Kids’ Corner:
Can a jaguar beat a lion?
My mom is making me tell you that this is not an actual thing we saw on our trip.
A comparison of
Panthera onca and Panthera leo
Size: Jaguars are the third largest cats in the world, and the largest in South America. Lions are the largest in the world.
Winner: lion!
2. Sociability: Jaguars live, hunt, and eat alone, whereas lions are the only cats that form groups (prides).
Winner: lion
3. Life Span: Jaguars can live 12-15 years in the wild and lions 10-14 years.
Winner : Jaguar, but it’s close.
4. Weight: Adult jaguars can weigh 45-113 kilograms, and lions 190-130 kilograms.
Winner: lion
5. Length: Adult jaguars can be up to 8 feet long, and lions up to 9 feet.
Winner : lion
6. Diet: Amazon jaguars usually hunt caimans, peccaries, tapirs and deer. Lions hunt antelope, zebras, and wildebeest.
Winner: Jaguars, because the male lions are too lazy to hunt and have to steal their food from the female lions.
And the overall winner is: the Lion!!
Although the jaguar has the strongest bite force of all big cats, the lion is twice the weight of the average jaguar. Luckily for jaguars, they live in South America and lions live in Africa, and so they don’t have to worry about beating them in an actual fight.
Bonus facts: jaguars in captivity
Jaguars live about 12 - 15 years in the wild, but up to 22 years in captivity. This makes them the longest living cats. Jaguars can have 10 - 12 cubs in their lifetimes.
We did not see any jaguar cubs on our trip. We looked everywhere.