Melanistic Jaguars

Fun facts

• Its black color is a mutation called melanism. It is still a regular jaguar — under certain light you can still make out the rosettes.
• They have the most powerful bite of any big cat. It can pierce skulls and turtle shells in a single bite.
• They are excellent swimmers. In the wild they follow prey into the water and hunt caimans and fish.
• Their dark coat gives them an edge when hunting at night. They blend better into the shadow of dense jungle.
• The species is near threatened. Deforestation and habitat fragmentation push them into smaller ranges every year. Melanistic individuals are especially rare to spot in the wild.

The jaguar's range spans from northern Mexico to northern Argentina. It is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. The melanistic variant is most often recorded in dense-jungle regions like the Amazon.