Jaguar  (Panthera onca)

Jaguars are solitary animals that occupy shifting territories, males and females only coming together in order to mate (8). Mating occurs throughout the year, but young are reportedly more likely to be born in the wet season when prey is more abundant. The female gives birth to a litter size of one to four cubs after a gestation period of 91 to 111 days (9). Young are dependent on their mother for up to two years, after which time they disperse to find their own territory (10). Jaguars reach sexual maturity at two to three years for females, three to four years for males (10). Life span in the wild is not known, but jaguar specialist Alan Rabinowitz estimated that few jaguars in Belize lived more than 11 years. In captivity jaguars have lived as long as 25 years, and one female reached 32 years (11).

Although the jaguar has been characterised as nocturnal, it is more often crepuscular (being active around dawn and dusk) (9), with peak activity periods dependent on local prey habits (2). Like most cats, jaguars are opportunistic hunters, and more than 85 species have been recorded in their diet (9), ranging in size from domestic cattle down to various species of peccary, reptiles and fish (3). Relative to their size, they have the most powerful bite of the ‘big cats’ and are the only big cat to regularly kill by piercing the skull (2).