Jaguar Facts and Jaguar Pictures

Each tribe of South American Indians has given the jaguar a different name. Also this jungle cat is commonly called the onca in Brazil and el tigre in Spanish. The Brazilians describe a dangerous acquaintance as “a friend of the onca (amigo cia onca)’ The cat’s most common name, though, is the jaguar. This name seems to come from the Guarani dialect and to mean “body of a dog.” Indeed it is a “dog” of most unusual dimensions, measuring five to seven feet from the muzzle to the root of the tail! Even if it is conceded that the jaguar’s body is like a dog’s, that is its only resemblance to man’s favourite animal companion.
The jaguar is one of the most powerful felines in the world, and the largest one in the New World. It resembles the leopard very much in appearance, character, and habits. In the Amazon jungle, the jaguar is feared by other animals and man. The jaguar is well equipped to get itself food in abundance; with its powerful and accurate attack and with the strength of its claws, it seldom misses its prey. Almost before the victim is aware of the shock, the jaguar’s claws have penetrated to a vital part of its body and it is dead.

At night, the jaguar is often on the watch near a stream where other animals might come to drink. Like all cats, large and small, it moves gracefully and silently, even in the dense vegetation of the tropical forest. As to its relations with man, opinions differ and even contradict each other. To some observers, the jaguar is only a big cat, who is afraid of man—both those who hunt with only primitive lances and arrows and those who are equipped with the most modem rifles. According to others, this cat will attack a man as fiercely as if he were a tapir or a capybara.

Among the animals of the Amazon jungle, the jaguar, a solitary predator, is the undisputed master. Even the fish, it seems, are not safe from the cat’s unfailing claws. That sets the jaguar off from the other big cats, except for the true tiger of India. Only these two big cats have no aversion to water. That is one of the few similarities between the American el tigre and the true tiger.

South American Indians tell stories about the way the jaguar fishes—probably not true, but certainly picturesque. They maintain that the jaguar has a technique all its own; it lures the fish by spitting. The saliva floats to the surface and attracts the unwary fish; a quick stroke of the paw and they are on the bank. According to another version, the jaguar uses its tail as bait, letting it hang down into the water. Actually, the fishing procedure of the jaguar is probably a good deal like that of cats trying to catch goldfish in aquariums.

All the fables told about it show the passionate interest and extreme caution that the jaguar inspires in the Indians of the South American jungles. In their legends, the jaguar is often represented as a captive —which is a way of trying to believe that this animal can be overcome. The Tupi Indians believe that the jaguar is afraid of thunder and lightning, and interpret the animal’s unrest as a sign indicating the coming of a storm. Most likely this is just the usual excitement shown by all animals, including domestic animals, when sudden atmospheric changes occur.

Here is one of the most popular Indian tales told about the jaguar:

“One day the Jaguar came upon the Lightning, who was making a club. The Jaguar came up from behind and the Lightning did not see him. He leaped at the Lightning but could not get to him. He thought the Lightning was an animal and wanted to eat him. The Jaguar asked the Lightning if he had any strength, and the Lightning answered that he had none. Then the Jaguar said, ‘I am not like you. I have great strength and I can break all the branches. Just see!’ And he climbed a caimbé tree and broke all its branches. Then he climbed a parica tree and broke all its branches, too. Then he came down to the ground and tore up all the grass, ripping up the earth with his claws. Finally he got tired and rested. Panting, he said, ‘See how strong I am! I am not like you!’ Secretly, he intended to devour the Lightning, and he invited him to show his strength, but the Lightning refused, saying, ‘I am not like you; I have no strength!’ Then the Jaguar said again, ‘Look at me; see how strong I am!’ And he did the same things he had done before. He tore off the branches, tore up the grass, and ripped up the earth. Then he got tired and sat alongside the Lightning, turning his back on him.

“The Lightning took his little club, waved it, and everything happened at once: thunder, flashes of lightning, wind and rain. The Jaguar climbed a tree, but the Lightning knocked down all the trees and the Jaguar fell to the ground. The Lightning took him by the paw and swung him around. The Jaguar escaped and hid under a rock, but the Lightning caught up with him, struck the rock and forced him to come out. Then he climbed another tree, but the Lightning knocked down that tree. The Jaguar fled to a cave, but the Lightning caught up with him there too, and made the earth cave in. And the Jaguar had no more peace; the Lightning was always pursuing him. Then it became very cold, with wind and rain, so that the Jaguar was chilled and could not run any longer, and finally curled up on the ground. When the Lightning saw him in such a sad state, he said, ‘You see, my friend, what I am like! I am strong, too! You are not the only one that is strong; I think I am stronger than you are!’ And he went off. The Jaguar went back to his den. But ever since then, all Jaguars are afraid of thunderstorms.”

This legend confirms the popular reputation that the jaguar has for courage and aggressiveness. Some Indian tribes will not even use the skin of a jaguar that they have killed, as if the death of this predator was enough of a blessing and it would be dangerous to try to make further profit from it. Certain tribes, however, make use of jaguar teeth; they burn them and grind them into powder, using the powder as a remedy for toothache and other dental problems.
Sometimes a jaguar is unwary and is caught in a trap, generally a big and deep pit, covered with branches. The cat is then brought to a zoo in a strong cage. It may resign itself to imprisonment if it is well fed, but it retains its proud, untamable spirit.

Jaguar Pictures