Jaguars are large spotted cats of the Americas. In modern times, they have been extirpated from the United States, but could be found from Florida to California in historical times. They inhabit grasslands, forests, and jungles, while the North American jaguars could be found in deserts and scrub.
The jaguar is quite at home in the water and up in trees. It is rarely found far from water and often preys on aquatic animals such as caiman, capybara, and fish. Most of its hunting is at night on the ground, however, stalking and killing peccaries and tapirs. Jaguars only rarely kill humans in the wild, although they do commonly take domestic livestock. In captivity, they are known as the most dangerous and unpredictable of the large cats. Jaguars have more powerful jaws for their size than other cats, and often kill by biting through the skull.
Jaguars are solitary animals. They establish large hunting territories, which they mark with urine, scent rubs, and claw-rents in the bark of trees. These territories are defended against others of their kind and gender, although the territories of males will overlap with those of females.