Category: Mammals
The jaguar is the largest wild feline in the Americas and ranges from the southwestern United States all the way down to northern Argentina. For habitat, it prefers dense rainforest but will tolerate a variety of forested and open environments. Their stocky, powerful limb structure allows them to be adept at swimming, climbing, and crawling. Its exceptionally powerful bite contributes to its versatility as a predator – it is able to puncture the armor of reptiles as well as kill prey by biting through the skull.
The age-defying Brandt’s bat
In most mammals, larger size correlates with longer lifespan, but that is not the case with the Brandt’s bat, who can live up to 41 years and weigh less than 0.28 ounces! These bats resemble larger, longer-lived mammals in that they mature slowly and have fewer offspring – but the size difference is dramatic: a female Bonobo lives for approximately 40 years as well, but she outweighs the Brandt’s bat by a factor of 3,771! Oddly enough, it is suspected that the mutated gene that causes the bat’s dwarfish size is the same one that leads to its long lifespan. Studying animals with unusual longevity like the Brandt’s bat does more than just satisfy our curiosity, it could lead to longer, healthier lifespans for humans and other animals!
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Discover Animals is a web-based educational resource offered by the NAIA
