Amanda Vink - Jaguars

Published in 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

First Edition

Editor: Elizabeth Krajnik

Book Design: Reann Nye

Photo Credits: Cover, p. 15 Kris Wiktor/Shutterstock.com; p. 4 Martin Mecnarowski/Shutterstock.com;pp. 5, 14 Picture by Tambako the Jaguar/Moment Open/Getty Images; p. 6 Jak Wonderly/National Geographic Image Collection/Getty Images; p. 7 stefbennett/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images; pp. 8, 22 Anan Kaewkhammul/Shutterstock.com; p. 9 Paul Fine/EyeEm/ Getty Images; p. 10 Gry Opsvik/EyeEm/Getty Images; p. 11 Image captured by Joanne Hedger/Moment/Getty Images; p. 12 Ammit Jack/Shutterstock.com; p. 13 VIKRAM MEHRA/500px/Getty Images; p.16 Walter Mario Stein/Shutterstock.com; p. 17 John Medlock/Barcroft Media/Getty Images; p. 18 Leemage/Universal Images Group/Getty Images; p. 19 PhotocechCZ/ Shutterstock.com; p. 21 Mikadun/Shutterstock.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Vink, Amanda, author.

Title: Jaguars / Amanda Vink.

Description: New York : PowerKids Press, [2020] | Series: Killers of the animal kingdom | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019002764| ISBN 9781725306097 (paperback) | ISBN

9781725306110 (library bound) | ISBN 9781725306103 (6 pack)

Subjects: LCSH: Jaguar--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC QL737.C23 V56 2020 | DDC 599.75/5--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019002764

Manufactured in the United States of America

CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #CSPK19. For Further Information contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York at 1-800-237-9932.

A POWERFUL CAT

Jaguars are beautiful cats. Their fur is tan or orange with black spots called rosettes because they look like roses. Jaguars are the third largest species, or kind, of cat in the world, and the largest cat species in South America. They are mostly found in the Amazon Basin.

Jaguars are also powerful cats. Their name comes from the Native American word yaguar, which means he who kills with one leap. Relative to size, they have the strongest bite force of all cats. With powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth, jaguars kill their prey with one bite.

A jaguars teeth can easily break through the thick, hard skin of a caiman, which is a small,alligator-like animal.

MEET THE JAGUAR

Jaguars live, on average, 12 to 15 years and weigh between 100 to 250 pounds (45 to 113 kg). They are about 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) long from their head to the base of their tail. However, their tails can be 2.3 to 3 feet (0.7 to 0.9 m) long.

KILLER FACTS

A jaguars rosettes are like human fingerprints. No two jaguars have the same pattern of rosettes. This makes each jaguar one of a kind!

Melanism happens when an animals skin and fur have more of the dark pigment called melanin. Melanistic jaguars and leopards are often called black panthers.

Some people mistake jaguars for leopards. Both cats have the same coloring and markings. Jaguars and leopards can also be black, which is known as melanism, with their rosettes still visible. However, unlike leopards, jaguars rosettes have spots inside. Jaguars also have shorter legs and tails than leopards.

Jaguars have large heads, compact and muscular bodies, long and thin legs, and strong paws. They are very agile creatures. Like other cats, jaguars have fully retractable claws. This means jaguars can pull their claws inside their paws when they arent using them. The bottoms of jaguars paws allow them to walk on many types of groundeven on slippery mud!

Jaguars are one of four roaring cats, including lions, tigers, and leopards. Roaring cats have a ligament instead of a boney part on their voice box. When the ligament stretches, the cat can roar.

Because roaring cats have a ligament instead of a bone on their voice box, they cant purr.

SPLASHING AROUND

Many cats dont like water. However, jaguars do and are actually very good swimmers. They swim, bathe, play, and cool off in rivers and pools, which are also great hunting spots.

KILLER FACTS

Jaguars dont usually chase their prey. Instead, they stalk it and surprise-attack it. While they usually hunt on the ground, sometimes jaguars climb trees to hunt.

Jaguars swim as a way to cool off.

Jaguars are carnivores, which means they only eat meat. Jaguars eat many different types of animals, including deer, peccaries (a type of pig-like animal), capybaras (a large rodent), and tapirs (an animal that looks like a pig with an elephant trunk).

Jaguars like to live in swampy places and thick forests. However, some jaguars live in areas with little plant life and deserts.

JAGUAR LIFESTYLE

For a jaguar, hunting takes a lot of energy. They have to be very smart about what prey they choose to stalk. If a jaguar makes a wrong move while hunting larger prey, it could get hurt or even die.

Jaguars are solitary animals, which means they like to live alone. They have a home range of between 27 and 55 square miles (69.9 and 142.4 sq. km), and males mark their range with waste. Female jaguars may overlap their range with a males range, but they have to be careful to not be there at the same time.

Jaguars have a good sense of night vision,which helps them hunt at night. They also hunt during the day.