The national animal of Guyana is the jaguar. This big cat is among the most iconic of all South America’s fauna, and has had spiritual and national significance to just about every culture that has been in contact with it. They are fearsome predators but also gentle spirits of the forest to the people of Guyana.
There are few animals in South America which hold the symbolic importance of the jaguar.
They are one of the continent’s most well-known animals, and though they are of course fearful and dangerous at the right time, they are more commonly seen as images of power, courage, strength and boldness.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Guyana?
The national animal of Guyana is the jaguar.
This is without doubt South America’s most fearsome predator, and among the most symbolically important animals in the whole continent.
To just about every culture over time and today that has had any contact with jaguars, they have played some role in their mythos and folklore as well, sometimes, as in their actual everyday lives.
These large cats are the only living member of their genus, Panthera, and are native to the Americas.
They are typically around 6 feet long and weigh around 350 pounds, making them the largest cat species in the Americas.
Like their leopard and cheetah cousins they sport spotted rosettes on their sides, usually being a light golden-brown in colour.
Famously, there are also melanistic jaguars that are almost entirely black.
As recently as the 19th Century, jaguars were still commonly sighted as far north as Colorado and coastal Louisiana.
Today, they are still very rarely seen in the U.S., but the vast majority of jaguars are to be found in South America.
They favor dense forests, living usually in deciduous, tropical, subtropical forests, and rainforests.
They prefer to inhabit lower elevations as they are known to avoid montane forests, but are sometimes found as high in the mountains as 12,500 feet.
They are mostly nocturnal, being active at the twilight and during the night depending on where they live.
They are, naturally, obligate carnivores, and hunt a wide variety of prey.
They prefer prey in the range of about 100-200 pounds, commonly hunting large rodents like capybara and pilosan anteaters.
They will, though, prey on large animals like marsh deer when they are available.
They have been a key figure in Mesoamerican mythology and folklore and continue to be to the inhabitants of the continent today—so let’s look at why they are the national animal of Guyana.
Why is the jaguar the national animal of Guyana?
The jaguar is the national animal of Guyana for a few different reasons.
On the one hand, they are important symbols in several different ways.
They are seen as symbols of power, courage and strength, being the apex predators of their environment who are not threatened by anything.
They have played this or a similar role in the minds of people in South America, and Guyana, for doubtless longer than we can guess, and it’s very easy to see why.
They are remarkably imposing creatures.
Yet, at the same time, they are not simply images of brute strength.
They are also seen to embody the beauty of Guyana’s natural landscapes. Jaguars are the very image of the country’s ecological diversity and in their elusiveness, embody the spirit of the forests of Guyana.
This is equally important.
On the other hand, though they are not presently an endangered species, the IUCN Red List does categorize them as near threatened.
They are threatened by many aspects of human activity, like deforestation and illegal hunting.
Though they continue to roam a huge range, efforts will need to be taken in future to ensure their continued survival.
Are jaguars the same as leopards?
Jaguars are not the same as leopards; they are a different species, though of course they do look very much alike.
Leopards are native mostly to Africa and parts of Asia where they were once a great deal more widespread.
Jaguars, on the other hand, are native to the Americas, and so the two are never in the same place at the same time.
Jaguars are typically larger and stockier than leopards, as they are the third biggest cat species in the world.
So, though they look similar, jaguars and leopards are quite different.
Are jaguars friendly to humans?
Jaguars in the wild are certainly not friendly to humans.
They are not exactly on the hunt for an interaction with humans, and they are not really known to actively hunt people.
As mentioned, they prefer smaller prey. So, they are only a danger to people who go out of their way to seek out interactions.
That said, of course, if you were to stumble on a wild jaguar and the conditions were right, then it might feel distinctly threatened and choose to attack.
For instance, if you were to accidentally come between it and its children.
But in general they are not a huge danger to people.
So, if you want to observe these creatures, you need to do it from afar.
But with that said, even simply as an image they hold a great deal of importance to the people of Guyana in a number of different ways.
Big cats are often among the animals that most capture the human imagination, and whether today or throughout history jaguars are no exception to this.