In news-Every year, International Jaguar Day is observed on 29 November.
About the day-
- International Jaguar Day was created to raise awareness about the increasing threats facing the jaguar and the critical conservation efforts ensuring its survival.
- The day celebrates the Americas’ largest wild cat as an umbrella species for biodiversity conservation and an icon for sustainable development and the centuries-old cultural heritage of Central and South America.
About Jaguar-
- Jaguar, (Panthera onca), also called el tigre or tigre americano, largest New World member of the cat family (Felidae), found from northern Mexico southward to northern Argentina.
- Its preferred habitats are usually swamps and wooded regions, but jaguars also live in shrublands and deserts.
- The jaguar is virtually extinct in the northern part of its original range and survives in reduced numbers only in remote areas of Central and South America; the largest known population exists in the Amazon rainforest.
- This is the third largest Cat Predator in the World. Jaguars are often mistaken for leopards but can be differentiated due to the spots within the rosettes on their coats.
- While many cats avoid water, jaguars are great swimmers and have even been known to swim the Panama Canal
- Typical coloration is orange to tan, with black spots arranged in rosettes with a black spot in the centre.
- The jaguar resembles the leopard of Africa and Asia, but the leopard lacks the black centre spot.
- The base colour of the jaguar varies greatly from white to black.
- 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 the IUCN Red List since 2002.
Source: PIB
