Jaguar

Jaguars are big cats with spotted fur and strong bodies. They live in forests and jungles. Jaguars are great swimmers and hunters, eating animals like deer and fish. Get your claws into these wild and wacky jaguar facts for kids! You won’t believe your eyes when you see how cool these big cats are. Ready to join Albert as he explores amazing jaguar facts for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners? Click on the images to hear silly sounds and then read about fun jaguar facts like what do jaguars look like?, what sound do jaguars make?, how big are jaguars?, what do jaguars eat?, where do jaguars live?, and more fun facts about jaguars for kids!

What do jaguars look like?

Jaguars are mammals which means that they are warm-blooded, have fur and they feed milk to their babies.

They are big cats with a unique pattern on their fur. They are yellowish-brown in color and have rosette-shaped black spots.

Jaguars look like leopards, but if you look closely (not too closely!) their patterns are different. Jaguars have spots inside their spots which leopards don’t have.

What sound do jaguars make?

Click the the image to hear the sound!

Growl! Can you think of any other animals that growl?

They also snort, grunt and roar. The cubs, or baby jaguars, bleat (like a sheep), gurgle and meow (like a pet cat).

How big are jaguars?

Jaguars can grow up to 6 feet (2 meters) long, which is the length of a door. This doesn’t include their tail which adds another 20-30 inches (50-80 centimeters).

Jaguars usually weigh between 100 and 200 pounds (50-100 kg).

What do jaguars eat?

Jaguars are carnivores which means that they only eat meat.

They hunt and catch other animals to eat. They like eating wild pigs, deer and capybara (large guinea pig-looking animals).

Jaguars also eat caiman, turtles and fish.

Where do jaguars live?

Jaguars live in Central and South America. They like living in rainforests and cloud forests. They are sometimes found in open grasslands and wetlands.

More fun facts about jaguars for kids

The name “jaguar” means “he who kills with one leap”.
Unlike pet cats, jaguars enjoy swimming and are very good at it. They can even catch fish underwater.
Jaguar tongues are very rough which help them strip meat off the bone.
Jaguars hunt both during the day and at night. They have excellent night vision which helps them see in the dark.
Some jaguars can have completely black fur. These jaguars are called black panthers. It is quite confusing though, because black leopards are also called black panthers.
Jaguars are solitary animals. This means that they like to live on their own. Cubs, or babies, will spend 2 or more years with their mother before leaving to live on their own. The mother teaches them how to hunt and survive in the wild.
They live until they are 11 or 12 years old in the wild but in zoos they can live for more than 20 years.
Female jaguars can have babies all year round.

Sources: Wikipedia, Live Science, Creative Commons, Britannica.com and Freesound.org