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Jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) are the two largest cats in the New World and the largest cats in the world after lions and tigers. Male jaguars are typically ~15% larger, reaching a maximum weight of c. 120 kg (c. 150 kg in the Pantanal) (1), compared with c. 105 kg for male pumas (2). Both species overlap across much of South America, as well as parts of Mexico and Arizona.

Compared with pumas, jaguars are more robustly built, with thicker necks, forearms, and shoulders, as well as a larger head. Pumas, by contrast, are generally longer and more slender.

Figure 1 — A comparison between jaguars and pumas at various locations using Camera Traps. (A) In the Pantanal. (B) In the Atlantic Forest. (C) In Salto National Park. (D) In the Caatinga. (E) In EL Impenetrable National Park. (F) In Yasuni National Park.

The two species can coexist through niche partitioning, with jaguars typically taking larger prey while pumas tend to prefer medium-sized animals (3).

In some regions, the two species avoid occupying the same locations despite coexisting and being active during the same periods (4). In other areas, they may use the same locations but differ in their activity patterns, with one species being more nocturnal and the other more diurnal (5).

Direct interactions between the two predators suggest that jaguars are the dominant predator in regions where they overlap.

On October 15, 2011, along the bank of the Piquiri River, a 63 kg female jaguar was observed approaching a puma before attacking it. The puma fled, after which the jaguar returned to her resting spot (6).

Figure 2 — A jaguar confronts a puma on the Piquiri Riverbank. (A) The jaguar approaches the puma. (B) The puma runs away from the jaguar.

On December 31, 2016, in the Llanos, the carcass of an adult male puma was found within the territory of a male jaguar. Multiple wounds to the cranium, cuts on the paws, and missing claws were interpreted as evidence of a fight with a jaguar that ultimately resulted in the puma's death. The jaguar had consumed part of the puma's right flank, while the right side of the skull and the orbital cavities had been severely damaged (6).

Figure 3 — The carcass of an adult male puma killed and consumed by a jaguar.

In 2019, the partially consumed carcass of a puma was found in Jucimeira, with bite marks through the back of the skull indicating a possible jaguar kill (7), (8).

Figure 4 — A puma killed by a jaguar in Jucimeira. (A) The carcass of the partially eaten puma. (B) The bite to the back of the skull indicating that a jaguar was responsible.

In 2013, at the Caiman Ecological Refuge, a female puma was documented feeding on a kill approximately 100 meters from a female jaguar feeding on a separate kill. The puma left the area after the jaguar roared (9).

Figure 5 — A puma feeding on a kill, out of the camera's view, a female jaguar does the same to her own kill 100 meters away.

Finally, between 2010 and 2017 in Costa Rica, pumas were documented scavenging from four jaguar kills, consisting of three olive ridley sea turtles and one American crocodile (10).

Figure 6 — Two instances of pumas feeding on jaguar kills.

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