The Jaguar

The Jaguar

By Logan Chirigotis

http://www.defenders.org/jaguar/basic-facts

The Jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas, it had solid black dots throughout its body that are the shape of roses and therefore most scientists call the spots "rosettes" and its coat is usually yellow or tan. The Jaguar is around 5-6 feet in length and weighs 100-250. The weight depends on whether it is a male or female and if its habitat is open like a grassland or a forest. The Jaguar is a carnivore and its prey for hunting includes deer, crocodiles, frogs, fish and even monkeys. The Jaguar surprisingly love the water and use it to bath as well hunt for fish. The Jaguars reproduce year round with having around 1-4 cubs in each litter and stay with their cubs for about two years. It's lifespan ranges from 10-15 years. The Jaguars are also very famous for the their involvement in stories. 

Geographic Range and Population

The Jaguars are now located mainly in South America from Mexico to Argentina. The Jaguar use to reside in the southern United States but now it has been completely eradicated from the United States and now only reside in South America. The Jaguar has two kinds or habitats that it lives in, a open habitat like grasslands or a forest habitat. The population of the Jaguar is now only 15,000. 

http://www.sonic.net/~evolve/wp/human_ecology/simons_land_fantasy.htm 

Listing

The Jaguar was listed on March 30, 1972 under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 but then listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1973 because it had already been listed prior to the 1973 act. The Jaguar is listed endangered wherever they are found within the world. Even though the Jaguar was listed in 1972, it was not until 2010 where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to draft a recovery plan but in April 2012 the plan was finished. 

The Threats to Jaguars

Their are three main threats that made the Jaguar endangered, habitat loss, poaching, and human intolerance. The habitat for the Jaguar is getting destroying through humans building streets, towns, and so on. Poaching is also a big problem because many hunters will hunt the Jaguar for recreational purposes,which means that to hunters the Jaguar is considered a trophy. Now the third one is human intolerance which is similar to poaching but the reason why the Jaguars are hunted is not because they are trophies but because the Jaguars are killing the livestock of farmers. 

Recovery Plan

The recovery plan for Jaguars consists of the protecting and restoring the Jaguar's habitat so it will be able to sustain a Jaguar population. It also includes reducing human caused Jaguar deaths as well as reduce the illegal hunting of the Jaguar prey. Reducing the hunting of the Jaguar prey helps it maintain high fitness and overall keep the Jaguar population healthy. Another objective in the plan is to revise the plan if new information on the Jaguar is found out through continued research of it. 

http://www.zooborns.typepad.com/zooborns/jaguar/page/2/

Work Cited

• A. Recovery Outline a for the Jaguar (n.d.): n. pag. Environmental Conservation Online System. Apr. 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
• "BASIC FACTS ABOUT JAGUARS." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
• "Jaguars, Jaguar Pictures, Jaguar Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
• "Seagrasses: Biology, Ecology and Conservation." (2006): n. pag. Kids Planet. Web. 3 Dec. 2015
• "Threats to Jaguars." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.