Jaguars used to live as far north as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California, but for an unknown reason their population line has receded farther south. The jaguar prefers the dense lowland rainforests where it is humid and damp. They tend to aviod open grasslands and open, seasonally dry forests. The jaguar is the largest South American cat. They are the most aquatic of all the cats, preferring to spend lots of time in the water.
Jaguars are also the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere.
They have short dense fur that can be golden brown to yellow gold with white on the undersides and face, and is flanked with large black rosettes. The spots can still be seen on melanistic jaguars and leopards, but only when direct sunlight is shining on their fur. Melanistic individuals are thought to occur more in areas where the forests are denser, where an all black coloring would be useful. Jaguars are much stockier, heavier, and longer than their leopard cousins, though they are often confused for one another. Jaguars also have a broader face, larger rosettes, thicker legs, and a longer face than leopards.