Fun and Games

Sonoran Desert Endangered Species Game Card: Jaguar - Panthera onca

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Directions: Print two copies of the card, then select the remaining cards from the Learning Materials menu.

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

 

 

 

Description: The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest cat native to the Western Hemisphere. It is characterized by yellowish-brown fur with dark rosette markings. The lower region of the tail is ringed in black and the tips of the ears have black edges. Jaguars are powerfully built, with large heads and strong limbs. The weight of an adult male averages around 120-200 pounds, while the females weigh slightly less.

Habitat: The jaguar's habitat varies from wet lowland habitats on its center range to arid habitats along its northern range.

Range: The jaguar can be a far ranging animal, traveling distances up to 500 miles. In North America, the historic range of the jaguar included Arizona up to the Grand Canyon and the mountains south of it, southwest New Mexico, and southeast California. The current range is considered by many to include Mexico, Central America, and as far south as Argentina in South America.

Reproduction: Jaguars breed year round with about a 100 day gestation period. A litter of one to four cubs is usually produced, with the average being two cubs. Cubs remain with their mother for two years.

Diet: The jaguar includes up to eighty-five species into its diet. Some prey species include the javelina, deer, turtle, birds, fish, and livestock. On the U.S. and Mexico borderlands, javelina and deer are the jaguar's primary food source.

Status: On July 22, 1997, the Fish and Wildlife Service granted endangered status to the jaguar throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

 

Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan • Pima County Administrator’s Office • 130 West Congress, 10th floor, Tucson, AZ 85701-1317 • Phone: 520-740-8661 • http://www.SDCPonline.org

Return to the Sonoran Desert Endangered Species Card Game

Learning Information

About This Page

Collection: This game's content provided by Pima County Natural Resources Parks & Recreation. The Sonoran Desert Kids is a kids club sponsored by Pima County Natural Resources Parks & Recreation. The Sonoran Desert Kids Club has online activities and real life meetings that kids can join.

All Rights Reserved.

 Treehouses are authored by students, teachers, science enthusiasts, or professional scientists. Anyone can sign up as a treehouse contributor and share their knowledge and enthusiasm about organisms. Treehouse contributions are checked for general accuracy and quality by teachers and ToL editors, but they are not usually reviewed by expert scientists. If you spot an error, please get in touch with the author or the teacher. For more information about quality control of Tree of Life content, see Status of Tree of Life Pages.

ToL Treehouses

Treehouse Content

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top