Jaguar, Making A Splash

Jaguars are “big” cats packed into a smaller form factor. They’re the largest cat in the Americas and are the third largest cat in the world, behind tigers and lions. Males weigh up to 120kg, while the smaller females reach a maximum of 100kg. To put this in context, jaguars are about half the weight of a lion, but more than double that of a cheetah.

Unlike most domestic cats, jaguars are excellent swimmers and love the water. They can fully submerge and dive in pursuit of prey if needed and won’t hesitate to attack prey animals in the water.

As opportunistic ambush predators, jaguars aren’t well-suited to large open spaces. Instead, they’re typically found in rainforests and wetlands. Approximately half of the world’s population of jaguars live in Brazil.