The jaguar is the best tree climber of the great cats and many times it will climb trees to lie in wait for prey. The jaguar is a rapid runner but tires quickly. They sometimes will also live in open country , as long as the grass and rocks offer enough cover for hunting, and a reliable source of water is available. Many are extinct except in zoos, where they breed successfully. The greatest threats to the jaguar are overhunting for its fur and the loss of its habitat due to the clearing of forests.
Biologists find it difficult to study wild jaguars because they have become so rare.
Although the jaguar does have a deep and hoarse cry during mating, it is the only big cat which does not roar. Jaguars have the reputation of being human-eaters, however, numerous stories of men being followed for miles through the forest by solitary jaguars may suggest that they are merely escorting them off their territory and not stalking them as prey. References Considine, Douglas M. 1995. Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia. Van Nostrand and Reinhold, New York.