Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Mammalia

Jaguar Pantera onca Length: 6 feet + 30" tail Weight: 100 - 250 lbs. Habitat: Lowland forests of Central America

The jaguar is an enormous cat that may weigh well over two hundred pounds. It is at the top of the food web in American rainforests: It can kill and eat anything it finds, but nothing eats it. The jaguar finds anything from deer to alligators quite delicious. It hunts in the water and in the trees to find its favorite delicacies. Some jaguars are protected in safe reserves by a car manufacturer that is called Jaguar.

~A Walk in the Rainforest © 1992