Jaguar, Caiman, Quetzal Bird and a Cougar,

Printable versions are found by clicking the above buttons for "All Printables" or "Animals".  Older posts are further up the lists and new posts are on the bottom of the lists.

Caiman by a River

(New Drawing)

The caiman is a smallish type of crocodilian.  Crocodilians include crocodiles, alligators, and caiman.  Although the caiman is actually a crocodillian... it is more closely related to alligators.  They live in rivers and swamps in Central and South America.  It is not extinct.  It is a modern animal.  Most species of caimans are around 8.5 feet or 2.2 meters long.  They weigh from 13-88 lbs...or 6-40 kg.  They are not all this size.  The Black Caiman of the Amazon Rain Forest can grow to be up to 16 feet or 5 meters long.  Although caiman are predators, often they are not the top predator of where they live in the Central and South American rain forest (jungle). . .they are often NOT the top predator...if Jaguars are in the area.

A Jaguar is a New World cat.  They are the biggest New World cat.  They grow to be up to be 211 lbs or 96 kg.  They are related to Lions, Tigers...(no not bears), Leopards, Snow Leopards, and Clouded Leopards.  They are in the Genus: Pathera.  Their full scientific name is:  Panthera onca.  Jaguars have an incredibly powerful bite.  They can and do stalk caiman and pounce on their head.  The Jaguar will then bite the caiman's head and crush its skull.  Some Jaguars in South America will kill and carry off a caiman that is heavier than they are.  The Jaguar is an incredibly strong cat.

Jaguar attacking a Caiman

(New Drawing...although this is the same drawing of a Jaguar I did for yesterday's post.)

Did you notice the bird flying in the first drawing and then landed in a tree in the second drawing?  This bird is a Quetzal Bird, native of Central America.  Quetzal birds are very colorful with a long red-orange tail.  So we know that these drawings are from Central America.  I lived in Guatemala when I was a child.  I found it a beautiful country with kind, friendly people.  The "Quetzal" is their unit of money in Guatemala.

Jaguars are stronger than the other large American cat, the cougar, but they weigh about the same.   As members of Genus: Panthera the Jaguar can roar like a lion or tiger.  (Cougars can't roar, just kind of scream.)  Note that the cougar can still be very athletic, but they are just not as powerfully built as a jaguar.

Cougar on a Mountain Top
(This is the only old drawing posted today.)