Jaguar

Description

The Jaguar (Panthera onca) is a powerful big cat with a distinctive golden-yellow coat and dark rosette markings. Native to various ecosystems in Belize, including rainforests and savannas.

Interesting Facts

• Scientific Name: Panthera onca
• Habitat: Inhabits diverse landscapes in Belize, showcasing adaptability to different environments.
• Diet: Apex predators, feeding on a variety of prey including deer, capybaras, and caimans.
• Behavior: Solitary and territorial; play a crucial role in regulating prey populations and maintaining ecological balance in Belize.

Fun Facts

• Jaguars have the most powerful bite of any wildcat; over 1000 PSI
• They prefer to kill their prey with a single bite through the skull
• The patterns on a jaguar’s coat are like human finger prints; they are always different, and can be used to tell one jaguar from the other
• Jaguars are excellent swimmers, and even hunt in the water

Belize Zoo Trivia

The oldest jaguar who ever lived at the Zoo was CT; he was 23 years old Jaguars at the Zoo enjoy enrichment, such as perfume scented logs, blood popsicles, cardboard boxes, and boomer balls

Conservation Efforts

In an attempt to reduce the number of jaguar killings due to conflict with humans, in 2003 TBZTEC, in collaboration with the Belize Forest Department began a program to intervene on behalf of jaguars who were confirmed to be repeated livestock predators.

After assessment and authorization by BFD, the cats are humanely trapped and safely transferred to the Human Jaguar Conflict Program (HCJP) facility at the Zoo. To date, the HCJP has rescued over 25 jaguars from conflict situations and certain death.

Jaguars in the HCJP have contributed to ex-situ conservation efforts for their species. Research on veterinary medicine, hormonal studies, feeding habits, size and weight comparisons, and behaviour has been conducted. These studies have helped inform informational gaps in the study and conservation of their species in the wild.

Two jaguars have also been sent to AZA accredited zoos in the USA as part of the IUCN’s Jaguar Species Survival Plan.