Introduction: Culture Cat: Today

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Culture Cat

Meet a Jaguar Biologist

Ancient Civilizations

Today

Conflict Zone

Today

In many ancient civilizations, the jaguar personified the raw power and unpredictability of nature and the mystery and terror of the night. Its mystique was woven through the cultures of the people of Central and South America. In fact, many considered it a god or a creature with special connections to the gods, and feared and respected it.

Today, this respect and idolization is significantly diminished, especially in places where humans and jaguars come into contact. While people in cities and other areas without jaguars may think of them as beautiful, majestic creatures, many of the people who live near jaguars consider them a threat to their safety and that of their livestock. They consider them pests and often kill them when they have the opportunity, even in places where killing them is prohibited. And as human population keeps growing, there are fewer and fewer places where jaguars can live and not come into contact with people.

Conservation biologists are struggling for ways to revive the exalted status that the jaguar once held in human culture. It's a difficult task. But going back in time reminds us that human attitudes can and do change. And hopefully, if we can find ways for jaguars and people to live together, the jaguar regain its exalted role in the culture of the America's.

Explore Conflict Zone to learn more about how scientists are working to change people's attitudes about jaguars in Brazil's Pantanal.


In some ancient Amazonian societies, the jaguar, with its shining, reflective eyes, was believed to offer a connection to the spirit world. © WCS/Alan Rabinowitz		Remnant of a jaguar design on a ceramic plate, found by field biologist in Mexico. © WCS		U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, a big-game hunter, with a slain jaguar. Hunting, including an intensive period in the 1970s, led to a severe decline in the jaguar population.

Threat #3: Poaching

While jaguars are seldom hunted for sport or even for their skin, jaguars are occasionally killed by hunters. When hunters are out looking for deer or peccary, they may encounter a jaguar and try to kill it. Successfully hunting a jaguar may not provide any financial gain, but it can increase a hunter's status in his community, therefore an opportunity to hunt one will not often be wasted.


	Imagine that, as a jaguar conservation biologist, you are about to set up a public exhibit in your home town about the role of jaguar in one ancient culture. You are calling it "Jaguar Power" and you want visitors to leave the exhibit thinking jaguars are very cool and exciting. Which ancient culture would you feature? (In other words, which culture's attitude toward jaguar would make them seem "coolest" today?) Take two or three paragraphs to explain your answer in your field notebook. (Think freely and give it careful thought. There is no right or wrong answer!)

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