Big cat of the Americas.

It's a muscular hunter that stalks its prey in the South and Central American jungles. Growing up to nine feet long, it can weight 350 pounds. It is easily large enough to seize the deer, tapirs, cattle, even horses, on which it feeds. What is it?

The jaguar usually hunts alone. With its pattern of dark spots, it blends into the shadowy background. The jaguar resembles its smaller cousin, the leopard, but scientists group it with the largest wild cats because of its strength and size. In fact, in some parts of South America, the jaguar is known as tigre americano, the American tiger.

Though powerful enough to attack large animals, the jaguar will also feast on smaller creatures, such as birds. The jaguar will catch fish, too, entering the water in search of food or for a cool splash.

Jaguar cubs are born in litters of up to four. They live with their mother. Nursing when young, they join her on the hunt as they grow older. A family group may live together for up to two years.

Once found as far north as Texas and southern California, the jaguar now ranges mostly in the forests, swamps, and scrublands of Central and South America. A special wildlife reserve in the Central American country of Belize shelters growing numbers of jaguars.