The jaguar is the largest feline that is native to the Americas. Jaguars can swim, climb trees, and hunt their prey during the day and at night. They eat large animals such as caimans, turtles, and deer.
Many ancient Latin American cultures viewed jaguars as supernatural beings. Some thought jaguars were the ancestors of humans.
To the Aztecs, jaguars symbolized the earth and the realm of darkness. According to Spanish historical accounts, Aztec rulers kept jaguars and sometimes sacrificed humans to them. They also sacrificed the jaguars themselves. Jaguar bones were found at the Great Temple of the Aztec.
