Jaguar vs Anaconda Differences and Comparison

Jaguars are ferocious apex predators of their environment. They are muscled having powerful jaws, heavy skull, sharp claws and large canine teeth. Jaguars are majestic animals found in the Amazon forests of South America; they are the largest cat of North and South America. But the jaguar also shares its environment with one of the largest snakes of the world, the Anaconda.

Anacondas are native to the Amazon rainforest; they are also apex predators of their environment. Hence, there is a high possibility of face to face confrontation between jaguar and anaconda; who would win if a fierce animal duel/ animal battle happens between them. To determine the winner we need to look into their various traits; let’s know about them.

Physical Traits:

How do Jaguars look like?

Jaguars are the largest and sole representative of genus Panthera in the American continent. They have body length ranging between 150-180 cm whereas their height up to shoulders is about 75 cm. Jaguars have muscular built, heavy skull, square jaws, strong and powerful limbs. Jaguar coat color varies from tawny-yellow to reddish-brown; they have large rosettes which help them in camouflaging. Jaguar hunts its prey by ambushing on them. As jaguars are stocky and heavy built, they can’t run for a long distance; however, they can briefly run at considerable speed.

What does a anaconda look like?

Green anacondas are counted among reptile constrictors as they kill their prey by asphyxiating them and they don’t have venomous glands. Green anacondas can be dark-olive green, yellow colored; as they spend most of their time in water their skin is soft and loose to endure water absorption. Their eyes and nose are located on the upper side of the head which makes it capable to breathe and see while being completely submerged in water. They are the largest reptile snakes in the world which size between 3-12 meters and can weigh more than 250 kg. As green anacondas are constrictors they kill by asphyxiating.

Behaviour:

Are Jaguars aggressive?

Jaguars are active during any time of the day; they are most active during dawn and dusk. They prefer to live in dense forests and are solitary. Jaguars only meet during mating season; female jaguars take care of their young ones while the males have no responsibility in the upbringing of their cubs.

Are anacondas friendly?

Anacondas that are bred in captivity are usually calm, tractable pets when raised properly, but as they grow out of proportion, their strength and abilities should not be neglected.Anacondas are also solitary; they move during the cooler hours especially during the early evening to avoid heat. They are very adaptable; during the dry season, they go under the state of dormancy by covering themselves in mud and don’t eat till the dry season ends.

Habitat and Geographical Distribution:

Where do we find Jaguars?

Jaguars live in the dense rain forest; although they are also found in scrub-land, mashes, coastal forests, swamps etc. Jaguars are good climbers; they often hide their hunted meat on trees. Jaguars are excellent swimmers; they also hunt underwater too. Jaguars are found in southern Arizona, New Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, and Guiana. They have the largest concentration in Amazon basins including cerrado, Pantanal and Chaco.

Where do Anacondas live?

Anaconda is found in tropical lowlands river of South America, Orinoco basin, Amazon basin, flooded grassland. They are natives of Bolivia, Argentina, Guyana, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Surinam. Green Anacondas are semi-aquatic animals that prefer to live in shallow river, slow-moving freshwater, marshes, swamps but they are also found in grasslands, tropical savannahs and rain-forests.

Diet:

What do Jaguars eat? Do Jaguars eat fruit?

Jaguars are carnivores; their diet consist of animals like deer, tapirs, peccaries, caimans, turtles, fish, large birds, capybaras. They hunt by ambushing and devouring on animals, and kill them by biting and breaking its neck bone with their large canines. They may also eat plants and fruits such as avocado.

What does an anaconda eat?

Green anacondas are apex predators; their diets constitute small mammals, amphibians, fishes, birds but large anacondas do hunt capybaras, caiman and deer. After asphyxiating their prey regardless of size they swallow whole of it.

Amazing Facts:

Fun facts about Green Jaguars:

• Jaguars are immensely powerful; once a jaguar has been seen dragging a 34 kg sea turtle up to 91.5 metres.
• Jaguars exhibit melanism due to which they may get the black coloured coat and widely known as “black panthers”.
• The largest jaguars are found in Brazilian Pantanal where an adult male can weigh upto 100 kg while the smallest one 57 kg resides in Honduras.
• Jaguars are the third-largest cat of the Felidae family after tiger and lion.

Fun facts about Green Anacondas:

• Green Anacondas also hunt other snakes and pythons. they are members of the boa family.
• Anacondas do not lay eggs, but give birth to live young Babies that are 2 feet long at birth time.
• Anacondas scientific name ; eunectes murinus, meaning “good swimmer” in Latin.
• Anaconda can even swallow 5 foot Caiman crocodiles in their natural habitat.
• Anacondas can remain submerged for upto 10 minutes in water.

Jaguar vs Anaconda Face-off: Who would win?

Jaguar and Anaconda both live in different habitats; jaguars are terrestrial and live in dense forests whereas anacondas are semi-aquatic snake, they spend most of their time in the water. When it comes to the battle between these two, it will be the most exciting one. Here we have to consider two arenas according to habitat; the first arena would be land whereas another is water.

When a terrestrial battle occurs between these two then the jaguar will have a heavy hand as it is very agile having long canines, sharp claws and a muscular body; with amazing bite force; it can tear apart the anaconda in a couple of seconds. But in water anaconda flips the game it becomes very agile as the water supports its long and heavy body; anaconda can cause severe damage or can kill a jaguar by asphyxiating it. So we declare the draw between these two as the battle highly depends on the arena.

Comparison Heads	Jaguar	Green Anaconda
Kingdom	Animalia	Animalia
Class	Chordata	Reptilia
Order	Mammalia	Crocodylia
Family	Felidae	Boidae
Genus	Panthera	Eunectes
Species	P. Onca	E. murinus
Body Length	150-180 cm	3-12 feet (males), about 15 feet (females)
Weight	About 100 kg	Can reach 250 kg
Geographical Distribution	South America and some parts of north America	South America
Kill through	Breaking the neck bone of their prey by their large canines	Asphyxiating their prey
Average life span	12-15 years	10-12 years

Jaguar vs Anaconda Info-graphic

FAQ’S: Frequently Asked Questions