Shot of the Month – April 2019

This month we visit with the most powerful cat in the Western Hemisphere — the Jaguar.  This heavyweight of the feline world is the third largest in the world, coming in just behind the Lion and then the Tiger.  The jaguar is the only member of the “Big Cats” that is found in the Americas.  I photographed this jaguar in the Pantanal, in Brazil.

Looking like a heavyset leopard these cats are built for life in the tropical rain forest where they are found — they have muscular limbs and large paws which allow them to climb trees and swim rivers with ease.  Unlike most felines, these cats absolutely love the water and rarely stray too far from the river.  That being said, they are adaptable and can be found in other habitats including grasslands and deserts.

The jaguar is a stalk-and-ambush hunter unlike lion and cheetah which chase their prey.  These cats walk slowly, and silently through the jungle in search of a meal.  They also walk along the river’s edge, or even in the water as seen in my image above.  We watched this impressive male, known locally as Mick Jaguar (Groan, I know.  It doesn’t seem as corny when you are there seeing this incredible cat….) hunt along the river for several hours.  Even though Mick is past his prime now, perhaps 11 years old, he is still the top cat in this part of the river.  You can see that his one eye is injured but we were told that he can still see with it.

Medium-sized mammals make up the majority of Mick’s diet and can include deer, capybara, Peccaries, and Tapirs.  When hunting in the water prey may include turtles, fish, and caiman (a relative of the crocodile and alligator).  In total Mick and his brethren can take over 85 species depending on what they can find.   One of the few jaguars that lived in the US was known to even kill and eat American black bears.  (source)

Like most big cats Mick kills large prey with a deep throat bite that suffocates the animal.  Jaguars have the most powerful bite of any cat and sometimes kill their prey by biting through the animal’s skull!  When hunting large caiman the jaguar will sometimes jump on the back of the reptile and bite through the base of the skull and sever the cervical vertebrae which instantly paralyzes the animal.

Blah, blah, blah.  So many words.  Watch this unbelievable video of Mick himself on a hunt from several years ago– this video will show you everything you need to know about the hunting style of the jaguar, their fearless nature, and their lethal hunting techniques.

Any questions?  WOW!

Until next month…..m

Want more?….

Check out my other post on the Jaguar.

And a few more videos:

A different angle of the same hunt as shown on National Geographic

And a short piece as shown on Nature about the Jaguar

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm f/4, 1/800 sec, ISO 250, +0.5 EV