Jaguars are bigger and more strongly built than leopards. An adult male can weigh up to 120 kilograms — heavier than most adult humans. They have incredibly powerful jaws, strong enough to crack open a turtle shell, which is one of their favourite meals in the wild.
Unlike most cats, jaguars love water. They are excellent swimmers and often hunt along riverbanks, catching fish, caimans, and even river turtles. Young jaguars have been spotted playing in streams, splashing around just like a big, spotted version of a domestic cat chasing a drip from a tap.
The Maya revered the jaguar and believed it had special power — carvings and paintings of jaguars appear throughout Mayan art and architecture, including at Tikal. The word for jaguar in the Mayan language is 'b'alam', and many Mayan names and places include this word. Even today, the jaguar holds deep cultural importance in Guatemala.
Conservation teams in Guatemala are working hard to protect jaguar habitats and connect areas of forest so jaguars can roam safely. Camera traps in the Maya Biosphere Reserve have captured footage of jaguars, their cubs, and their routes through the forest. Every new photograph of a wild jaguar is exciting news for the scientists protecting them.