Watch Two Jaguars Face Off in a Big Cat Battle

Key Points:

• The jaguar is the largest cat that is native to North America and the third largest cat on the planet, following lions and tigers.
• In contrast to lions, who chase their prey throughout the night, jaguars lurk and surprise their ground-dwelling prey.
• Jaguars have exceptional night vision, and in fact, low light and darkness make their vision even better.
• Jaguars have lost 46% of their historic range due to deforestation and habitat degradation. Most jaguar populations are now confined to the Amazon basin and are steadily declining.

Jaguars – they’re just like us! Sometimes they play with their siblings and other times they fight! The jaguar is the largest cat that is native to North America and the third largest cat on the planet, following lions and tigers. Its length from snout to tail is five to eight feet, and its weight ranges from 140 to 300 pounds. They have yellow-brown fur with dark rosette patterns.

A YouTube short posted below shows just how wild these felines can be – especially toward one another. Jaguars are territorial and live alone. With their excrement or by clawing trees, they mark their territory. Females give birth to litters of one to four blind and defenseless cubs each year. 

Even their own father is no match for the mother, who stays with them and aggressively protects them from any animals that may approach. While there’s no context in this video as to why these two cats are fighting, it likely won’t end well for one of them. 

In contrast to lions, who chase their prey throughout the night, jaguars lurk and surprise their ground-dwelling prey. Although they are capable of running fairly swiftly, Jaguars do not need this ability. They can kill their prey by penetrating the skull with their sharp teeth thanks to their strong jaw muscles.

Ferocious Felines

Jaguars favor nighttime since they can operate under the cover of darkness. Hunting at night avoids the problem of heat fatigue, which is a concern for big cats who dwell in tropical climates, in addition to hiding her from the prey. They have exceptional night vision, and in fact, low light and darkness make their vision even better. The jaguar has an edge over other land mammals because of this. 

​​These cats have excellent climbing skills, and once they are in position, jags can remain quiet and wait for their next meal to stray below. Jaguars don’t rustle leaves or walk on twigs when they are higher up, and their scent is less noticeable to any prey. 

Jaguars will consume nearly everything. They prey on a wide range of animals, particularly livestock birds, reptiles, and mammals. According to estimates, they consume larger prey over a four-day period in 50% of their kills in order to conserve energy.

Is This Normal Behavior?

We don’t know the outcome of this particular fight between jags and can only imagine how it ended. While male lions will fight to the death over dominance in a pride, jaguars are solitary creatures. They are territorial and can fight over that or during the mating season, but it’s not typical for a jaguar fight to get so vicious that one kills the other.

Where Do Jaguars Live?

When their range reached as far north as the four corners of the United States and as far south as Argentina, it was much simpler to locate these large cats a hundred years ago. However, they have lost 46% of their historic range due to pressures including deforestation and habitat degradation.

Most jaguar populations are now confined to the Amazon basin and are steadily declining. About 50% of them are located in Brazil, with the rest inhabiting these 8 countries that share the Amazon rainforest: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and French Guiana.

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