Jaguar
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large feline that lives in South and Central America.
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[edit] Appearance
Jaguars have yellow or yellow-orange fur with brown and black rosettes and spots. They are big and heavy and also very strong. Sometimes there are jaguars who are completely black. But often if you look closely you can still see the spots. They are called "black panther" or just "panther".
They cannot climb very well, but they are good swimmers, and they do it often.
[edit] Habitat
Jaguars live in South and Central America. They mostly live in rainforests, but also in savanna, swamp and desert areas.
[edit] Life
Jaguars are not specialized with their food, but eat almost anything they get: big and small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and livestock. When hunting, they usually try to secretly get very close to the prey, and then the jaguar suddenly jumps at it and throws it down. The jaguar bites the skull of its prey to kill it. It then takes the prey to a safe place and eats it.
After a pregnancy of about a hundred days the female gives birth to usually 1 - 4 babies. The young leave their family after 1-2 years, and they become mature at about 3 years. Jaguars can become up to 10-12 years old in freedom, but in captivity (e.g. in zoos) they can become up to 20-22 years old.
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