Zoo BI Cart Feline Jaguar

Question 1

Q: Jaguar range

Answer 1

Central and South America

Question 2

Q: Jaguar habitat

Answer 2

Rainforests, temperate forests, wetlands, grassland and strongly associated with the presence of water

Question 3

Q: Jaguar niche

Answer 3

Crepuscular and nocturnal, terrestrial, carnivorous

Question 4

Q: Jaguar wild diet

Answer 4

Obligate carnivores.
Capybaras, tapirs, peccaries, armadillos, monkeys, birds, snakes, caiman, turtles, and fish.

Question 5

Q: Jaguar zoo diet

Answer 5

Fortified horsemeat

Question 6

Q: Jaguar lifespan

Answer 6

(Wild) 12 - 15 years
(Captivity) 23 years. Oldest was 29?

Question 7

Q: Jaguar sexual dimorphism

Answer 7

Females are typically 10–20% smaller than males

Question 8

Q: Jaguar top speed

Answer 8

50 mph (second-fastest big cat in the world)

Question 9

Q: Jaguar length

Answer 9

5-6 ft

Question 10

Q: Jaguar tail length

Answer 10

Shortest tail of any of the big cats, which matches their stocky build.
2 ft

Question 11

Q: Jaguar shoulder height

Answer 11

26 - 30 in

Question 12

Q: Jaguar weight

Answer 12

M 126 – 250 lbs
F 100 – 200 lbs

Question 13

Q: Jaguar coloration and pelt

Answer 13

They are typically tawny-colored and blanketed with black rosettes for camouflage in its jungle habitat.

Question 14

Q: Jaguar body physical characteristics, qualitative (quantitative info, coloration, pelt, and head are separate cards)

Answer 14

Jaguars are the largest cat species found in the Americas.
Their size is variable depending on their habitat; forest-dwelling cats are smaller than their grass- or wetlands counterparts.
Jaguars found in southern regions are also typically larger than those found in the north.
Its stocky body and limbs makes the jaguar adept at climbing, crawling, and swimming.

Question 15

Q: Jaguar head physical characteristics

Answer 15

The jaguar has a relatively large head with an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats. This allows it to pierce the shells of armored reptiles with its canines and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain.

Question 16

Q: Jaguar conservation status

Answer 16

The jaguar is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red list and its numbers are declining.
It is regulated as an Appendix I species under CITES.
Appendix I: species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

Question 17

Q: Main threats to Jaguars

Answer 17

Habitat loss.
Hunting by humans especially in conflicts with ranchers and farmers.

Question 18

Q: Jaguar conservation efforts

Answer 18

-Current conservation efforts often focus on educating ranch owners and promoting ecotourism.
-The jaguar is generally defined as an umbrella species – its home range and habitat requirements are sufficiently broad that, if protected, numerous other species of smaller range will also be protected.
-Umbrella species serve as “mobile links” at the landscape scale, in the jaguar’s case through predation. Conservation organizations may thus focus on providing viable, connected habitat for the jaguar, with the knowledge other species will also benefit.

Question 19

Q: Jaguar interaction/communication with other jaguars

Answer 19

Like most large cats, jaguars are solitary animals.
Mature jaguars only interact to mate or dispute territory.
The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and feces to mark its territory.

Question 20

Q: Jaguar vocalization

Answer 20

Being in the genus Panthera, they are considered a “big cat” but their roar often resembles a cough or grunt.

Question 21

Q: Jaguar hunting strategy

Answer 21

Jaguars are “stalk-and-ambush” hunters.
Can capture prey up to twice their size.
The jaguar hunts mostly on the ground, but it sometimes climbs a tree and pounces on its prey from above.
On killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot.
It begins eating at the neck and chest, rather than the midsection. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders.

Question 22

Q: Jaguar courtship and young

Answer 22

Jaguars can breed year-round.
Cubs are born blind and helpless, reliant on their mother’s care for survival.
They will stay in the den for up to six months before joining their mother on hunts.
Cubs learn to catch prey from mother.
Jaguars will stay with their mother for up to two years before establishing their own territory.

Question 23

Q: Jaguar estrous

Answer 23

6-17 days out of full 37 day cycle

Question 24

Q: Jaguar sexual maturity

Answer 24

F 2 yrs
M 3 – 4 yrs

Question 25

Q: Jaguar gestation

Answer 25

93 – 105 days

Question 26

Q: Jaguar weaning age

Answer 26

3 mos

Question 27

Q: Jaguar # of young

Answer 27

1 – 4 cubs; twins most common

Question 28

Q: Jaguar’s position in the ecosystem

Answer 28

Adult jaguar is an apex predator, meaning it exists at the top of its food chain and is not preyed on in the wild.
It is a keystone species, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystem and regulating the populations of the animals it hunts.

Question 29

Q: Are there different colors of Jaguars?

Answer 29

Melanism (hyperpigmentation of the fur) occurs in this species resulting in black fur.
Melanistic jaguars sometimes referred to as “black panthers”.

Question 30

Q: How to distinguish a Jaguar from a Leopard?

Answer 30

Jaguar closely resembles the leopard.
Jaguar is sturdier and heavier.
Rosettes: the rosettes on a jaguar’s coat are larger, fewer in number, usually darker, and have thicker lines and small spots in the middle that the leopard lacks.
Jaguars also have rounder heads and shorter, stockier limbs compared to leopards.