Unlike the leopard, the jaguar is associated with rivers and swamps, often appearing in pre-Columbian poetry and myth as a god of the underworld and the night. Its bite, which can pierce turtle shells, represents a crushing, implacable force. Poets use the jaguar to explore the dense, wet heat of the rainforest, the spiritual authority of the great cat, and the sense of ancestral, earth-bound power that emerges from the shadowy depths of the American tropics, often invoking its roar as the voice of the wild itself.

Ted Hughes's poem "The Jaguar" stands as a landmark in modern poetry, contrasting the caged jaguar's wild, burning energy with the dullness of other zoo animals. The jaguar's spots, which resemble dark roses against a golden coat, make it a figure of jungle beauty, while its association with water—unlike the leopard—ties it to rivers, swamps, and the dark, watery underworld of pre-Columbian mythology. In Maya and Aztec poetry, the jaguar is a god of the underworld and the night, representing power, transformation, and the shamanic journey. When writing, consider the jaguar's spiritual dimension, its role as a symbol of the wild heart of the Americas, and its contrast with the leopard's association with Africa and Asia.