THE NORTH AMERICAN JAGUAR

Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Panthera Species: P. onca

Where the jaguars reside

Jaguars are found in Mexico and Central America Jaguars are found in Mexico and Central America. They are larger than Leopards. Their coat has different colors. They are usually yellow brownish with black spots. They feed on wild pigs, large rodents, deer, sloth ,fresh water fish and other small animals. They Occasionally prey on domestic livestock.

Reproduction and life cycle Jaguar females reach sexual maturity at about two years of age, and males at three or four. The cat is believed to mate throughout the year in the wild. Mating pairs separate after the act, and females provide all parenting. The gestation period lasts 93–105 days; females give birth to up to four cubs, and most commonly to two.

CUTE CUBS The young are born blind, gain sight after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at three months but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts. They will continue in their mother's company for one to two years before leaving to establish a territory for themselves. Males are nomadic. Life span ranges from 12- 16 in wild and 23 years in captivity.

Melanism in Jaguars .The melanistic form is less common than the spotted form (it occurs at about six percent of the population) of jaguars and is the result of a dominant allele. Jaguars with melanism appear entirely black, although their spots are still visible on close examination. Melanistic Jaguars are informally known as black panthers, but do not form a separate species. Rare albino individuals, sometimes called white panthers, also occur among jaguars, as with the other big cats.

What is the difference between Leopard, Panthers, and Jaguars?....Genetics? They are all very closely related at some point, hundreds of thousands of years ago, they had a common ancestor. Darwin's Theory of Evolution explains how each species adapted due to genetic mutations chance events that favoured the environment they were living in, and got passed down to the offspring.

The genetic differences also produce slightly different charactaristics in the animals. For example jaguars have slightly larger heads. There are also slight differences in their coats. Leopards live in Africa and Jaguars in central and North America.

Differences between leopard and Jaguar

The jaguar (Panthera onca),

Endangered ? The population is constantly decreasing due to mostly human activities like urbanization, Agriculture, Illegal hunting etc. Conservation strategies for jaguars should aim to maintain high levels of gene flow over broad geographical areas,

No recovery plan? The U.S fish and wildlife services denied a recovery plan 2.1 5 million hecatres of land was promised to be desinated in janurary 2011 To this day, a decision has not been made in terms of a recovery plan Michael Robinson of the Center For Biological Diversity calls it "an unfortunate delay that the jaguar can ill afford."

A battle ensures Jagaurs are protected under the endangered species act. Capture of macho B by state employee in violation the endangered species act U.S Mexican border wall preventing wildlife to migrate freely creating habitat destruction.

No Death will go in Vain Macho B, the last wild jaugaur n the United States was captured on Feb 18,2009 The jaguar was tagged with a satelite tracking collar in hopes of learning more about the species. He was recaptured due to a reduced pattern of movement and foraging

Threat Statusclose [x] Endangered Species Act (ESA): Jaguars are listed as endangered under the ESA, meaning they are in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range.1 IUCN Red List: Near threatened. The jaguar is still an abundant species, but is threatened by habitat loss and persecution. Due to loss of habitat, poaching of prey and fragmentation of populations across portions of the range, this species is considered to be near threatened.2 Jaguars are included in Appendix I of CITES, which prohibits all commercial trade.3

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE COMPLETES DETERMINATION ON JAGUARS The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has formalized its determination that a U.S. recovery plan for the endangered jaguar would not advance the conservation of the big cat. The vast majority of jaguars and jaguar habitat lay south of the United States

Map of proposed area for Jaguar conservation .

Macho B’s Tribute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYiQjIa3bas

TO BE OR NOT TO BE SHOULD LAND BE ALLOCATED FOR THE JAGUARS IN THE UNITED STATES? WILL IT PROMOTE BIODIVERSITY, AND HOW WILL DNA ANALYSIS PROMOTE THE RECOVERY OF THE JAGUAR IN THE UNITED STATES?

References Mol Ecol. 2001 Jan;10(1):65-79. Phylogeography, population history and conservation genetics of jaguars (Panthera onca, Mammalia, Felidae). Eizirik E, Kim JH, Menotti-Raymond M, Crawshaw PG Jr, O'Brien SJ, Johnson WE. Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute--FCRDC, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA.