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66-463: Wildlife includes the jaguar , puma , ocelot , jaguarundi , coyote , coati , armadillo , skunk , white tailed deer , peccary , American crocodile , geckos , potoos , hawks , kites , storks , vultures , boas , vipers , coral snakes , toads , frogs , sea turtles , opossums , macaws , and woodpeckers . In addition, the Pacific Slope region of Mexico and the reserve itself supports

132-480: A top predator or superpredator , is a predator at the top of a food chain , without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics , meaning that they occupy the highest trophic levels . Food chains are often far shorter on land, usually limited to being secondary consumers – for example, wolves prey mostly upon large herbivores (primary consumers), which eat plants (primary producers). The apex predator concept

198-563: A 96.7% plant-based diet) and 2.57 (for Iceland , with 50% meat and fish, 50% plants). These values are comparable to those of non-apex predators such as the anchovy or pig . However, Peter D. Roopnarine criticized Bonhommeau's approach in 2014, arguing that humans are apex predators and that the HTL was based on terrestrial farming where indeed humans have a low trophic level, mainly eating producers (crop plants at level 1) or primary consumers (herbivores at level 2), which as expected places humans at

264-562: A complete picture. However, indirect evidence such as the absence of any discernible predator in an environment is suggestive. Anomalocaris was an aquatic apex predator, in the Cambrian. Its mouthparts are clearly predatory, and there were no larger animals in the seas at that time. Carnivorous theropod dinosaurs including Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus are theorized to have been apex predators, based on their size, morphology, and dietary needs. A Permian shark, Triodus sessilis ,

330-480: A considerable variation in morphometry . The Panthera lineage is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae around 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago to 11.75 to 0.97 million years ago . Some genetic analyzes place the jaguar as a sister species to the lion with which it diverged 3.46 to 1.22 million years ago , but other studies place

396-518: A high diversity of neotropical migratory bird species during the winter. An area of 63.23 km was designated a biosphere reserve in 1994 by the Mexican government. This area, also known as the core zone ( zona nucleo ), is managed as a strict nature reserve . The UNESCO biosphere reserve, designated in 2006, encompasses an area of 131.42 km which overlaps the national biosphere reserve, and extends into Chamela Bay and its islands. The UNESCO reserve includes

462-855: A larger core area of 82.08 km, buffer areas of 49.34, and transitional areas of 12.16 km. Both the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Cuixmala Ecological Foundation, A.C, own most of the land in the reserve. The reserve is threatened by development projects in bordering tracts. In 1971, the Biology Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico , built a research station. The main objectives were: 19°29′16″N 104°59′42″W  /  19.4877°N 104.995°W  / 19.4877; -104.995 North American jaguar   Former range The jaguar ( Panthera onca )

528-617: A level slightly above 2. Roopnarine instead calculated the position of humans in two marine ecosystems, a Caribbean coral reef and the Benguela system near South Africa. In these systems, humans mainly eat predatory fish and have a fractional trophic level of 4.65 and 4.5, respectively, which in Roopnarine's view makes those humans apex predators. In 2021, Miki Ben-Dor and colleagues compared human biology to that of animals at various trophic levels. Using metrics as diverse as tool use and acidity of

594-418: A product of its role as an apex predator in several different environments. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels. After killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot. It begins eating at

660-524: A reduction in the population of sperm whales , apex predators with a fractional trophic level of 4.7, by hunting has caused an increase in the population of the large squid, with trophic level over 4 (carnivores that eat other carnivores). This effect, called mesopredator release , occurs in terrestrial and marine ecosystems; for instance, in North America, the ranges of all apex carnivores have contracted whereas those of 60% of mesopredators have grown in

726-452: Is sexually dimorphic , with females typically being 10–20% smaller than males. The length from the nose to the base of the tail varies from 1.12 to 1.85 m (3 ft 8 in to 6 ft 1 in). The tail is 45 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) long and the shortest of any big cat . Its muscular legs are shorter than the legs of other Panthera species with similar body weight. Size tends to increase from north to south. Jaguars in

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792-622: Is a compact and muscular animal. It is the largest cat native to the Americas and the third largest in the world, exceeded in size only by the tiger and the lion. It stands 57 to 81 cm (22.4 to 31.9 in) tall at the shoulders. Its size and weight vary considerably depending on sex and region: weights in most regions are normally in the range of 56–96 kg (123–212 lb). Exceptionally big males have been recorded to weigh as much as 158 kg (348 lb). The smallest females from Middle America weigh about 36 kg (79 lb). It

858-480: Is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera that is native to the Americas . With a body length of up to 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) and a weight of up to 158 kg (348 lb), it is the biggest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. Its distinctively marked coat features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered by spots that transition to rosettes on

924-532: Is adept at swimming and is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush apex predator . As a keystone species , it plays an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and in regulating prey populations. The jaguar is threatened by habitat loss , habitat fragmentation , poaching for trade with its body parts and killings in human–wildlife conflict situations, particularly with ranchers in Central and South America . It has been listed as Near Threatened on

990-402: Is an apex predator , meaning it is at the top of the food chain and is not preyed upon in the wild. The jaguar has also been termed a keystone species , as it is assumed that it controls the population levels of prey such as herbivorous and seed-eating mammals and thus maintains the structural integrity of forest systems. However, field work has shown this may be natural variability, and

1056-609: Is applied in wildlife management , conservation , and ecotourism . Apex predators have a long evolutionary history, dating at least to the Cambrian period when animals such as Anomalocaris and Timorebestia dominated the seas. Humans have for many centuries interacted with other apex predators including the wolf , birds of prey , and cormorants to hunt game animals, birds, and fish respectively. More recently, humans have started interacting with apex predators in new ways. These include interactions via ecotourism , such as with

1122-842: Is considered to be locally extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay . Jaguars have been occasionally sighted in Arizona , New Mexico and Texas , with 62 accounts reported in the 20th century. Between 2012 and 2015, a male vagrant jaguar was recorded in 23 locations in the Santa Rita Mountains . Eight jaguars were photographed in the southwestern US between 1996 and 2024. The jaguar prefers dense forest and typically inhabits dry deciduous forests , tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , rainforests and cloud forests in Central and South America; open, seasonally flooded wetlands , dry grassland and historically also oak forests in

1188-811: Is shrinking the sea ice of the Arctic, forcing polar bears to fast on land for increasingly long periods. Dramatic changes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem were recorded after the gray wolf , both an apex predator and a keystone species (one with a large effect on its ecosystem), was reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 as a conservation measure. Elk , the wolves' primary prey, became less abundant and changed their behavior, freeing riparian zones from constant grazing and allowing willows , aspens , and cottonwoods to flourish, creating habitats for beaver , moose , and scores of other species. In addition to their effect on prey species,

1254-633: The Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Pacific coast of central Mexico weighed around 50 kg (110 lb). Jaguars in Venezuela and Brazil are much larger, with average weights of about 95 kg (209 lb) in males and of about 56–78 kg (123–172 lb) in females. The jaguar's coat ranges from pale yellow to tan or reddish-yellow, with a whitish underside and covered in black spots. The spots and their shapes vary: on

1320-676: The Early Pleistocene via the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait . Today, the jaguar's range extends from the Southwestern United States across Mexico and much of Central America , the Amazon rainforest and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina . It inhabits a variety of forested and open terrains, but its preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest , wetlands and wooded regions. It

1386-470: The IUCN Red List since 2002. The wild population is thought to have declined since the late 1990s. Priority areas for jaguar conservation comprise 51 Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs), defined as large areas inhabited by at least 50 breeding jaguars. The JCUs are located in 36 geographic regions ranging from Mexico to Argentina. The jaguar has featured prominently in the mythology of indigenous peoples of

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1452-553: The Pantanal are largely active by day, whereas jaguars in the Atlantic Forest are primarily active by night. The activity pattern of the jaguar coincides with the activity of its main prey species. Jaguars are good swimmers and play and hunt in the water, possibly more than tigers. They have been recorded moving between islands and the shore. Jaguars are also good at climbing trees but do so less often than cougars. The adult jaguar

1518-738: The Pantanal to 53.6 km (20.7 sq mi) in the Amazon to 233.5 km (90.2 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest . Male jaguar home ranges vary from 25 km (9.7 sq mi) in the Pantanal to 180.3 km (69.6 sq mi) in the Amazon to 591.4 km (228.3 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest and 807.4 km (311.7 sq mi) in the Cerrado . Studies employing GPS telemetry in 2003 and 2004 found densities of only six to seven jaguars per 100 km (62 mi) in

1584-459: The canine tip of 887.0 Newton and a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 118.6. A 100 kg (220 lb) jaguar can bite with a force of 4.939 kN (1,110 lbf) with the canine teeth and 6.922 kN (1,556 lbf) at the carnassial notch. Melanistic jaguars are also known as black panthers . The black morph is less common than the spotted one. Black jaguars have been documented in Central and South America. Melanism in

1650-528: The gene flow between jaguar populations in Colombia was high in the past. Since 2017, the jaguar is considered to be a monotypic taxon , though the modern Panthera onca onca is still distinguished from two fossil subspecies, Panthera onca augusta and Panthera onca mesembrina . However, the 2024 study suggested that the validity of subspecific assignments on both P. o. augusta and P. o. mesembrina remains unresolved, since both fossil and living jaguars show

1716-471: The tiger shark , and through rewilding efforts, such as the proposed reintroduction of the Iberian lynx . Apex predators affect prey species' population dynamics and populations of other predators, both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Non-native predatory fish, for instance, have sometimes devastated formerly dominant predators. A lake manipulation study found that when the non-native smallmouth bass

1782-503: The yellow-footed tortoise . It employs an unusual killing method: it bites mammalian prey directly through the skull between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain. It kills capybara by piercing its canine teeth through the temporal bones of its skull, breaking its zygomatic arch and mandible and penetrating its brain, often through the ears. It has been hypothesized to be an adaptation to cracking open turtle shells; armored reptiles may have formed an abundant prey base for

1848-532: The 19th and 20th centuries, several jaguar type specimens formed the basis for descriptions of subspecies . In 1939, Reginald Innes Pocock recognized eight subspecies based on the geographic origins and skull morphology of these specimens. Pocock did not have access to sufficient zoological specimens to critically evaluate their subspecific status but expressed doubt about the status of several. Later consideration of his work suggested only three subspecies should be recognized. The description of P. o. palustris

1914-710: The Americas , including those of the Aztec and Maya civilizations . The word "jaguar" is possibly derived from the Tupi-Guarani word yaguara meaning 'wild beast that overcomes its prey at a bound'. In North America, the word is pronounced disyllabic / ˈ dʒ æ ɡ w ɑːr / , while in British English, it is pronounced with three syllables / ˈ dʒ æ ɡ juː ər / . Because that word also applies to other animals, indigenous peoples in Guyana call it jaguareté , with

1980-480: The Brazilian Pantanal is recorded to primarily feed on aquatic reptiles and fish. The jaguar also preys on livestock in cattle ranching areas where wild prey is scarce. The daily food requirement of a captive jaguar weighing 34 kg (75 lb) was estimated at 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) of meat. The jaguar's bite force allows it to pierce the carapaces of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle and

2046-625: The Pantanal region, compared with 10 to 11 using traditional methods; this suggests the widely used sampling methods may inflate the actual numbers of individuals in a sampling area. Fights between males occur but are rare, and avoidance behavior has been observed in the wild. In one wetland population with degraded territorial boundaries and more social proximity, adults of the same sex are more tolerant of each other and engage in more friendly and co-operative interactions. The jaguar roars /grunts for long-distance communication; intensive bouts of counter-calling between individuals have been observed in

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2112-754: The United States was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California prior to 1860. The jaguar persisted in California until about 1860. The last confirmed jaguar in Texas was shot in 1948, 4.8 km (3 miles) southeast of Kingsville, Texas . In Arizona, a female was shot in the White Mountains in 1963. By the late 1960s, the jaguar was thought to have been extirpated in the United States. Arizona outlawed jaguar hunting in 1969, but by then no females remained, and over

2178-510: The United States. It has been recorded at elevations up to 3,800 m (12,500 ft) but avoids montane forests . It favors riverine habitat and swamps with dense vegetation cover. In the Mayan forests of Mexico and Guatemala, 11 GPS-collared jaguars preferred undisturbed dense habitat away from roads; females avoided even areas with low levels of human activity, whereas males appeared less disturbed by human population density. A young male jaguar

2244-476: The added sufix eté , meaning "true beast". "Onca" is derived from the Portuguese name onça for a spotted cat that is larger than a lynx ; cf. ounce . The word "panther" is derived from classical Latin panthēra , itself from the ancient Greek πάνθηρ ( pánthēr ). In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the jaguar in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis onca . In

2310-429: The age of about 2.5 years. Estrus lasts 7–15 days with an estrus cycle of 41.8 to 52.6 days. During estrus, she exhibits increased restlessness with rolling and prolonged vocalizations. She is an induced ovulator but can also ovulate spontaneously. Gestation lasts 91 to 111 days. The male is sexually mature at the age of three to four years. His mean ejaculate volume is 8.6±1.3 ml. Generation length of

2376-460: The close relationship between P. gombaszoegensis (which is primarily known from Europe) and the modern jaguar. The oldest fossils of modern jaguars ( P. onca ) have been found in North America dating between 850,000-820,000 years ago. Results of mitochondrial DNA analysis of 37 jaguars indicate that current populations evolved between 510,000 and 280,000 years ago in northern South America and subsequently recolonized North and Central America after

2442-596: The consequences of both controlling prey density and restricting smaller predators, and may be capable of self-regulation. They are central to the functioning of ecosystems, the regulation of disease, and the maintenance of biodiversity. When introduced to subarctic islands, for example, Arctic foxes ' predation of seabirds has been shown to turn grassland into the tundra . Such wide-ranging effects on lower levels of an ecosystem are termed trophic cascades . The removal of top-level predators, often through human agency, can cause or disrupt trophic cascades. For example,

2508-538: The counties of Norfolk , Cumbria , and Northumberland in England, and Aberdeenshire in Scotland as part of the rewilding movement. The reintroduction of large predators is controversial, in part because of concern among farmers for their livestock . Conservationists such as Paul Lister propose instead to allow wolves and bears to hunt their prey in a "managed environment" on large fenced reserves; however, this undermines

2574-790: The extinction of jaguars there during the Late Pleistocene . Two extinct subspecies of jaguar are recognized in the fossil record: the North American P. o. augusta and South American P. o. mesembrina . Felinae [REDACTED] Lion ( P. leo ) [REDACTED] Jaguar [REDACTED] Leopard ( P. pardus ) [REDACTED] Tiger ( P. tigris ) [REDACTED] Snow leopard ( P. uncia ) [REDACTED] Neofelis [REDACTED] Felinae [REDACTED] Lion [REDACTED] Leopard [REDACTED] Snow leopard [REDACTED] Jaguar [REDACTED] Tiger [REDACTED] Neofelis [REDACTED] The jaguar

2640-965: The form of wolves, and in turn with domestic dogs , for 40,000 years; this collaboration may have helped modern humans to outcompete the Neanderthals . Humans still hunt with dogs , which have often been bred as gun dogs to point to , flush out , or retrieve prey . The Portuguese Water Dog was used to drive fish into nets. Several breeds of dog have been used to chase large prey such as deer and wolves. Eagles and falcons , which are apex predators, are used in falconry , hunting birds or mammals. Tethered cormorants , also top predators, have been used to catch fish . Ecotourism sometimes relies on apex predators to attract business. Tour operators may in consequence decide to intervene in ecosystems, for example by providing food to attract predators to areas that can conveniently be visited. This in turn can have effects on predator population and therefore on

2706-467: The jaguar following the late Pleistocene extinctions . However, this is disputed, as even in areas where jaguars prey on reptiles, they are still taken relatively infrequently compared to mammals in spite of their greater abundance. Between October 2001 and April 2004, 10 jaguars were monitored in the southern Pantanal. In the dry season from April to September, they killed prey at intervals ranging from one to seven days; and ranging from one to 16 days in

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2772-723: The jaguar in human-altered landscapes. The jaguar is an obligate carnivore and depends solely on flesh for its nutrient requirements. An analysis of 53 studies documenting the diet of the jaguar revealed that its prey ranges in weight from 1 to 130 kg (2.2 to 286.6 lb); it prefers prey weighing 45–85 kg (99–187 lb), with the capybara and the giant anteater being the most selected. When available, it also preys on marsh deer , southern tamandua , collared peccary and black agouti . In floodplains, jaguars opportunistically take reptiles such as turtles and caimans . Consumption of reptiles appears to be more frequent in jaguars than in other big cats. One remote population in

2838-555: The jaguar is 9.8 years. In the Pantanal, breeding pairs were observed to stay together for up to five days. Females had one to two cubs. The young are born with closed eyes but open them after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at the age of three months but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts. Jaguars remain with their mothers for up to two years. They appear to rarely live beyond 11 years, but captive individuals may live 22 years. Apex predator An apex predator , also known as

2904-723: The jaguar is caused by deletions in the melanocortin 1 receptor gene and inherited through a dominant allele . Black jaguars occur at higher densities in tropical rainforest and are more active during the daytime. This suggests that melanism provides camouflage in dense vegetation with high illumination. In 2004, a camera trap in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains photographed the first documented black jaguar in Northern Mexico. Black jaguars were also photographed in Costa Rica's Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve , in

2970-564: The lion closer to the leopard. The lineage of the jaguar appears to have originated in Africa and spread to Eurasia 1.95–1.77 mya. The living jaguar species is often suggested to have descended from the Eurasian Panthera gombaszoegensis . The ancestor of the jaguar entered the American continent via Beringia , the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait , Some authors have disputed

3036-600: The mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca , in Barbilla National Park and in eastern Panama . In 1999, the jaguar's historic range at the turn of the 20th century was estimated at 19,000,000 km (7,300,000 sq mi), stretching from the southern United States through Central America to southern Argentina. By the turn of the 21st century, its global range had decreased to about 8,750,000 km (3,380,000 sq mi), with most declines occurring in

3102-485: The neck and chest. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders. The jaguar is generally solitary except for females with cubs. In 1977, groups consisting of a male, female and cubs, and two females with two males were sighted several times in a study area in the Paraguay River valley. In some areas, males may form paired coalitions which together mark, defend and invade territories, find and mate with

3168-545: The next 25 years only two males were sighted and killed in the state. In 1996, a rancher and hunting guide from Douglas, Arizona came across a jaguar in the Peloncillo Mountains and became a researcher on jaguars, placing trail cameras, which recorded four more jaguars. The jaguar is mostly active at night and during twilight . However, jaguars living in densely forested regions of the Amazon Rainforest and

3234-490: The park. Ecologists have debated whether humans are apex predators. For instance, Sylvain Bonhommeau and colleagues argued in 2013 that across the global food web, a fractional human trophic level (HTL) can be calculated as the mean trophic level of every species in the human diet, weighted by the proportion that that species forms in the diet. This analysis gives an average HTL of 2.21, varying between 2.04 (for Burundi , with

3300-466: The past two centuries. Because apex predators have powerful effects on other predators, herbivores, and plants, they can be important in nature conservation. Humans have hunted many apex predators close to extinction, but in some parts of the world, these predators are now returning. They are increasingly threatened by climate change . For example, the polar bear requires extensive areas of sea ice to hunt its prey, typically seals, but climate change

3366-506: The population increases may not be sustained. Thus, the keystone predator hypothesis is not accepted by all scientists. The jaguar is sympatric with the cougar . In central Mexico, both prey on white-tailed deer , which makes up 54% and 66% of jaguar and cougar's prey, respectively. In northern Mexico, the jaguar and the cougar share the same habitat, and their diet overlaps dependent on prey availability. Jaguars seemed to prefer deer and calves. In Mexico and Central America, neither of

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3432-511: The same females and search for and share prey. A radio-collared female moved in a home range of 25–38 km (9.7–14.7 sq mi), which partly overlapped with another female. The home range of the male in this study area overlapped with several females. The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and feces to mark its territory . The size of home ranges depends on the level of deforestation and human population density. The home ranges of females vary from 15.3 km (5.9 sq mi) in

3498-405: The sides, although a melanistic black coat appears in some individuals. The jaguar's powerful bite allows it to pierce the carapaces of turtles and tortoises , and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of mammalian prey between the ears to deliver a fatal blow to the brain. The modern jaguar's ancestors probably entered the Americas from Eurasia during

3564-544: The sides, they become rosettes which may include one or several dots. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail where they may merge to form bands near the end and create a black tip. They are elongated on the middle of the back, often connecting to create a median stripe, and blotchy on the belly. These patterns serve as camouflage in areas with dense vegetation and patchy shadows. Jaguars living in forests are often darker and considerably smaller than those living in open areas, possibly due to

3630-440: The smaller numbers of large, herbivorous prey in forest areas. The jaguar closely resembles the leopard but is generally more robust, with stockier limbs and a more square head. The rosettes on a jaguar's coat are larger, darker, fewer in number and have thicker lines, with a small spot in the middle. It has powerful jaws with the third-highest bite force of all felids, after the tiger and the lion. It has an average bite force at

3696-473: The southern United States, northern Mexico, northern Brazil, and southern Argentina. Its present range extends from Mexico through Central America to South America comprising Belize , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , particularly on the Osa Peninsula , Panama , Colombia , Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana , Ecuador , Peru , Bolivia , Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina . It

3762-507: The stomach, they concluded that humans evolved as apex predators, diversifying their diets in response to the disappearance of most of the megafauna that had once been their primary source of food. Apex predators are thought to have existed since at least the Cambrian period, around 500 million years ago. Extinct species cannot be directly determined to be apex predators as their behavior cannot be observed, and clues to ecological relationships, such as bite marks on bones or shells, do not form

3828-464: The two cats are considered to be the dominant predator. In South America, the jaguar is larger than the cougar and tends to take larger prey, usually over 22 kg (49 lb). The cougar's prey usually weighs between 2 and 22 kg (4 and 49 lb), which is thought to be the reason for its smaller size. This situation may be advantageous to the cougar. Its broader prey niche, including its ability to take smaller prey, may give it an advantage over

3894-469: The wet season from October to March. The jaguar uses a stalk-and-ambush strategy when hunting rather than chasing prey. The cat will slowly walk down forest paths, listening for and stalking prey before rushing or ambushing. The jaguar attacks from cover and usually from a target's blind spot with a quick pounce; the species' ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers and are probably

3960-569: The wider ecosystem. As a result, provisioning of species such as the tiger shark is controversial, but its effects are not well established by empirical evidence. Other affected apex predators include big cats and crocodiles. In some densely populated areas like the British Isles , all the large native predators like the wolf, bear, wolverine and lynx have become extirpated , allowing herbivores such as deer to multiply unchecked except by hunting. In 2015, plans were made to reintroduce lynx to

4026-435: The wild. This vocalization is described as "hoarse" with five or six guttural notes. Chuffing is produced by individuals when greeting, during courting , or by a mother comforting her cubs. This sound is described as low intensity snorts, possibly intended to signal tranquility and passivity. Cubs have been recorded bleating, gurgling and mewing. In captivity, the female jaguar is recorded to reach sexual maturity at

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4092-562: The wolves' presence also affected one of the park's vulnerable species , the grizzly bear : emerging from hibernation , having fasted for months, the bears chose to scavenge wolf kills, especially during the autumn as they prepared to hibernate once again. The grizzly bear gives birth during hibernation, so the increased food supply is expected to produce an increase in the number of cubs observed. Dozens of other species, including eagles, ravens, magpies , coyotes, and black bears have also been documented as scavenging from wolf kills within

4158-590: Was also recorded in the semi-arid Sierra de San Carlos at a waterhole. In the 19th century, the jaguar was still sighted at the North Platte River 48–80 km (30–50 miles) north of Longs Peak in Colorado , in coastal Louisiana , northern Arizona and New Mexico. Multiple verified zoological reports of the jaguar are known in California, two as far north as Monterey in 1814 and 1826. The only record of an active jaguar den with breeding adults and kittens in

4224-565: Was based on a fossil skull. By 2005, nine subspecies were considered to be valid taxa: Reginald Innes Pocock placed the jaguar in the genus Panthera and observed that it shares several morphological features with the leopard ( P. pardus ). He, therefore, concluded that they are most closely related to each other. Results of morphological and genetic research indicate a clinal north–south variation between populations, but no evidence for subspecific differentiation. DNA analysis of 84 jaguar samples from South America revealed that

4290-452: Was discovered containing two amphibians ( Archegosaurus decheni and Cheliderpeton latirostre ), one of which had consumed a fish, Acanthodes bronni , showing that the shark had lived at a trophic level of at least 4. Among more recent fossils, the saber-tooth cats, like Smilodon , are considered to have been apex predators in the Cenozoic . Humans hunted with apex predators in

4356-647: Was removed, lake trout , the suppressed native apex predator, diversified its prey selection and increased its trophic level . As a terrestrial example, the badger , an apex predator, preys upon and also competes with the hedgehog , a mesopredator , for food such as insects, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and the eggs of ground-nesting birds. Removal of badgers (in a trial investigating bovine tuberculosis ) caused hedgehog densities to more than double. Predators that exert top-down control on organisms in their community are often considered keystone species . Apex predators can have profound effects on ecosystems, as

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