After the evil raiders killed the black jaguar in the 2006 film "Apocalypto," some of the antagonists knew a powerful force cursed them and would seek revenge. Although the film focused on a fictional slice of Mayan life, we realize most cultures have good reasons to believe tales about wild cats indigenous to their continents. The animals' images, actions and even their sounds blend into people's imaginations and inspire legends.

Legend
The native South American wild cats are pumas, ocelots, Pampas cats and jaguars. The jaguar's habitat range is Central America, and southward to Paraguay and northern Argentina, including the Brazilian rainforest, the one natural environment where we would actually see a black jaguar today like the one in "Apocalypto."

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