Big. Bad. Strong. The Jaguar is the third largest cat in the world behind the lion and the tiger. Jaguars live in Northern South America, parts of Central America and Mexico, and they used to inhabit parts of the American Southwest. Like a monster, the Jaguar has the bite strength to crush bones, skulls, and thick shells. 6% of all Jaguars are Black Panthers or Black Jaguars. During the time of the ancient Chavin civilization in modern-day Peru, Jaguars were thought of as sacred animals and during some ceremonies people wore Jaguar skins. In Olmec culture the “were-Jaguar” was a common motif and in Mayan culture the Jaguar was believed to be able to help communication between the living and the dead. The Jaguar is a beautiful, big, bulky cat. 

Newts are small lizard-like creatures that live in parts of North America, Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Newts are closely related to Salamanders, who although appear to be similar, have many different traits. Newts are mostly aquatic amphibians while Salamanders are either aquatic, semi-aquatic, or terrestrial. Although they live partially in the water, Newts have dry skin. Possibly the most fascinating thing about Newts is they have the ability to replace lost limbs. Some Newts can even replace body parts 18 different times! Overall, the Newt is a neat creature and one awesome amphibian.

For this year’s science, I had assignments to draw some animals I studied. I will be sharing with you seven pictures I drew of insects and animals I learned about throughout this year.