Jaguar: status, range, size and diet
The largest cat in the Americas, a powerful swimmer and ambusher of the forests and wetlands, listed as Near Threatened.
Also known as Panthera onca, el tigre, black panther, American leopard
At a glance
| Scientific name | Panthera onca |
|---|---|
| Group | Big cats |
| Weight | Typically 56-96 kg; the largest males exceed 130 kg |
| Length | Head and body about 112-185 cm, tail 45-75 cm |
| Known for | A bite strong enough to crack turtle shells, and its swimming and fishing. |
Status
| IUCN Red List category | Near Threatened |
|---|---|
| Assessed in | 2017 |
Where it lives
| Range | From Mexico through Central America to Paraguay and northern Argentina, with rare records in the southwestern United States |
|---|---|
| Habitat | Lowland rainforest, swamp, floodplain, dry forest and scrub, usually near water |
| Diet | Capybara, peccaries, deer, caiman, turtles, fish and many smaller animals |
Main threats
- Habitat loss and fragmentation
- Retaliatory killing over livestock
- Poaching and illegal trade in parts
- Loss of prey
About
The jaguar is the biggest cat in the Americas and the third biggest in the world, after the tiger and the lion. It is stocky and short-legged, with a broad head and a coat of rosettes that often contain a central spot, which separates it from the more slender leopard. Black jaguars occur through a dominant gene and are most common in dense rainforest.
Jaguars are solitary and territorial. They are strongly tied to water, swim well and hunt along riverbanks and in flooded forest.
Where it lives and what it eats
Jaguars once ranged from the American Southwest to the south of Argentina. They have been lost from El Salvador and Uruguay and from most of the United States, and the total area they occupy fell by more than half over the past century. The largest remaining stronghold is the Amazon basin, with other populations in the Pantanal, the Atlantic and Central American forests, and Mexico.
The cat kills by biting through the skull of its prey, a method that works on animals protected by armour such as caiman and turtles. It takes prey from the size of a fish to that of a capybara or tapir, and it prefers animals of roughly 45 to 85 kg where it can find them.
Threats and conservation
The IUCN lists the jaguar as Near Threatened, based on an assessment completed in 2017. Forest is cleared for cattle and crops, roads and fences split populations, and prey is overhunted. Ranchers kill jaguars after livestock losses, and illegal trade in teeth, claws and skins continues.
Conservation efforts focus on the Jaguar Corridor, an idea of linking populations along the length of the range, with ranching practices that lower losses, payment schemes for farmers and law enforcement against poaching. Mexico's national survey counted about 4,800 jaguars in 2018, up from about 4,000 in 2010, while other regions have lost animals.
Cats and people
The jaguar was a sacred and royal symbol for the Maya, Aztec and Andean peoples, who gave it a place in art, warfare and ritual. Attacks on people are rare and mostly involve wounded or cornered animals. Jaguars breed in zoos. In the wild, occasional males have been photographed in Arizona and New Mexico after crossing from Mexico.
Profile last reviewed November 7, 2026