South American jaguar


The South American jaguar is a jaguar population in South America. Though a number of subspecies of jaguar have been proposed for South America, morphological and genetic research did not reveal any evidence for subspecific differentiation.

Taxonomic history

Initially, a number of subspecies were described for South America:
Morphological research has failed to find evidence for subspecific differentiation.

Characteristics

Jaguars are considered to be larger than cougars, and those in South America tend to be heavier than those in Central or North America. Within South America, there are differences for jaguars which are north and south of the Amazon River.
In Guyana, specimens weighing up to have been reported. The average for males and females in Venezuela was and respectively, with the latter being similar to that of Central American males in Belize. Venezuelan males and females can otherwise weigh up to and, respectively. Jaguars from Los Llanos in Venezuela, and the Pantanal region of southern Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, are the largest of the species. Pantanal jaguars have lengths of about, and average weights of for males and for females. Some individuals weighed more than.

Habitat and distribution

In Peru, the jaguar is found in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, and Manú National Park. Jaguars disappeared in a number of places, like the Pampas' part of Argentina and Uruguay.

Behavior and ecology

In South America, the jaguar's prey includes the peccary, and capybara. Sympatric predators include the mountain lion and spectacled bear. Spectacled bears appear to avoid places where the jaguar is present. This suggests predation on the bear by the jaguar.

Attacks on humans

Occasionally, jaguars may attack humans, depending on factors such as the availability of natural prey:
In Bolivia, jaguars are threatened by the illegal trafficking of their parts, including fangs to China. They are also threatened by the removal of habitat, and conflict with humans.

Cultural significance

The jaguar is featured in the crest of Argentina's national federation in rugby union. Jaguares de Córdoba is a football team in Colombia. The Lost Land of the Jaguar is a nature documentary by the BBC on Guyana's fauna, including the jaguar.

Juma

During the relaying of the torch at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, a female, captive jaguar in Manaus called 'Juma' was used as a mascot. However, it tried to escape, and on approaching a person, was killed. The animal's death provoked outrage, similar to that of a captive gorilla earlier.