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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - C - THE JAGUAR (Panthera onca)
ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - C - THE JAGUAR (Panthera onca)
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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - C - THE JAGUAR (Panthera onca)
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Jaguar in Hato Pinero, Estado Cojedes in the Venezuelan Llanos
Credit to the late Ernesto O. Boede Hato Pinero is a big ranch located in the Venezuelan Llanos about 5 hours by car from Caracas, it has more than 30 Jaguars and a good number of Pumas and Ocelots, it is the best place to see wild Jaguars in Venezuela.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Forward from (https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-crocodi...ion?page=6), there was a controversy over a video of a caiman defecating the carcass of a felid, identified as a jaguar, in Brazil recently:
There have been arguments that this could be a female or juvenile jaguar, or even another felid species, such as an ocelot. About the jaguar, let me clarify what the situation is with its size: Generally, the size of jaguars increases from north to south: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380383/, https://www.earthtouchnews.com/conservat...nst-pumas/ * Central or North American jaguars, ranging from southern USA and northern Mexico in the north, to Panama in the south, are fairly small, with those in the Camela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Mexican coast of the Pacific, northern Mexico and Belize at least weighing about 50–60 kg (110–132 pounds), similar to average cougars: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/...75E1DC9FF5, https://www.earthtouchnews.com/conservat...nst-pumas/ El Jefe the Arizonan jaguar, likely of Mexican origin: http://www.delhidailynews.com/news/El-Je...454851534/  *This image is copyright of its original author * Large male Northern South American jaguars (as in, South American jaguars north of the Amazon River) in the Amazonian region, which includes Guyana and Venezuela, may weigh 90–120 kg (200–260 lbs), with the average for male and female Venezuelan jaguars being respectively 95 kg (209.4 lbs) and 56.3 kg (124 lbs, similar to Central American males in Belize), and Venezuelan females weighing up to 90 kg (200 lbs): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380383/, https://web.archive.org/web/201006202310...1-0001.pdf, https://books.google.com/books?id=T37sFC...&q&f=false Northern South American jaguar in Guyana: https://phys.org/news/2013-01-guyana-ple...guars.html  *This image is copyright of its original author * Certain Southern South American jaguars (as in, South American jaguars south of the Amazon River) from the Pantanal region are the largest of the species, with lengths of about 2.7 m (8.9 ft), and average weights of 94.8 kg (209 lbs) for males and 77.7 kg (171 lbs) for females (https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-S...6-0301.pdf). Some individuals weighed up to or more than 135 kg (298 lbs): https://web.archive.org/web/200712280610...razil.html, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380383/ Pantanal jaguar: https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/LocationPh...rosso.html  *This image is copyright of its original author
(07-11-2019, 11:23 AM)BorneanTiger Wrote: Forward from (https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-crocodi...ion?page=6), there was a controversy over a video of a caiman defecating the carcass of a felid, identified as a jaguar, in Brazil recently: I change my mind, it appears that even northern South American jaguars at Los Llanos, Venezuela, can be quite big: https://www.researchgate.net/publication..._evolution "Body size of today’s jaguars is highly variable; the largest are found in the Brazilian Pantanal and Venezuelan Llanos (mean male body mass >100kg). The smallest jaguars live in Central America (~56kg)." Venezuelan jaguar at Los Llanos: https://www.pinterest.es/pin/535506211933874521/  *This image is copyright of its original author
CHINA'S LUST FOR JAGUARS FANGS IMPERILS BIG CATS
This is the title of a recent and interesting article in 'Nature' (February 2018). A must read for those interested in wild jaguars, I think. The summary is things aren't looking good. As the last 4 000 tigers are quite well protected in Nepal, India, Russia, Thailand, and, to a degree, Malaysia, traffickers turned to greener pastures. South America, to be more precise. Headless jaguars turned up in Belize and it's also clear that parts of jaguars have been shipped to China from Latin America, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. Once again, China seems to be heavily involved. I know there is more research on tigers in China. I also know about the new large tiger reserve close to Russia, but trafficking still is a big problem. It has to be addressed soon, as wild tigers, in spite of the small increase in numbers in Russia, Nepal and India, continue to suffer. There's no question that they're on their way out in most of southeast Asia and Sumatra. African lions and jaguars are next on the list. In order to stand a chance, Chinese authorities have to move conservation, in all departments, to the top of all lists. Results are needed and they are needed now: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02314-5
Jaguars from North West of Venezuela, they look like they have good size from la zona del Sur del Lago de Maracaibo
Credit to @mongabaylatam  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Female Jaguar in Parque Mirador, Río Azul y biótopo Dos Lagunas in Guatemala
Credit to Gabriel Urruela  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Sharpening its claws
Credit to Jaguars.org  *This image is copyright of its original author
Paulo Barreiros The story behind this picture is really interesting. That cat`s name is Cage. He was behaving pretty much like a female in estrus, showing off to a nearby young male: rolling around and growling; passive-aggressive moves that momentarily stoped in a ready-to-be-mounted position…(The young male was named Ramses. He`s almost half Cage`s size. Funny enough, Ramses kept his cool, indifferent to that “weird” display of his pal… I should have filmed it. I don`t wanna boast, but, most likely, I was the only person there that was aware of what was going on. People around me – including the other guides – were saying all sorts of non sense; even claiming that it was a mother and a cub! LOL)
I wonder if Cage is bisexual?!... A couple of years ago, for about 6 months, he was associated with Peter Schmidt (who is a real badass; I`ve never seen him losing a fight against other jaguars, even the ones who are bigger them him). We suspected they are brothers, but we don`t really know that for sure. They hunt together and even groom each other, but I`ve never seen them having sex. In fact, their association ended when fighting over a female (Bianca). Thus, we thought that they were not gay. Then, the following year, cage got this young squire… Very interesting, indeed. Mainly because (almost) everything that was ever printed about jaguars will tell you that the adults (except mating pairs for a little while; as well as females with cubs) are solitary…  *This image is copyright of its original author
Minnesota's 'Lion King' Hunter Can't Kill This Big Brazilian Cat
When Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe this summer, it set off a fire storm against luxurious trophy hunting. In Brazil, home of the jaguar, hunting this big cat is a luxury few can afford. Laws make it next to impossible. Even for those with money to burn and the courage to brave dense jungle and dense heat, going after a jag comes with a price. In 2010, a group of land owners in Mato Grosso state gave it a whirl. Unfortunate for them, police caught them organizing trophy hunting trips. Eight people were arrested. Somewhat ironically, it was a Brazilian dentist named Eliseu Augusto Sicoli that was the chief organizer of the hunts that cost a mere $1,500 per person, per day. By comparison, Palmer paid around $50,000 in total. Brazil's Federal Police said that 28 jaguars were trophy hunted that year on the illegal safari program. “You can’t hunt a jaguar and you surely can never bring a jaguar to the United States or anywhere else as a hunting trophy,” says Ugo Eichler Vercillo, a director at Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment. The only way a jaguar pelt or body part makes it into the U.S. would be through the illegal trafficking of endangered species aboard a private airplane.  *This image is copyright of its original author Hunting has been outlawed in Brazil since 1977. Going after glamorous tropical animals like the jaguar is only for scientists that may be allowed to hit it with a tranquilizer gun. In Indian villages, local tribes are permitted to hunt threatened monkeys if they use it for food. Jags are not on the menu. According to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species, or CITES, Brazilian jaguars are an appendix I endangered species and cannot be marketed. Lions are considered appendix II, meaning there is a legitimate hunting market for them. Palmer was within his legal rights to hunt lions in Zimbabwe. For years, U.S. hunters have gone to Africa and were allowed to return home with big game trophy kills under the protection of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. But now the Service is considering banning lion hunting by Americans. Disease, habitat destruction and hunting by the locals and big gamers has cut the lion population in half over the last 50 years to around 20,000. Bringing jaguars into the U.S. is already banned. One reason: the population compared to lions is next to nothing. Douglas Trent, a well-known American ecologist who has been in and out of Brazil since 1980, estimates the jaguar population to be around six thousand in its two main habitats: the Pantanal and the Amazon. “Jaguars were really threatened by hunting when there was a commercial market for jaguar furs, but since there is no market for that now it’s led to less illegal hunting in Brazil,” says Trent. “We hope the same can be done with lions so hunting these creatures is outlawed. If not, lions won’t be with us for much longer.” Trophy hunting is another animal altogether. The hunter isn’t interested in protecting its goats from predators, nor the fur coat. They are interested in big game hunting and want to bring back evidence of the kill. In Cecil the Lion’s case, it was his head. “We have to be very vigilante of trophy hunting here and any hunting of the jaguar,” says Vercillo. Brazil’s Federal Police, now famous for its busting of a massive corruption scheme inside of state-owned oil giant Petrobras , has its own environmental crimes unit dedicated to the illegal capture and kill of rare – and expensive – Brazilian species. “There is the possibility that other land owners will offer up their property for adventure-seeking hunters that want a jaguar,” Vercillo says. Hunters send dogs after the cats to chase it up a tree and shoot it from there. “The federal police caught one safari group; they’ll catch the next one,” Vercillo says. “After this latest news about Zimbabwe, and our 2010 bust of the Mato Grosso hunting tours, I think we will see less of this activity.”  *This image is copyright of its original author Theodore Roosevelt with a Juvenile Jaguar he killed American president and big game hunter Teddy Roosevelt hunted Brazil’s big cats back in 1913 during a four-month expedition in the Pantanal and Amazon. In his book, the “Through the Brazilian Wilderness”, Roosevelt wrote that it was one of the biggest cats he’d ever shot, noting it was twice the size of a male African leopard and as muscular as a lion. Brazilians in Mato Grosso have learned to live with the beast, even if it does knock off a pet dog and trim a cattle ranchers head count from time to time. On rare occasions, it will go after humans. They weigh over 300 pounds, have a bite that can crush a human skull, and – of course – can run fast, have sharp fangs and even sharper claws. This is the Brazilian velociraptor, and the Pantanal is its Jurassic Park. Joao Sousa, 48, works here. He manages cattle on a large ranch along the Paraguay River and is tasked with making sure the owners’ animals are alive and kicking. He got up close and personal with Brazil’s beast in March 2014. “I could smell a dead animal up ahead and went to check it out on horseback with my dog,” he says of a five year old beagle named Brasão. “When I got near it, I dismounted and walked over to see that it was just a dead crocodile. When I turned my back to walk back to the horse, that’s when I heard the growling,” he says, adding that he took off his cowboy hat and tried to redirect the cat away from him like he would direct a bull. It didn’t work. The jaguar grabbed him by his arm and only let go when his scream brought on four more dogs to chase it away. Brasão bit the cat’s underbelly and was hit by its claws, incapacitated for two months. “It was seven in the morning when it happened and I saw him. His arm was wrapped up and bloodied. His face was scratched. He was wiped out,” says Adelia Campos, one of the maids on the ranch. “This has never happened. I hope it never happens again. When he returned from the hospital he was black and blue from his head down to his waist and arm because of the force of that animal.” Luiz Alex de Silva Lara was struck by a jaguar when returning from a fishing trip with his father to a Paraguay River camp site in 2008. The cat jumped him from behind and broke his neck before dragging him off into the woods. He was 22. Fishermen found him hours later, chunks of flesh removed from his body.  *This image is copyright of its original author Silva Lara attacked and killed by a Jag. Cecil the Lion would have been just as mean. The difference between a jaguar and a lion is jaguars in Brazil have a lot more places to hide. It is not easy to find a jaguar, let alone see one when it is nearby. Sousa said the jaguar that attacked him was hiding in tall grass and probably fled his crocodile kill when he saw him coming. He was protecting his breakfast. Sousa would have been its lunch if not for his dog, Brasão. “I don’t even know how many stitches I got,” Sousa says, showing me his arm. There is a six inch long crucifix stitch carved into his forearm. “We lose calves all the time here because of jaguars. Forget goats. We used to have 300. I think we’re lucky to have 30,” he says. Does he want revenge on these things? “It’s better to leave them alone,” he says. “It’s a serious law. It’s not worth going after them. I just know that I don’t want to see it ever again.”  *This image is copyright of its original author 2 Large males battling for mating rights, Female is off to the side. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/08/16/minnesotas-lion-king-hunter-cant-kill-this-big-brazilian-cat/#75d768e17b6f
Some great pics @epaiva. Nice to see more of the Venezuelan jaguars, they're rarely photographed. I've read the English version of Rafael Hoojensteijn's excellent book and agree it's an excellent source on this species.
Another pic from that book of a live adult male jaguar captured in the Cojedes state of Venezuela.  *This image is copyright of its original author
(09-04-2019, 12:25 AM)chui_ Wrote: Some great pics @epaiva. Nice to see more of the Venezuelan jaguars, they're rarely photographed. I've read the English version of Rafael Hoojensteijn's excellent book and agree it's an excellent source on this species.@chui_ Very good to know that you own that book, a very good book
Differences in the Southern Pantanal compared to the Northern
Southern Pantanal has a more harsh flood season, it's been more molested by farmers and Jaguars are harder to see there. To entice Jags to come out they do bait them in the South to get them to walk in front of their safari vehicles. https://www.amazonadventures.com/blog/pantanal-tours-is-the-north-or-south-better "But for people who want to see jaguars, the north is definitely the place to go to, especially around Porto Jofre" But the South is where you want to go if you want to see Macaws, Peccary, Giant Anteaters, Tapir and Yellow Anaconda. My guess would be due to the fact that Jaguar numbers aren't as high, but that is only a guess. Per Paulo, Jags in the South may not be as large as they are in the North but they are still plenty large, have solid numbers and have a strong prey base. But most likely due to the fact that they are a bit more intruded on by humans and deal with a heavier flood season, that may have something to do with it. I also believe the South doesn't have the same Caiman Population as the North does. Below is a list of Southern Pantanal Jag weights included the famous Brutus. First up is Scare 115kg Also notice they mention 2 Jags weighing 130kg or above  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Here is one of the 130kg Jaguars  *This image is copyright of its original author Here is the famous Brutus, he was 4 years old when captured and weighed 110kg and is said to now weigh around 130kg  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author The famous shout of Brutus and a Female showing off their Dimorphism 76kg Female  *This image is copyright of its original author Examples of the Safari Tour they are trying to popularize at the Refúgio Ecológico Caiman |
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