Yaguara

01The eyes

It saw youfirst.

Jaguars hunt at dawn and dusk. A mirror behind each eye gathers the faintest light, so the dark belongs to them.

02The ears

It hears theriver change.

Rounded ears turn on their own, following a step in the leaves long before anything comes into view.

03The bite

Pound for pound,the strongest bite.

For its size, no big cat bites harder. A jaguar can crack a river turtle's shell.

04The coat

No twoare alike.

Each rosette holds a dark spot inside it. The pattern is so personal that researchers use it to tell one jaguar from another.

05The paws

Silent on land,at home in water.

Broad, heavy paws carry it over the forest floor without a sound, and into rivers where most cats will not follow.

06The tail

Every move,answered.

The long tail follows each turn of the body, a counterweight for climbing, leaping and sudden turns.

07The rain

Every dropholds the forest.

In parts of the Amazon, more than two meters of rain fall in a year. Every drop feeds the forest the jaguar needs.

Touch a drop

08Panthera onca

At rest,never asleep.

Its name comes from yaguara, a word from the Tupi Guarani languages. It is the largest cat in the Americas.

09Its world

Half of it is gone.

Jaguars have lost about half of their historic range. They still walk from Mexico to Argentina, wherever the forest stands.

Look closer.

A study by Nextia. Night sounds recorded by Felix Blume.