are there black jaguars?

i know there are black furred leopards, aka panthers.
but, i saw a clip of apocalypto and there was a black furred jaguar.
are there black furred jaguars?
i know a jaguar is not a leopard. can it be black furred?
or, was it just a black furred leopard in gibson's mooie?

On 14 Dec 2006 12:17:01 -0800, "peace to end all peace"
wrote:

i know there are black furred leopards, aka panthers.
but, i saw a clip of apocalypto and there was a black furred jaguar.
are there black furred jaguars?
i know a jaguar is not a leopard. can it be black furred?
or, was it just a black furred leopard in gibson's mooie?

Check out the pictures in the "Physical characteristics" section of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar

The second picture is labeled A melanistic form of jaguar.

peace to end all peace wrote:
i know there are black furred leopards, aka panthers.
but, i saw a clip of apocalypto and there was a black furred jaguar.
are there black furred jaguars?
i know a jaguar is not a leopard. can it be black furred?
or, was it just a black furred leopard in gibson's mooie?

One walked crossed my path at the Ruins of Xel-Ha in Mexico serveral
years ago.
A Maya local to the ejido, and had seen it on a separate ocassion(s)
called it a "jaguar mistico."

They are a rare type of jaguar which suffers the reverse of albinism.
In Spanish, at least in the Yucatan, they are called jugarinos.

Ooops! I should have said:

In Spanish, at least in the Yucatan, they are called 'jagaurundis.'

Don Gabacho wrote:
peace to end all peace wrote:

i know there are black furred leopards, aka panthers.
but, i saw a clip of apocalypto and there was a black furred jaguar.
are there black furred jaguars?
i know a jaguar is not a leopard. can it be black furred?
or, was it just a black furred leopard in gibson's mooie?

One walked crossed my path at the Ruins of Xel-Ha in Mexico serveral
years ago.
A Maya local to the ejido, and had seen it on a separate ocassion(s)
called it a "jaguar mistico."

They are a rare type of jaguar which suffers the reverse of albinism.
In Spanish, at least in the Yucatan, they are called jagaurundis.

Actually black jaguars are not rare, in some areas melanistic jaguars
are more common than the regular colored ones. Melanism causes the
background fur to be dark brown instead of tan. These cats still have
black spots, which can be seen in strong sunlight. Also as the cats get
older the background fur fades and is more obviously brown. I'll link
some photos from our zoo below.

In leopards melanism is recessive. But in jaguars they have recently
found that melanism is dominant. It is NOT like albinism - more like
blue eyes in humans.

Any large black cat gets called a black panther. There is no "panther" ,
it is a generic word used in various places to describe leopards,
jaguars, and/or cougars.

Jaguarundis are an entirely different species. They only weigh 10-15
pounds and look like weasels or otters more than cats.

Photos:
Old black leopard showing brown fur & spots
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/isaac0806.jpg
Younger black leopard
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/kota0806.jpg
Black jaguar
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/doc0806.jpg
Another black jaguar
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/twilight0806.jpg
Regular jaguar
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/images/nacon805.jpg
Jaguarundi
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/images/jagi5mon.jpg

Nancy Vandermey
EFBC's Feline Conservation Center
wild_cat_zoo at yahoo.com
http://www.wildcatzoo.org/
http://www.cafepress.com/wildcatzoo

Don Gabacho wrote:
peace to end all peace wrote:

i know there are black furred leopards, aka panthers.
but, i saw a clip of apocalypto and there was a black furred jaguar.
are there black furred jaguars?
i know a jaguar is not a leopard. can it be black furred?
or, was it just a black furred leopard in gibson's mooie?

One walked crossed my path at the Ruins of Xel-Ha in Mexico serveral
years ago.
A Maya local to the ejido, and had seen it on a separate ocassion(s)
called it a "jaguar mistico."

They are a rare type of jaguar which suffers the reverse of albinism.
In Spanish, at least in the Yucatan, they are called jagaurundis.

Actually black jaguars are not rare, in some areas melanistic jaguars
are more common than the regular colored ones. Melanism causes the
background fur to be dark brown instead of tan. These cats still have
black spots, which can be seen in strong sunlight. Also as the cats get
older the background fur fades and is more obviously brown. I'll link
some photos from our zoo below.

In leopards melanism is recessive. But in jaguars they have recently
found that melanism is dominant. It is NOT like albinism - more like
blue eyes in humans.

Any large black cat gets called a black panther. There is no "panther" ,
it is a generic word used in various places to describe leopards,
jaguars, and/or cougars.

Jaguarundis are an entirely different species. They only weigh 10-15
pounds and look like weasels or otters more than cats.

Photos:
Old black leopard showing brown fur & spots
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/isaac0806.jpg
Younger black leopard
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/kota0806.jpg
Black jaguar
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/doc0806.jpg
Another black jaguar
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/cats0806/twilight0806.jpg
Regular jaguar
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/images/nacon805.jpg
Jaguarundi
http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/images/jagi5mon.jpg

Nancy Vandermey
EFBC's Feline Conservation Center
wild_cat_zoo at yahoo.com
http://www.wildcatzoo.org/
http://www.cafepress.com/wildcatzoo

"Nancy" wrote in message
...
... Actually black jaguars are not rare, in some areas melanistic jaguars
are more common than the regular colored ones. Melanism causes the
background fur to be dark brown instead of tan. These cats still have
black spots, which can be seen in strong sunlight. Also as the cats get
older the background fur fades and is more obviously brown. I'll link some
photos from our zoo below.

...

And they deserve better than to be speared to death for defending
their kittens.