jaguar, also known as the jaguar, belongs to the Panthera subgenus of the genus Panthera of the cat family. There are 9 subspecies, but they all live in Central and South America and are the top carnivores in the Americas.
The pattern of the jaguar
The jaguar is one of the most mysterious cats today, and the jaguar is also the third largest cat, second only to lions and tigers. Compared with cheetahs and leopards, jaguars are larger and have shorter tails. The shorter tail means they are not good at running and hunting. This is because the long tail helps leopards maintain balance when running, and The long tail can help balance when turning, while the short tail of the jaguar is slightly inferior to cheetahs and leopards. The pattern of
jaguar is very unique, belonging to rosette-like spots, sparse but larger in character, with solid spots in the middle. Studies have proved that this pattern can be used as a protective color, allowing them to hide in the surrounding environment. There is also a variant of
jaguar: black panther. Although the whole body is black, black panthers also have rose-colored patterns. The changes between patterns can be seen under the sunlight. Moreover, there is no reproductive isolation between the jaguar and the black leopard, they can still reproduce offspring, and they can also reproduce the jaguar of normal color, so to a certain extent, they belong to the same species.
black panthers do not have the pattern and color of the jaguar as a protective color, but black panthers are more likely to hide their tracks when hunting at night. Therefore, not only has no impact on survival, but will help them survive better.
Jaguars with normal hair cannot hide in the black, but their color and pattern allow them to mix with surrounding trees and rocks, which is conducive to their hunting. The main reason why
's patterns are spots instead of stripes are because their blood is closer to leopards and is farther from tigers. In the course of evolution, the appearance of the two is gradually different.
The hunting method of the jaguar
On the land of the Americas, the jaguar can be described as the lion to the grassland and the tiger to the forest. Although they are not as big as tigers and lions, they can catch the fierce caiman.
When a jaguar is a child, its mother will allow them to adapt to the water and the water environment. When they grow up, the jaguar can easily swim in the water, and sometimes it can directly capture the water overlord caiman.
once had a wildlife photography team that observed an 11-year-old male jaguar. His right eye was injured when he was young, causing blindness and making hunting inconvenient. Wildlife photographers have observed that although the jaguar has only one eye, it can still hunt the caiman, and the main food is the caiman. The reason is that the hunting of caiman does not require long-distance running, but relies on ambush strategy. Furthermore, although the caiman is aggressive, it is not completely flawless. As long as it can bite the caiman's neck, the caiman has almost no power to counterattack.
More importantly, the jaguar has a very strong bite force and can drag prey heavier than itself to the tree and enjoy it slowly. Therefore, they can bite through the neck of the caiman with their amazing bite force and kill them.
However, although the jaguar is powerful, battles will erupt between them. Unlike other animals, once a battle breaks out between the jaguar, it will be a very bloody and brutal battle. Therefore, some old people are weak. The jaguar will try to avoid conflicts with other mature jaguars, even if the other party robs their territory and food, they will try to avoid them.
The reproduction of the jaguar
big cats have a characteristic, that is, there is no fixed estrus period, but once the female has a cub to take care of, the female will not be in heat until the cub grows up. No exception.
Jaguar cubs will live with their mothers until they are around 2 years old. During the first 6 months of birth, the cubs will rely on the mother’s milk for a living. Although they will be weaned later, the cubs do not have the ability to prey on their own. Prey from the mother.
During the 2 years that the jaguar cubs are with their mothers, the mother will teach them many things, such as swimming, hunting skills and hiding skills. When they have the ability to survive alone, the jaguar willLeave the cubs and let them survive.
However, it is difficult for most jaguar cubs to survive to adulthood, because many male jaguars will kill the cubs in order to get the female into heat as quickly as possible. Some cubs will die prematurely due to diseases, food and other reasons.
However, the jaguar that can live to adulthood usually has a longer life span, about 18 years in the wild, and longer in the artificial environment.
Summary
Jaguars are also called jaguars, but they are closer to leopards than tigers, so their stripes are closer to leopards, rather than tigers.
Jaguars are currently in a state of no danger, but if their habitat continues to shrink, they will be as vulnerable or endangered as other big cats.
