Jaguars are found throughout Belize in the lowland forests and along the coasts. Adult jaguars are solitary and only come together for a short time to breed. The size of a jaguars territory depends on food availability. In a forest such as the Cockscomb Basin, a jaguar will roam over a territory of about 20 square kilometers. Jaguars hunt mainly on the ground and mainly at night. Its food consists of everything from mice to birds to tapir. Its favorite food in Belize is probably the warrie, which lives in abundance throughtout the Jaguars habitat. Jaguars once lived throughout the Americas, from Arizona to the north to Argentina in e south. But hunting and forest clearing has reduced their numbers and forced them out of their habitat into interaction with man. Belize has one of the healthiest populations in Central America, and the Jaguar is protected from hunting throughout Belize.

When zoologist Alan Rabinowitz searched for the best place to study jaguars, Belizeans sent him to an abandoned lumber camp 20 miles southwest of Dangriga. What he found was among the healthiest populations of the big cats anywhere in the world. His work led to the establishment of the 102,000-acre Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, which protects not only jaguars, but the habitat supporting an intricate web of smaller animals they depend upon.