cat The jaguar is the third biggest cat in the world - after the tiger and the lion - and is the largest cat in the Americas. They can grow up to 170cm long, not including their impressive tails which can be up to 80cm.

A symbol of the enigmatic power of the Amazon, the jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas. Jaguars have unusually large, round heads, short legs and a stunning coat dotted with dark rosettes and spots. They often live near water and are good swimmers.

In fact, they are quite good swimmers. They hunt fish, turtles, and even caimans, using their incredibly powerful jaws to pierce the animals' skulls. Jaguars also eat deer, peccaries, capybaras, tapirs, and a number of other land animals, which they prefer to ambush at night.

Jaguars are the largest of South America's big cats and the third largest cats in the world. Their fur is usually tan or orange with black spots, called "rosettes" because they are shaped like roses. Some jaguars are so dark they don't seem to have spots.

• Jaguars Have the Strongest Bite of the Cat Kingdom (Relative to Size)
• They Love the Water.
• Male Territories Are Twice the Size of Female Territories.
• Jaguars Are Loners.
• They're Often Mistaken for Leopards.
• Jaguars Hunt During Both Day and Night.
• They've Inspired Myths and Legends.
• They Roar.

But even though they look alike, they're not the same species. There's only one species of jaguar, Panthera onca. And the Panthera family includes several big cats, with jaguars being one of them. The reason these big cats can look similar has to do with a condition called melanism, which turns their fur black.

In 1922, a gentleman named William Lyons founded the Swallow Sidecar Company. A few years later, he built his first car, the SS1. Then in 1935, he introduced a breakthrough – the SS Jaguar – and a star was born.

: a large cat (Panthera onca) chiefly of Central and South America that is larger and stockier than the leopard and is brownish yellow or buff with black spots.

• Jaguars Have the Strongest Bite of the Cat Kingdom (Relative to Size)
• They Love the Water.
• Male Territories Are Twice the Size of Female Territories.
• Jaguars Are Loners.
• They're Often Mistaken for Leopards.
• Jaguars Hunt During Both Day and Night.
• They've Inspired Myths and Legends.
• They Roar.

Bengals have a wild appearance; their golden shimmer comes from their leopard cat ancestry, and their coats may show spots, rosettes, arrowhead markings, or marbling. They are an energetic breed that needs much exercise and play.

To get you ready for the documentary, let's whet your appetite with some amazing jaguar facts.

• Jaguars are the third largest cats in the world.
• Jaguars were revered by Mesoamerican civilizations.
• Jaguar spots are unique.
• Jaguars love swimming.
• Jaguars look after their cubs.
• Jaguars are exploited for commercial purposes.

A tiguar is an offspring of a male tiger and a jaguaress. Reportedly, at the Altiplano Zoo in the city of San Pablo Apetatlan (near Tlaxcala, México), the crossbreeding of a male Siberian tiger and a female jaguar from the southern Chiapas Jungle produced a male tiguar named Mickey.