For the Mayans, the jaguar (Panthera onca) embodied power. Able to hunt wild animals which can weigh up to 661.3 lbs (300kg), it is considered the superpredator of the tropical forests of Central and South America. A superpredator - also called an alpha predator or apex predator - is a predator, which once it has reached adulthood, sits at the top of the food chain and is then not preyed upon by any other animal species.