Do jaguars live in Jacksonville? What to know about NFL mascot's natural habitat

Billy Heyen

Do jaguars live in Jacksonville? What to know about NFL mascot's natural habitat image

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a fantastic name.

It's alliterative and features a fearsome mascot.

But wait. Where do Jaguars live? Do they hang out in Florida? In Duval County?

Well, here's what we know.

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Do jaguars live in Jacksonville?

So in a trick question sense, yes, because they have jaguars at the Jacksonville zoo.

But they don't have jaguars in the wild in Jacksonville.

They're more native further south, in Latin America, although they have been spotted in the southwestern United States.

Jaguars like dense forest cover and water.

That makes the Amazon Rainforest a popular spot for jaguars.

There are jaguars as far north as Mexico and as far south as Argentina.

This is what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website says:

"With an estimated world population of 173,000, jaguars can be found in 19 countries, with habitats that range from the rugged mountains of the southwestern United States, through the swampy savannas or tropical rainforests in Brazil and Belize and to the dry forests in Argentina. Since the early 2000s, the jaguar’s habitat has declined 20%, and threats to the species have intensified. In addition to habitat loss and fragmentation, jaguar populations are threatened by killing for trophies and illegal trade in body parts."

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Contributing Writer