Meet the 5 Felines of Guatemala

Here we will show you some differences, Color, Food, Habitat and among others.

Our goal at MayanToons is to teach children and parents the importance of conserving these 5 Felines and other animals that we illustrate in books and animated videos through drawings.

Common name: Jaguar

Scientific name: Panthera onca

Jaguars are the largest cats in the Americas, measuring approximately 2.4m, with an average weight of 100kg. Males are usually larger than females. It has spots all over the body and on the sides they open into rosettes, and with more black dots inside them.

Diet: It feeds mainly on mammals and secondarily on reptiles and birds.

Coat color: There are 4 types of colors, yellow with brown, gold and orange tones, gray, white and black. The blacks, their spots and rosettes can be appreciated depending on the angle and the light.

Habitat: They prefer dense tropical and subtropical forests. They are also found in scrub, swamps, and in areas near bodies of water.

Behaviour: It is a solitary hunter active by day and night, mainly active at night, it is terrestrial and they are skilled swimmers and easily climb trees.

Common name: Puma

Scientific name: Puma concolor

The puma is the second largest cat in America, which meows and purrs like domestic cats, measuring approximately 2.2 m, 30 and 100 kilos. They can jump up to 5m high. Cougar cubs are born with long, dark brown spots, but lose them at around 6 to 12 months.

Diet: It feeds mainly on mammals and secondarily on reptiles and birds.

Coat color: It is sandy yellow with a white belly and muzzle. The tips of its ears and the tip of its tail are black.

Habitat: In any type of vegetation, with the exception of flood-prone sites such as mangroves.

Behavior: It is a solitary hunter active by day and they are good swimmers, but prefer to avoid water. It is terrestrial, but has great ability to climb and jump trees.

Common name: Ocelot

Scientific name: Leopardus pardalis

The Ocelot is the third small cat, larger than the Jaguarundi and Margay. It measures approximately 1.4 m. Its spots are long and black and in the form of rosettes, the tail is shorter. these are some differences that it has with the margay.

Food: Carnivorous among snakes and lizards, birds and mammals up to the size of a small deer.

Coat Color: The upper part is yellow with gray tones, its chest is white with black spots. The rosettes are black and elongated with a chestnut-brown center.

Habitat: It lives mainly in tropical forests

Behavior: It is solitary, active mainly at night. It is terrestrial, but it easily climbs trees, it also takes refuge in natural caves and in empty logs.

Common name: Jaguarundi

Scientific name: (Herpailurus yagouaroundi)

The Jaguarundi is also known as Onza, it adapts very well to human environments, so much so that it is the most common cat to see in open areas where there are humans, it is a little larger than the margay. It is a short-legged cat with small eyes and a dark brown color.

Food: Feeds on snakes, lizards, fish, birds and small mammals.

Coat color: There are 3 shades of colors, there is gray, gray to chocolate brown and reddish (reddish to brown), the most common that you can see gray.

Habitat: Between forests and open areas, it is also found in tropical and subtropical forests.

Behavior: It is a solitary animal, active mainly during the day, hunting on the ground or in the trees. It is terrestrial, although it is not very skilled at heights. But he’s good at climbing trees.

Common name: Margay

Scientific name: Leopardus wiedii

The Margay is the smallest feline of all, also known as tigrillo, measuring approximately 1.3 m. Its eyes are large with well marked black lines, it has a longer tail than the ocelot, its spots are completely black all over the body, they do not open in rosettes like those of the jaguar or the ocelot.

Food: It feeds mainly on mice that live in the trees, opossum, squirrels and birds.

Coat color: Sandy brown with yellow tones, the chest and the inside of its legs are white.

Habitat: Mainly in tropical forests.

Behavior: It is nocturnal and solitary, active at night, it loves to be up in the trees, it sleeps, rests and hunts in the branches of the trees.