The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas.

The jaguar has a compact body, a

broad head and powerful jaws. Its coat is normally yellow and tan, but the color
can vary from reddish brown to black. The spots on the coat are more solid and
black on the head and neck and become larger rosette-shaped patterns along the
side and back of the body.
As a top-level carnivore, the big cat helps prevent overgrazing of vegetation by keeping its prey
populations in balance. Jaguars are also important in human culture, frequently playing a central role
in stories, songs and prayers of indigenous people. Yet today, jaguars have been almost completely
eliminated from the United States.

Range & Habitat

The mighty jaguar once roamed from Argentina in South America all the way up to the Grand
Canyon in Arizona. Today, jaguars have been almost completely eliminated from the United States
and are endangered throughout their range, which stretches down to Patagonia in South America.
The jaguar makes its home in a wide-variety of habitats including deciduous forests, rainforests,
swamps, pampas grasslands and mountain scrub areas.

Population
At best, only an estimated 15,000 jaguars remain in the wild. Bi-national conservation efforts have
been successful at protecting a small population of 80 to 120 cats in the remote mountains of
Sonora, Mexico bordering Arizona. This population is the largest of three known to remain in
Sonora, and is the last hope for recovery in the United States.