• The name "jaguar" comes from a native Indian word meaning "the killer that takes its prey in a single bound."
• Jaguars are the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere, and the third largest overall. Only lions and tigers are bigger.
• Jaguars are completely at home in the water, and are seldom far from a river or lake.
• A jaguar may go "fishing" by waving its tail over the water to attract hungry fish.
• Jaguars are accomplished, versatile hunters. They will catch and eat almost anything, including monkeys, capybaras, deer, peccaries, birds, turtles, snakes and iguanas. Jaguars may also eat plants and fruit such as avocado.
• While the jaguar once populated the southern United States, Central America, and South America, its presence throughout this range has been extremely diminished. It is rare to nonexistent within the USA, Mexico, most of Central America, eastern Brazil, Uruguay, and much of Argentina. The jaguar's numbers have fallen primarily as a result of commercial fur hunting, habitat loss, and removal actions attempting to diminish their threat to livestock and humans.
• Jaguars are solitary except during mating.
• Jaguars are rarely seen in the wild due to their shy nature and their well-camouflaged coats.
• Most jaguars are yellowish to tawny in color, spotted with large black rosettes or rings. Black and nearly all white (albino) jaguars are occasionally born.

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