One of the most amazing and rare representatives of the cat family will be discussed in this article.
Once upon a time, ancient people (Mayans) worshiped this animal as a symbol of the power of the gods. They even had such an expression: "Unleash the skin of the jaguar - and you will see all the stars of the universe."
Like a mysterious night ghost, a jaguar represents an animal, in the footsteps of which there is a fairy tale legend.
Black Jaguar: photos, description
A predatory cat (black panther) is one of the most amazing and beautiful representatives of this family.
In some corners of the Earth there is a sense of the spirit of a mysterious wild world. In these places, nature has been preserved in its original appearance, here there are wild laws that are dictated by the strongest. In such places of some territories of Central America and Argentina (the northern part), the same jaguar lives - a huge wild cat, a lone predator.
Brazilian hunters believe that he has some kind of powerful hypnosis, and the Indians - that he is able to imitate the sounds of cries of birds and animals (a way to lure prey).
The black jaguar belongs to the cat family and, like the lion and tiger, belongs to the genus panther, and in its size it occupies the third place. The weight of this predator reaches 120 kg (the recorded record is 158 kg), and the body has a length of 120 to 190 cm without a tail. The length of the latter is about one meter.
Habitat
Black jaguars live in the territories of South America, mainly in Brazil and Paraguay, in tropical forests.
In general, their habitat is from the north of Argentina to Central America. Unfortunately, the jaguars are completely exterminated in Uruguay and El Salvador. The largest representatives of this predator live in Brazil in the state of Mato Grosso.
The black jaguar is an animal that lives mainly in tropical forests, although it is often found in pampas and in areas overgrown with xerophytic shrubs (semi-deserts, deserts, and the sea coast). Very rarely they are found in mountainous areas.
To date, the habitat of the jaguar has decreased by 2/3. For example, in the USA (in the south), the last representatives of this species were exterminated in 1900.
Living conditions
Most often, a solitary lifestyle leads a jaguar. Black Panther prefers to hunt after sunset and just before dawn.
One individual has an area of 25 to 100 square meters. km Moreover, the area of their territory in shape, as a rule, represents the shape of a triangle, and its size depends on the landscape, the number of game inhabited there and the sex of this predatory animal (usually in females it is much smaller).
On its territory in one particular area, the male usually hunts for about 3-4 days, after which he searches for prey in another zone of his possessions. The jaguar does not tolerate the presence of other animals of the cat family at home, but it is peaceful in relation to relatives, and therefore the territories of these animals may intersect.
A black jaguar usually sits in an ambush (in tall grass, on a tree), waiting for its prey. Seeing her, he attacks from the back or side, grabbing her by the neck. Unlike other wild cats, sometimes he bites the skull of a prey. Its main catch is tapirs, capybaras, bakers, birds, snakes, monkeys, rodents, etc.
Habits
Very few cases of the attack of this predator on humans are known, more often this was provoked by the person himself. Scientists (naturalists, zoologists) and travelers believe that the predator is simply curious and not aggressive.
In fact, the black jaguar is a free cat, loving wild open spaces.
Pretty willingly attacks livestock. The peculiarity of the jaguar is that it does not pursue fleeing animals.
He likes to dig up tortoise eggs, and can also deal with turtles themselves, taking out their soft parts from under the shell with their paw. He simply crushes smaller individuals with his teeth. In addition, this predator is a great swimmer and a good fisherman.
As a rule, he eats his prey, starting from the head. Carrion almost does not feed.
When hunting, the jaguar makes unusual sounds - gutturally, abruptly grumbles, and during the mating season and at night it makes a loud roar.
In conclusion, a little about the danger
The black jaguar, like all wild cats, is a fearless, strong and dexterous predator. Jaguars are able not only to attack the victim, which exceeds the attacker in terms of parameters, but also to deal with prey almost effortlessly. For example, with a body weight of 120 kg, a jaguar can master an animal with a weight reaching 300 kg.
With seeming aggressiveness and cruelty, a panther will never attack unless she is hungry. In the opposite case, a hungry predator still does not miss the chance to attack any prey, including humans, although this rarely happens.
The reason for this behavior of the jaguar is the invasion of people in its space. By hunting in its territories, a jaguar can perceive a person as its prey.
And yet, despite the hypnotic abilities of this animal, the formidable roar, strength and daring temper, it suffered from human behavior towards him because of valuable fur. In this regard, wild cats are on the verge of extinction. Today, the panther is protected by law and listed on the international Red Book.