Jaguars with black coats are commonly called Black Panthers, but this is caused by a recessive gene, and a jaguar can have a litter with both black and spotted coats. The size of the jaguar is between 155 to 250cm, with a height of about 66 to 74cm. Males weigh about 55kg with the females weighing an average of 36kg. The tropical forests of South America are home to the Jagaur and they are now extinct in the northern parts of USA, where they were found in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico. The largest population of this cat is believed to be in the Amazon Rainforest.
Jaguars are one of the only cats, besides the tiger, to be completely at home in the water.
It rarely ventures more than 500 metres from water, although they have been known to inhabit areas such as savannah and scrub, but water is always readily available. Jaguars like to roam close to lakes, and are very strong swimmers and often appear to be enjoying the water. A jaguar's diet depends on the area it inhabits. It has been known to eat sloths in Costa Rica, armadillo, tamandua and brocket deer in Belize, and in Brazil, they can eat cattle dogs, tapir, marsh deer, peccaries and tortise, and in Peru, turtles and the like. They have powerful canine teeth which can puncture the protective shell of the turtle, and they will often eat the eggs of the turtle before they hatch.