The largest cat in the Western hemisphere and the third largest, after lions and tigers, in the world, the jaguar can grow to 300 pounds. Often confused with leopards, the jaguar may be distinguished by the additional spots in the center of its rosettes and its stockier body and shorter limbs. Its range extends from the southwestern United States through Mexico and Central America as far south as Patagonia. Typically, it prefers dense jungle, scrubland and shoreline forests, though it may inhabit open areas if prey and water are available.

An excellent swimmer and strong climber, the jaguar often waits in trees for its prey, relying on proximity rather than sustained speed in hunting. Its strong jaws usually kill with one bite and its diet ranges from smaller mammals like peccaries (relatives of feral pigs) and capybaras (large rodents) to prey like deer, mountain sheep and domesticated livestock.

Because of deforestation and hunting, jaguars are increasingly threatened. Hunting for pelts has severely declined since the 1970s, but farmers still kill jaguars as threats to livestock. Believed to be extirpated in the United States in the 1990s, one was spotted last fall in the bootheel of New Mexico by a rancher, who is also a member of the Malpai Borderlands Group.

Nature picture credits (left to right): Jaguar © Al Brock; Jaguar close-up © T. Beans.