The Magnificent Jaguar Trivia Quiz

Answer: North and South America

The beautiful jaguar is the world's third largest cat after the lion and the tiger. Its home range extends from the southern parts of Mexico all the way down to northern areas of Argentina. It prefers the rainforest regions, but is adaptable and has been seen in lightly forested areas as well as open terrain.

Answer: It is at the top of the food chain

The jaguar is a solitary hunter who prefers a stalk and ambush style of hunting. Many of its habits are similar to the tiger, both of which are apex predators, meaning that they are at the top of the food chain. The jaguar is known to hunt many kinds of large animals including caimans, tapirs, deer and anacondas.

Its opportunistic nature means it will also eat turtles, fish, mice and birds.

Answer: Beast that kills its prey with a single bound

The word jaguar comes from the Tupi language and means "beast that kills its prey with a single bound". The word was brought to Europe by Portuguese explorers at the beginning of the 17th century. The name comes from the fact that the jaguar rarely chases.

It simply waits in ambush for something edible to walk by and in one long or short leap, it pounces on the surprised prey animal. Unlike the lion, cheetah, or leopard, there are no hyenas around to try and steal their kill.

Answer: Mayan

The Mayans revered the jaguar and had many gods and demi-gods that were based on the jaguar. Images of this beautiful cat appear on much of the Mayan artwork. The Mayans were known to paint their bodies in imitation of the jaguar in an attempt to gather the strength and cunning of their brother animal.

The Aztec and Olmec cultures also revered the jaguar, and its image can be found on many Aztec ruins and artwork.

Answer: Jaguars love to swim, hunt and play in the water

Jaguars love the water. They have been photographed hunting fish in the water. They have been seen cavorting in the water with great delight. It is one of the best swimmers in the cat family, but does not swim underwater. It swims with its head held above the water, just like its cousin the tiger.

Answer: Dawn and Dusk

A crepuscular animal is one who is most active during dawn and dusk. It is more likely to hunt at night than in the hot afternoons that are found in his home territory. Because of the jaguar's secretive nature and the difficulties involved in studying it in its rainforest habitat, information about this cat is very limited.

Answer: Near threatened

Jaguar populations are declining rapidly all over North and South America. It is listed as "near threatened" meaning that it is in danger of being threatened with extinction in the near future. Hunting of the jaguar has declined as fewer American and European women wear real fur coats.

It is also threatened by habitat loss and poaching by farmers who have had their livestock eaten. This adaptable cat is able to be saved. This is mostly because they can live in a variety of habitats and feed on a variety of prey animals. New laws, in many countries, barring the trade in jaguar pelts has made a big difference.

Answer: Biting through the temporal bones of the skull

The jaguar is the only big cat known to kill by biting directly through the temporal bones of the skull and into the brain of its prey. The fact that it prefers large prey makes this a very unusual feat. The jaguar is known to use the throat bite and suffocation method, and is known to use a blow from its powerful paw on small animals. Both of these methods are common among other large felines.

Answer: True

Melanism is the overdevelopment of melanin in the skin and hair of an animal. The animal will appear to be black. This is a genetic condition which is considered to be the opposite of albinism. About 6% of the jaguar population has this mutation. The cat will appear to be solid black instead of golden tan with darker rosettes.

It is not until you are very close to the cat that the rosettes in the fur become visible, being just a slightly darker black than the black background. It has not been found to adversely affect jaguars who have this mutation.

Answer: True

Although the jaguar is not the largest cat it does have the strongest bite. It has a robust head and very powerful jaws. Its bite is twice as powerful as a lion and is the second strongest of all mammals after the spotted hyena. They have even been photographed piercing the shells of large turtles a feat usually considered impossible for other animals.