THE JAGUAR'S SHADOW:

Searching for a Mythic Cat

1. UNIQUE COLORATION - The majority of jaguars boast a short, yellowish orange coat, spangled with irregular black circles called rosettes as well as dark lines and dots. White patches appear on faces, legs, and bellies. Each cat's side bears a pattern unlike its opposite—or the flanks of any other jaguar. Such patterns are as unique as fingerprints.

2. WIDE RANGE - As recently as 1850, jaguars roamed from the American West south all the way to Argentina. They have been found from the tropics to the deserts, sea level to high mountain forests. Jaguars have vanished from at least 40 percent of their historic territory, including several countries where they were once plentiful. Of critical concern is the lack of connectivity between isolated groups of jaguars, posing the risk of dangerous genetic bottlenecks.

3. HELD SACRED - Major civilizations that venerated the cat include the Maya, Olmec, Aztec, Inca, and Toltec. Many indigenous cultures, particularly those dwelling in the Amazon basin, have held jaguars in very high regard. In the American Southwest, the jaguar has been intergrated into cultural beliefs and rituals of the Hopi, Diné, Apache, Yaqui, Tohono O'Odham, Cahuilla, and other tribal peoples.

4. THREATENED - Habitat loss, shrinking supplies of game, and illegal hunting continue to shrink jaguar numbers in many areas. In most nations it is classified as an endangered animal. Panthera onca is labeled "near threatened" on the World Conservation Union's Red List, which considers remote parts of the Amazon basin the cat's only remaining safe haven.

5. HOOD ORNAMENT - A leaping jaguar has adorned its namesake automobile since the 1930s. The Jaguar Motor Company, owned by India's Tata Group since 2008, has donated millions to jaguar research and conservation.

6. MASCOT - Hundreds of sports teams claim the jaguar as a symbol and source of inspiration. Notable are the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars, based in Florida, where real jaguars once prowled.

7. POPULATION - A good guess is that about 10,000 jaguars remain in the wild, but no one knows for certain and the total population may well be half that number. About 350 captive jaguars are held by zoos worldwide.

8. NEW WORLD EXCLUSIVE - Jaguars only occur in the Americas, although their ancestors likely crossed into the Western Hemisphere from Asia millions of years ago. Early jaguars were up to double the size of their present-day descendants and migrated across the isthmus of Panama into South America well before the last ice age.

9. U.S. NATIVE - A handful of jaguars have been confirmed in Arizona and New Mexico since 1996. Sightings have been rare since the 19th century, when the big cat also roamed Texas and Southern California. An Arizona cat, dubbed Macho B, was captured and radio-collared south of Tucson in February 2009. Macho B was recaptured and euthanized the following month in a controversial move prompted by presumed severe kidney failure in the cat.

10. OTHER NAMES - Spanish speakers often refer to the jaguar as el tigre (tiger) and Brazil's Portuguese speakers call it onca pintada. "Jaguar" derives from a term used by a South American tribe to describe "the beast that kills in a single bound." The name is apt, since it sums up the animal's hunting technique with precision.

Did you know?

Tens of thousands of jaguars were once killed in order to make women's fashionable coats and accessories. The practice ended in the early 1970s when an international trade treaty (CITES) made such commerce between countries illegal. An unknown amount of black market trade continues to this day. Click here for more jaguar facts