Description: The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas.
Common Name: Panthera onca
Family: Felidae
Habitats: The jaguar prefers dense forest and typically inhabits dry deciduous forests, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, rainforests and cloud forests in Central and South America.
Range: Its present range extends from Mexico through Central America to South America comprising Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica.
The largest carnivore in Central America is the jaguar which measures over 2 meters and weighs up to 90kg. The magnificent feline which adorns so many advertisements about Costa Rica has become very rare and its population continues to decline. Their biggest threat besides poachers is habitat loss as they need large territories for hunting. In Costa Rica jaguars have mostly receded to remote areas like the Santa Rosa National Park, the Talamanca mountains and Corcovado.
Jaguars almost never attack humans. Like all wild cats they are extremely shy and avoid encounters with humans. Their favorite prey are peccaries, or they feed on deer, agoutis, monkeys, sloths, birds or fish.
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