Jaguar (Cat, Great)

The powerful feline’s muscles ripple beneath a golden coat covered in dark spots with a smaller markings within those spots.

ECOLOGY

Environment warm forests
Organization solitary
Treasure none

The jaguar is a highly aggressive and ferocious great cat that makes its home in dense forests or swampy areas near a source of fresh water. Of all the big cats, the jaguar is the most at home in the water. They are excellent swimmers and stalk their prey through deep water where other cats won’t go. They also excel at climbing and often spend time hunting tree-dwelling animals (such as monkeys). The jaguar is highly territorial with its personal hunting ground often covering an area of several square miles. The typical jaguar subsists on a diet of animals such as deer, tapir, elk, fish, armadillos, and other small animals. If hungry or its food supply is thin, jaguars have been known to attack prey much larger than itself. (Creatures as large as warhorses are known to have fallen victim to the powerful jaws of the jaguar.) The jaguar has no rival among the other big cats.

Jaguars are solitary creatures, but occasionally a lair is discovered that contains a female and 1d4 cubs. Cubs are often captured and sold on the market where they can be trained and raised. Jaguars are sometimes confused with leopards. Both cats have a brownish-yellow base fur with dark spots or markings. The jaguar can be distinguished by the smaller markings inside the spots. A jaguar’s forelimbs and head are slightly larger than the average leopard (another distinguishing characteristic). Black jaguars are often called black panthers (a misnomer applied to black leopards sometimes as well).

Jaguars stalk their prey and prefer to attack from ambush, swooping in and felling prey with one swift stroke of their powerful jaws. Jaguars often lock their jaws on its prey, hanging on until their prey is dead. The kill is then dragged to a safe locale and devoured or carried back to the lair where the food is divided among the cubs.