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The Panthera onca, better known as the Jaguar is a symbol of power and majesty.  Its spotted pelt or nearly all-black pelt depending on genetics combined with canines used for puncturing skulls leave no need for imagination. The word Jaguar comes from the Tupi and Guarani languages meaning He who Kills with one Leap. Being the third biggest cat getting to over 200lbs with the ability to jump up 10 feet and a top speed of 50mph, they truly are an apex predator worthy of the name. 

Living primarily in the Amazon Basin and some arid savannahs throughout South and Central America the Jaguar is an essential part of the ecosystem. Unfortunately over the years, the Jaguar has been rapidly pushed out of the arid savannahs and no longer has a stronghold in any place other than the Amazon Basin and Pantanal regions bringing up serious concerns about the implications it will bring to the arid savannahs. due to Being the Apex predator, the Jaguar is known as a keystone species because it controls the populations of herbivores and other prey from getting out of control. Without the Jaguars the populations of herbivores would grow unchecked causing negative effects upon the rest of the ecosystem.

The Jaguar's range historically spanned from Arizona down to Southern Argentina and from coast to coast of South America. Being extremely adaptable the Jaguar's only real criteria when it came to a place to live was access to a water source. Today, however, they have been Extirpated from Southern Argentina and nearly wiped out of the United States with only a sparse population managing to live in the States and there has yet to have been proof of successful breeding occurring there. In the rest of South America, the Jaguars range has been slowly pushed away from the two coasts of South America and are believed to be extinct in El Salvador and Paraguay. While the range may still seem surprisingly large, it is important to know that Jaguars require an extremely large amount of area to survive. The average single Jaguar requires up to 40km of territory. The primary strongholds for jaguars exist in the Amazon Basin in Brazil and the Pantanal wetlands around Bolivia and Paraguay, with the density in those areas to be around 1-2 per 100km.

The Jaguar population before human impact was believed to be between 300,000-400,000. However, human development creating habitat loss and the desire for their pelt, meat, and various body parts such as the teeth has caused serious overexploitation of the Jaguar for a profit. During the 1960s and '70s on average poachers and ranchers killed 18,000 Jaguars a year. Together they caused the Jaguar population to plummet to only just 15,000 in the present day. Without human intervention and conservation, this number will only continue going down. One prediction estimates that in 100 years their population will be down to 100 if action is not taken.