JAGUAR Panthera onca FAUNA PARAGUAY

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Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith, Hugo del Castillo, Frank Fragano, Alberto Esquivel, Sjeff Ollers and Hans Hostettler and is used with their permission.

JAGUAR Panthera onca
The undisputed King of the South American jungle, you may be surprised to find that this huge, spotted cat is perhaps more likely to be encountered in the Chaco than in the lush humid forests of eastern Paraguay. The spotted pattern of the coat acts to break up the cat´s shape in the dappled light of the forest, allowing it to sneak up on prey before delivering the final mortal blow. Unfortunately his coat is also attractive to poachers and they have declined over much of their former range due to hunting both for pelts and because of a perceived (and frequently exaggerated) threat to humans and their livestock. Despite this Jaguars remain common in parts of Paraguay, if exceptionally difficult to see! The English word Jaguar comes from the Guaraní word Yagua, which actually means dog! To Paraguayans the Jaguar is known as Tigre or Jaguareté.
Click on the images to enlarge them.

FIGURE 1 - (FPMAM496PH) Adult head detail, Zoologico Juan XXIII, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith June 2007).
FIGURE 2 - (FPMAM497PH) Adult, PN Defensores del Chaco, Departamento Boquerón (Sjeff Ollers October 2009).
FIGURE 3 - (FPMAM498PH) Adult, PN Defensores del Chaco, Departamento Boquerón (Sjeff Ollers October 2009).
FIGURE 4 - (FPMAM1015PH) Adult, Tres Gigantes, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Hugo del Castillo August 2011).
FIGURE 5 - (FPMAM1016PH) Adult, Tres Gigantes, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Paul Smith August 2011).
FIGURE 6 - (FPMAM499PH) Adult, PN Defensores del Chaco, Departamento Boquerón (Frank Fragano July 2006).
FIGURE 7 - (FPMAM500PH) Black form, Itaipú Zoo, Hernandarias, Departamento Alto Paraná (Paul Smith March 2008).
FIGURE 8 - (FPMAM501PH) Head detail of same individual (Paul Smith March 2008).
FIGURE 9 - (FPMAM502PH) Print, PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 10 - (FPMAM503PH) Jaguar kill, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Hans Hostettler November 2006).
FIGURE 11 - (FPMAM504PH) Evidence of dragging of prey, location unknown (Alberto Esquivel undated).
VIDEO - (FPMAM1017VI) Adult, Tres Gigantes, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Paul Smith August 2011).
This is a video of approximately 1 minute duration and 60MB file size captured during a FAUNA Paraguay tour. It may take a while to download, but its worth the wait!