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Jaguar

The largest carnivore found in Central American. Jaguars can be up to 2 mts in length. Despite their compact frame adult males can weigh between 70-120 kg while females weigh 50-80 kg. Jaguars are a yellowish brown to white and black spotted all over. The tail is short, less than half the length of the head and body. Their head, jaw, forefeet and canine teeth are massive and extremely stong and used for grasping and killing prey.

Jaguars are rarely seen in the daylight, but occasionally they will sun themselves in the open. They spend most of the day resting in dense foliage. Jaguars are good swimmers and can easily swim rivers and small lakes, also they are very good climbers and at times rest in trees.

Jaguars usually hunt in dusk and dawn hours. They hunt for a wide range of animals, their preferred diet consists of peccaries, monkeys, agoutis, deer, fish, and turtles. Jaguars will also kill farm animals, but this occurs only when their wild game is in short supply or when settlers invade their hunting territory.

During most of the year the jaguar lives alone, and only in August or September the males and females join for mating. But they do not stay together for long. The female can have two to four cubs. The cubs stay together with the mother, learning to hunt and defend themselves for nearly a year. After this time they begin to live independantly.

Jaguars where once found throughout Honduras in coastal mangroves, lowlands savannas, wet and dry shrub-land and forests up to 1000 m in elevation. But now small populations are found in only the remoter areas. Jaguars have been hunted intensively for a long time, mainly due to the high value of their pelt. Though hunting has now stopped. The remaining Jaguars now face an even greater danger, development and deforestation. When roads and settlers colonize a virgin area, Jaguars are usually the first species to disappear. They dont seem to adapt well to intrusion of their habitat. Jaguars need around 30km2 each as hunting ground. As their natural area becomes smaller and smaller as does the population.

Jaguars are found in many of Honduras larger and remoter protected areas the main places being, Pico Bonito National Park, La Tigra National Park, Sierra de Agalta National Park, Patuca National Park and The Rio Platano Biosphere. Viewing a Jaguar in Honduras is very difficult, but by visiting the areas they inhabit you are contributing to the protection of the Jaguars habit and their survival in Honduras.

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