85 m; tail 45–75 cm; shoulder height ~57–81 cm |
| Diet | Carnivore — 85+ prey species incl. capybara, peccary, caiman, turtles |
| Gestation | ~91–111 days |
| Young per birth | Usually 1–2 cubs (occasionally up to 4) |
| Baby name | Cub |
| Group name | Largely solitary; a group is informally a "shadow" of jaguars |
| CITES | Appendix I (all commercial international trade banned) |
| Notable | Strongest bite of any big cat for its size; largest cat in the Americas |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Carnivora
- **Family:** Felidae
- **Subfamily:** Pantherinae
- **Genus:** Panthera
- **Species:** Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758)

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Near Threatened
- **Population:** No precise global figure; the Amazonian subpopulation — about 89% of the total — is estimated at 57,000–64,000 mature individuals
- **Trend:** Decreasing
- **Assessed:** 2017
- **CITES:** Appendix I
- Globally Near Threatened, but most subpopulations outside Amazonia are assessed as Endangered or Critically Endangered, and an estimated 20–25% of mature individuals have been lost over the past three generations (~21 years).

## Key facts: Jaguar
- The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas and the third-largest big cat in the world, behind only the tiger and lion.
- It has the most powerful bite of any big cat for its size, and uniquely kills by piercing the skull or shell of its prey.
- The IUCN lists the jaguar as Near Threatened (assessed 2017) with a decreasing population trend.
- Around 89% of all jaguars live in the Amazon; most populations elsewhere are Endangered or Critically Endangered.
- Jaguars eat more than 85 prey species, including capybara, peccary, caiman and turtles.
- Habitat loss, prey depletion, and killing in retaliation for livestock losses are the biggest threats.

## Why the jaguar is in trouble
The jaguar carries a global IUCN status of Near Threatened, but that single label hides a stark divide. The species has been lost from roughly half its historic range, and its assessed range fell about 20% in little more than a decade. The reason the overall status is not worse is the Amazon: the vast Amazonian subpopulation holds an estimated 57,000–64,000 mature jaguars — close to 89% of the world total — and is the only subpopulation rated Least Concern. Almost every population outside it is fragmented and rated Endangered or Critically Endangered. As a result the IUCN suspects a 20–25% decline in mature jaguars over the past three generations (about 21 years), and the trend is still downward.

## Behaviour and ecology
Jaguars are solitary, territorial ambush hunters most at home near water — riverbanks, swamps, flooded grassland and dense forest. They are strong swimmers and unusually comfortable hunting in and around rivers, taking caimans, capybara, peccary, fish and turtles among more than 85 recorded prey species. Their signature is the killing bite: rather than suffocating prey at the throat like most big cats, a jaguar often bites straight through the skull or pierces a turtle's shell, using jaw muscles powerful enough to give it the strongest bite of any big cat for its body size. The largest jaguars of all are found in open wetlands such as Brazil's Pantanal, where males can be far heavier than forest-dwelling cats.

## Threats
Three pressures drive the decline. First, habitat loss and fragmentation: as forest and wetland are cleared for cattle, soy and infrastructure, jaguar populations are cut off from one another and lose the room a wide-ranging predator needs. Second, prey depletion from hunting, which empties habitat that still looks intact. Third, direct killing — jaguars are shot in retaliation when they take livestock, and despite a CITES Appendix I ban there is renewed illegal trade in jaguar teeth, skulls and skins. Connecting protected areas through habitat corridors and reducing conflict with ranchers are central to keeping populations viable.

## What rescue and protection involve
Saving jaguars is mostly about people and land, not captivity. The work includes protecting and linking core habitat, supporting ranchers to prevent and tolerate livestock losses, funding ranger patrols and camera-trap monitoring, and rehabilitating orphaned or injured cats for release where possible. Because a single jaguar may range over hundreds of square kilometres, conservation has to operate at landscape scale and across borders — which makes locally led teams who know the terrain and the communities essential.

## Jaguar vs leopard: how to tell them apart
| Feature | Jaguar (Panthera onca) | Leopard (Panthera pardus) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where it lives | The Americas (Mexico to Argentina) | Africa and Asia |
| Build | Bigger, stockier, broad head and chest | Slimmer and more lightly built |
| Rosettes | Larger rosettes, often with spots inside | Smaller, tighter rosettes with no inner spots |
| Typical male weight | ~56–96 kg (up to ~158 kg) | ~30–90 kg |
| Signature behaviour | Kills by piercing the skull; hunts in and around water | Often hauls kills up into trees |
| IUCN status | Near Threatened | Vulnerable |

## What WARN does
The World Animal Rescue Network (WARN CIC) is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams in five countries — Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Colombia. The jaguar sits squarely inside two of those: Brazil holds the largest jaguar population in the Americas, and Colombia roughly a fifth of the world's remaining jaguars. Our funded focus is backing partners on the ground in Brazil and Colombia — supporting habitat protection, anti-poaching and human-wildlife conflict work, and the rehabilitation of orphaned or injured cats. The jaguar ranges across some eighteen countries from Mexico to Argentina, so beyond our two funded countries our role is wider public education and awareness rather than direct field operations.

Most of the world's jaguars live in Brazil and Colombia — the two range countries where we fund local partner teams. A donation to the Jaguar Appeal helps those teams protect habitat, ease conflict with ranchers, and rescue orphaned cubs on the ground.

## Frequently asked questions: Jaguar
### How big is a jaguar and how much does it weigh?
Jaguars are the largest cats in the Americas. Males typically weigh about 56–96 kg (123–212 lb), with exceptional individuals reaching around 158 kg; females are usually 10–20% smaller. Head-and-body length runs about 1.1–1.85 m, plus a 45–75 cm tail.

### How long do jaguars live?
In the wild jaguars rarely live beyond about 11–15 years. In captivity they can reach roughly 22–23 years.

### What do jaguars eat?
Jaguars are pure carnivores and opportunistic hunters with more than 85 recorded prey species, including capybara, peccary, deer, caiman, fish and turtles. Their powerful bite lets them kill larger or armoured prey other cats avoid.

### Are jaguars dangerous to humans?
Jaguars generally avoid people and attacks on humans are extremely rare. They are powerful wild predators, but conflict almost always involves livestock rather than people.

### How many jaguars are left in the wild?
There is no single precise global count, but the largest subpopulation — in Amazonia — is estimated at 57,000–64,000 mature individuals, about 89% of the world total. The IUCN classes the species as Near Threatened with a decreasing population.

### Why are jaguars threatened?
The main drivers are habitat loss and fragmentation, depletion of their prey, and direct killing in retaliation for livestock losses, alongside illegal trade in their parts. Jaguars have already disappeared from about half their historic range.

### What is a baby jaguar called?
A baby jaguar is called a cub. Litters are usually one to two cubs (occasionally up to four) after a gestation of about 91–111 days, and cubs stay with their mother for around 1.5–2 years.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Panthera onca (Jaguar), 2017 assessment](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15953/123791436)
- [CITES — Jaguar (Panthera onca), Appendix I](https://cites.org/eng/node/135138)
- [Panthera — Jaguar species profile](https://panthera.org/cat/jaguar)
- [IUCN Cat Specialist Group — Jaguar](https://www.catsg.org/living-species-jaguar)
- [U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Jaguar (Panthera onca)](https://www.fws.gov/species/jaguar-panthera-onca)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Jaguar](https://www.britannica.com/animal/jaguar-mammal)

---
Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/jaguar