1 / 10

Jaguars

Jaguars. The jaguar is t he largest cat in the Western Hemisphere. It’s the third largest cat in the world after the tiger and lion. . Habitat. Southern US to Argentina Lives in forested areas, open terrains and dense rainforest

zack
Download Presentation

Jaguars

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Jaguars The jaguar is the largest cat in the Western Hemisphere. It’s the third largest cat in the world after the tiger and lion.

  2. Habitat • Southern US to Argentina • Lives in forested areas, open terrains and dense rainforest • Hunted to extinction in most of the US except a small population in Tucson, Arizona • Like the tiger, loves water. • Loves to swim.

  3. Appearance Up to 6ft tall Size depends on habitat Short stocky limbs Can hunt very large animals Covered in rossettes (spots)for camoflauge

  4. Behavior • Top of the food chain • Posses the most powerful jaws of all the big cats. • Jaguars prefer to kill prey with a single bite to the skull • Decrease in numbers due to loss of habitat and hunting. • Usually solitary animals

  5. Jaguars… • Like leopards, some jaguars also have all black fur (melanistic) they are commonly called panthers but are the same species. • Cubs are born blind • 1-4 born

  6. Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary • Located in south-central Belize, was established to protect the forests, fauna and watershed. • Declared a Jaguar Preserve in 1986 • 150 square miles of tropical forest on the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains

  7. Mayan Jaguar Mythology • The Mayan people have lived in Belize’s tropical forest along with Jaguars for centuries. • Before European conquest the Mayan religion included jaguar gods, in addition to jaguar demi-gods, and ancestral protectors. • The Jaguar is a symbol of power. • Many ancient Mayan buildings are decorated with the jaguars.

  8. Jaguar Temple in the Lamanai ruins in Belize • All major Mesoamerican cultures believed in jaguar gods. • Decorated temples and art depicted images of jaguars.

  9. Underworld Gods • To the Maya daytime and night represented two different worlds. The living and the earth were associated with the day. The spirit world and the ancestors were associated with the night. • The jaguar was believed to have the ability to cross between both worlds. • Also, because jaguars are very active at night the jaguar was believed to belong to the underworld.

  10. Cited • http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/parkcockscomb.html • http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/jaguar/ • http://biological-diversity.info/Black_Jaguar.htm • http://www.panthera.org/species/jaguar • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguars_in_Mesoamerican_cultures • http://www.belizezoo.org/mammals/jaguar.html

More Related