Jaguars of Brazil - Dynamics,Lifestyle,Datas,Studies,Reports

[Dark Jaguar]

@"OncaAtrox"  @peter @Lycaon @Pckts  @Rage2277  and Others.

The post is finally here including a BONUS at end   .


WILD PREDATORS.

Recent studies shows the species have social habits more than was once thought previously , with individuals from a population meeting up from time to time in one determined area of their  territory. Adult females yet followed by their cubs may also encounter males for others reasons other than for mating.

Jaguars live in territories that may vary in size according to the enviornment. Jaguars that live in forests ( Amazon or Atlantic Forest for example ), have smaller territories than jaguars who live in more open areas ( like Pantanal, Cerrado and Caatinga ). Meanwhile the territory of an adult male in Amazon have around 50 km2 , in Pantanal this area can get up to 200km2.

In regions with huge humidity variation like in Pantanal for example which floods large areas yearly. the territories of jagaurs may vary as well according to the time of the year. Normally in dry seasons these territories are larger than in flooded seasons.

The females overlap their territories with one another during dry seasons, but it doesn't happen during flooded season. The males in compensation overlap their territories throughout the whole year.

Territories.

simulation of territories of jaguars in Pantanal.

Red line = Male A - 140km2
Yellow line = Male B - 110km2
Green line = Female D - 49km2
Purple line = female E - 50km2

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Jaguar's reproduction, cubs and use of space.

Males and females may encounter to mate during the whole year. The cubs are blind for 2 weeks after they're born, they start eating meat at around 2 and half months old, they breastfeed until around the third month and start to leave their burrow to walk along with its mother at 6 months old. They stay with their mother until 1 and half years to 2 years of age. Female jaguars start reproduce between 2 to 3 years years of age and males between 3 to 4 years of age. They can have 4 cubs per litter after a gestation of 90 - 115 days long, but most of the times they only have 2 cubs. Since wild jaguars live between 11 to 15 years old and the reproductive pattern of the female lowers after 10 years of age, she won't produce more than 8 to 10 cubs along its life. In captivity a jaguar can live 23 years of age.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Predation.

Since they are large cats the jaguar prefer large preys. Its naural preys include Tapir, Deer, Pecaries, Capybara, Armadillos, Sloths and Caimans. But jaguars also eat any small animal they may capture including Monkeys, Birds, Tortoise, Turtles, Frogs and even Fishes.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Jaguars Large Non-Natural preys.  


http://aesbrasilsustentabilidade.com.br/...nvoros.pdf



Jaguars largest unatural preys: Horses, Donkeys, Cattles.


Killing Method - Bite at the base of the animal's skull/nape or neck area. Cervical vertebrae rupture; often claw marks are visible.


Attacked part.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Feeding Method - The jaguar will drag its carcass to a hiden place, normally in the middle of dense bushes. The Feeding begins with the face and neck and then the pectoral region. It is common for the hind parts to be left intact. The stomach and intestines are separated from the carcass, and the heart and liver can be consumed. Jaguars can drag preys for up to 1.5km to places with dense vegetation for protection against other possible predators who try to steal it. Jaguars need sites with water availability and dense vegetation cover. Jaguars tend to avoid altered sites or of anthropic influence.

Consumed part.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Carcasses predated by jaguars almost always have a bite at the base of the skull ( behind the ears ) or in the neck/nape area, which causes vertebrae breakage or ligament rupture (Figure 7 - Horse Predation ).  However, in adult animals, death itself tends to be caused by neck breakage due to the impact of the animal's fall.In many cases the head of the preyed animal is turned back.  The prey is rarely killed by suffocation with a bite to the throat.In many cases the head of the preyed animal is turned back.
Rarely is the prey killed by suffocation, with a bite to the throat. Another characteristic of jaguar preyed carcasses is that the jaguar starts to consume the previous portion, preferring the meat from the neck, chest, pallets and ribs (Figure 8 - calf predation).The lower part of the neck and the breast, commonly known as the "pain bleed", is the favorite part of the carcass. It is common for the hind legs (after the ribs) to be left intact.  On the other hand calves can be completely consumed. Carcasses from this predator are never covered and can be dragged up to 1.5 km away.


Domestic Adult Horse's carcass slaughtered by Jaguar showing the animal was attacked at base of the skull.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Calf slaughtered by jaguar and consumed from the previous portion of it

*This image is copyright of its original author

Pugmarks

Jaguar tracks/pugmarks are large, they got a rounded shape and the overall width is generally slightly greater than the length.  The toes are round, the pads large and outlined in a rounded shape. In general male jaguars have rounder and more spaced front paws than females and in some situations when the substrate allows, it is possible to identify the sex of the predator with a good chance of success.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Domestic Horses predation cases in Brazil and Peter Crawshaw's thoughts about it.


http://g1.globo.com/mato-grosso/noticia/...istas.html

Jaguars attack and kill animals on MT pasture and scare cattlemen.


In 2012 alone, one producer lost eight animals from the herd.


Attacks took place in Serra Tapirauã, in Tangará da Serra.


Cattlemen from Tangará da Serra, 242 kilometers from Cuiabá, which are in the vicinity of Serra Tapirauã, are worried about the frequent jaguar attacks on the herds. What worries the producers is that cases are increasingly frequent and closer to home.


The cattleman Eloir Vaz lost eight animals this year alone, and one of the attacks was 100 meters from the residence where the farmer was staying. As a measure of protection, he began to lock up the animals on his farm every night. "The jaguar took the mother of a lamb, for example, and now he has to be trapped and treated with a bottle," said Pedro Pereira da Silva.

The producers are surprised that in the last year horses have become the main target of the big cats. Cattleman Cláudio Roberto took pictures that show the violence of the attack on one of his horses. "Every Sunday and Wednesday I go to feed the animals and those days when I went to see one of my horses was dead. The jaguar is not only doing harm, we are also frightened. There are the little children who go to school at dawn. Where ever I go to look at the cattle I see tracks of the jaguar," he emphasized.

According to the producers, what facilitates the feline's attack is the land in the region, which is a serra. "It's the place where jaguar likes to stay. It takes the animals by surprise at dawn and there is no escape. When it doesn't kill, it does a lot of damage," stressed the cattle breeder, Irineu Antônio.

Despite the care taken, after the attacks the animals can hardly resist. According to Irineu, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and antitetanic drugs are applied to the animals that survive, but most of the time the animal does not survive. "If the animal has fallen, and after that it is difficult to get up" he scored.

The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) said it has yet to receive any communiqué about the attacks and has alerted cattle ranchers of the importance of informing the agency so that technicians can help solve the problem, in addition to the fact that killing the wild animal is a crime.



Jaguar predations on domestic horses towards Acurizal.

https://www.campograndenews.com.br/meio-...are-ao-boi

Due to cattle predation, the jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest cat in the Americas was eventually seen by farmers as a threat and the species even entered the list of animals at risk of extinction or in vulnerable situations. The conflict of this animal so admired and feared with man is under control in some regions like the Pantanal where the population has increased.

Sighting a jaguar, puma or the ocelot has become common in a journey through the biome, be it on the boiled or ecological roads, on the beaches of the flooded areas, in the woods or ravines of the rivers. The risk of an attack is imminent and every precaution must be taken. The riverside people of the Pantanal live daily with the animal around their houses, attacking their domestic animals.  

When the jaguar stops hunting its natural prey, according to experts, it is because its environment has changed. But in practice, the story is different: in preserved regions such as Serra do Amolar north of Corumbá there are records of attacks on animals that are not part of their diet. A few years ago, jaguars killed more than 30 Pantaneiro breed horses in the Acurizal reserve, attacking them on the airstrip.



Jaguar now attacks in protected areas.

https://www.amambainoticias.com.br/geral...onservacao

August 2nd, 2011

The increasingly frequent jaguar attack on man and cattle in the Pantanal has been attributed to changes in their habitat and reduction of wild animals in their diet. The feline's behavior, however, has not been different in environmentally balanced areas, such as in conservation units, where it is killing domestic animals, among them the horse.

In the Acurizal Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN), of the Ecotrópica Foundation, out of the herd of 25 Pantanal horses breed only four animals remain and one of them was attacked at dawn last week, rescued by the intervention of an employee right in the beginning of the attack, who overwhelmed the predator with rojões (shots). Other properties in the region also attribute the death of equines to jaguars.


Horse that was attacked by jaguar is one of the four horses remaining from a total of 25.

photo: Silvio Andrade

*This image is copyright of its original author

In the Acurizal case, located between the Pantanal National Park and the Amolar Mountain Range north of Corumbá the predator is attacking the animals in a clean field near the headquarters. At least two horses were killed while grazing at the head of the landing track. But this time this jaguar has been identified: its a 100kg male already captured by researchers to place a monitoring collar.

In June, four horses were killed in the reserve and the survivor named Cognac, a seven year old breeding horse was seriously injured with bites to the head and deep cuts to the body caused by the feline's claws. According to the experienced on the field veterinarian of the National Research Center for the Conservation of Natural Predators Ronaldo Morato ''The jaguar can kill a horse with one single bite.''


Peter Crawshaw's thoughts on horses predation and How to avoid it?

The State Post Office could not get statements from technicians of state research agencies about this occurrence but the biologist Peter Crawshaw, the greatest Brazilian scholar of the species gave his opinion:

'' As an opportunistic predator the jaguar gets used to predating domestic animals and as long as they are available it returns to the site whenever it feels hungry. In the case of Acurizal - says Crawshaw - The native fauna is protected and there is no hunting by people in the reserve but for some reason perhaps even simply by the ease of catching the horses on the track, one or other jaguar has become accustomed to preying on these animals.''

In order to contain and avoid these attacks he suggests discouraging the jaguar, making the capture more difficult with electric fence, lights, night grazing.





Jaguar predation Carcass Examination. ( source Panthera.org PAGE. 9 )

https://www.panthera.org/cms/sites/defau...UGUESE.pdf


The correct identification of the trouble-some cat is an important step in determining the appropriate control method (or methods), which will depend on the characteristics of the species in question.  Felines have hidden habits, but they leave certain characteristic traces such as footprints, faeces and hair that can provide information about the species. The type and size of prey also give an idea of the predator.

Large animals like Horses, Donkeys and adult Cattle are attacked exclusively by jaguars. The smaller Puma attacks younger or smaller animals usually Foals or Calves (usually newborns up to one and a half years old) while Jaguars attack adult individuals weighing up to 500 kg.

Medium sized animals such as goats and sheep are also attacked by these cats, as well as by dogs that can cause considerable damage. If several species of predators coexist in an area, more than one can use the same carcass.  From the publications by Shaw (1990), Bowland et al. (1992), Childs (1998), Hoogesteijn et al. (in press) and Hoogesteijn and Peter Crawshaw (2.000), we present the following methodology:


1. Prey should be examined promptly before the action of the carrion birds prevents the establishment of the causes and/or cause of death.  First it must be ensured that the animal died from the attack or if in case it died for other reasons the predator took advantage of the corpse to feed itself. The sides of the neck of the prey should be skinned for inspection of the throat, nape and base of the skull, where bites and lacerations (with perforations caused by the insertion of canine teeth) that have caused the death checking the place of the bite and the distances between the perforations of the canines preferably on the inner side of the skin. The distance between the perforations caused by a single adult puma bite is between 4.5 and 5 cm for upper canines and 3 and 4 cm for lower canines. For the jaguar these distances are greater unless the individual is an adult.


2. The prey should be examined thoroughly by parts, whether the skull is fractured or not and whether it is in the position of the head backwards or not. Body: which parts and in what quantity have been consumed whether or not the stomach and intestines have been removed, intact or not with the viscera consumed or not. The prey should be examined as soon as possible because the fresher it is the easier it is to determine the cause of death.  Blood stains at the site of death are evidence that the animal was killed by a predator.


3. The larynx and trachea should be opened for evidence of foam, the presence of which indicates that the animal was alive and breathing.  Similarly the inside of the mouth should be searched for regurgitated contents.  In the case of newborn calves (and lambs) it is necessary to review the hooves to determine if the animal used them for walking and if the stomach contained food in order to clarify if the animal was born alive and was predated or if it was born dead and consumed. If these clues are present they indicate to the farmer that the animal was predated and not simply consumed.  The examination of the size, age and physical condition of the prey is also important.  The amount of fat around the mesentery (tissues that cover the intestines) and flesh as well as the color and consistency of the bone marrow indicate the condition (if the marrow is reddish and of low viscosity the prey was in poor condition).  It is also convenient to examine the skeleton to determine whether the prey had fractures, as well as the colour of the lungs, which have a pinkish coloration in cases of healthy and darker animals in the case of sick individuals.


4. Observe the size of the prey and determine whether it was injured or not. The greater the damage the smaller the size of the predator relative to the prey.  Observe carefully the place where the animal was killed and the place where it was dragged to be eaten the distance between the two places and whether the prey was found uncovered or covered with leaves and vegetation.


5. Check the footprints left by the predator at the site of the attack and the drag. Footprints may be modified by specific variations such as age, sex, walking speed and physical deformities that may influence the presentation of the footprints. In addition there are external factors such as the age of the footprints, atmospheric conditions (wind, rain and sun) and the texture of the soil in which they were made.  Examine any other evidence that may help in identifying the predator such as hair, feces or marks.




Pantanal jaguars seasonal prey preferences.

( source Panthera Org. PAGE 13-14 )https://www.panthera.org/cms/sites/defau...nglish.pdf

In the Brazilian Pantanal, research done by Cavalcanti (2008), showed that all jaguars in the study area consumed cattle to some extent throughout the year (although some individuals in greater proportion than others). The pattern of predation was a temporary phenomenon, it decreased the following year, when the floods were minor; then, the main predation activity was focused on white-lipped peccaries (locally called “queixadas”- Tayassu peccari, see “List of Scientific and Common Names of Natural Prey Species Consumed by Jaguars”, at the end of the text). Crawshaw & Quigley (2002), report that particularly in the Pantanal 13 healthy jaguars prey on livestock as they would on wild prey, since the cattle herds move freely through the mosaic of open grasslands, woodlands and forests. In those specific circumstances, we cannot talk about “Problem Jaguars”.

English descriptions on the Photos.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Guide of Identification of Fur on Brazilian Mammals.

Onça-Pintada ( Panthera Onca )

*This image is copyright of its original author

Macroscopic Description.

Dorsal, nuchal and short caudal (1-2 cm) thin, rectilinear black, yellow, brown in the last two cases and may have the extremity dostal in black.


Cuticular pattern


scale breakage: flooring

shape of the scales: whereada

scale dimensions: wide

scale orientation: transverse

scale ornamentation: smooth.

Continuity: continuous

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Human/Jaguar conflicts in Pantanal and Amazon.


THE PANTANEIRO CASES.

The analogy made by one of the employees between the education of the human being and the fact that the jaguar teaches its cubs to hunt demonstrates a strong anthropocentric vision of reality. A certain intransigence is noted with the jaguar constituting a sign of affront to human domination over nature, with meanings associated with a representation of stubbornness and affront of the animal to human power. Thus, the jaguar suffers for having adapted to the coexistence with man and his flocks.

On the other hand, for the ''Ribeirinho'' (river dweller), the same object, the jaguar, seems to assume a much more apparent folkloric character than for farm workers and cattle ranchers. This can be explained by the fact that this portion of the population does not have herds and/or capital at risk, since it depends much more on the use of diverse resources (fish, baits, fruits); they fit much more in an extractive than capitalist profile.Thus, there seems to be no homogeneity of thought among the inhabitants and users of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, although there is a convergence: jaguars are still killed, even though there is a notion of the threat of their extinction.The decision not to hunt, on the other hand, is influenced by personal convictions or by the imposition of third parties.

It is perceived that the jaguar assumes real representations differentiated according to the collective imaginary of both who performs the act of hunting and the local community in which the social actor lives.  Thus, a vicious circle of maintenance and statements of information, sometimes mistaken, about the aggressiveness of the jaguar and its predation power is created. Signs, myths and meanings are constructed based on these representations of the real, regardless of whether the reality is different, interfering with the effectiveness of the process of disseminating information aimed at the conservation of the species. There is an important difference in the perception of the ribeirinho or farm worker and the owner of farms, in relation to the jaguar. Thus, a vicious circle of maintenance and statements of information, sometimes mistaken, about the aggressiveness of the jaguar and its predation power is created. Signs, myths and meanings are constructed based on these representations of the real, regardless of whether the reality is different, interfering with the effectiveness of the process of disseminating information aimed at the conservation of the species. There is an important difference in the perception of the river-dweller or farm worker and the owner of farms, in relation to the jaguar.

While the cattleman is concerned about the financial loss resulting from the predation of the jaguar on the cattle, the riverside resident or employee is usually concerned about the daily living with a feline that can potentially pose a concrete threat to himself and his family members who may get used to predation on their domestic animals, such as domestic cats and dogs which live inside their house. Although the current reality indicates a higher risk of unprovoked attacks by pumas on people (Beier 1991), it is usually the jaguar that people are most afraid of.  This difference is probably due to the greater size and ferocity attributed to this species, reflected by the larger size of prey killed.  For example, while the puma normally preys on calves up to 1 year old, an adult male jaguar can take down even bulls over 600 kg in weight (Crawshaw & Quigley 2002). What increases the erroneous belief of the greatest risk are the widely known and publicized in the Pantaneiro reality about cases of accidents, not always fatal, but always involving serious injuries with people who have been attacked by jaguars. The difference is that, almost invariably, these cases reflect on situations in which the big cat was being hunted, usually with dogs and when cornered, it ends up attacking to defend itself. There are very few known, proven cases in which a person has been attacked without somehow provoking the animal.


It is known that in specific situations, the jaguar can be more aggressive as...

(1) In defense of their cubs.

(2) Defense of the food (usually a fresh carcass)

(3) When the animal confuses a person with a potential prey, usually if the person is squatting or sitting on the ground (under the optics of a predator, what apparently distinguishes us of their natural preys, it is the biped posture of the Man; that type of confusion can happen also with other predators, as the Sucuri (Anaconda) and the Jacaré (Caiman).

(4) In a situation of extreme hunger, which usually involves either young animals who have already separated from their mothers but do not yet have much experience in hunting their own food or at the other extreme, very old animals which due to their age and physical deterioration are unable to feed themselves adequately.
However this context results in a difficulty in living with large predators which is a collective representation.

On the other hand, we glimpse the possibility of reaching the farmer owner more efficiently who is the one who guides the action of the foreman, employees and their families on attitudes towards the jaguar.  His role is fundamental to guide the construction of the social imaginary about this species and, most probably, the other species of large carnivores. Consequently, it is difficult to change the attitudes of those below on the hierarchical scale who decide to shoot jaguars without inducing this same change in landowners. This induction in our opinion can only be effective if it is aligned with a paradigm in which it is possible to envisage integrated solutions of mitigation of economic damage. Therefore mitigatory measures to these losses caused by the jaguar may have catalysing effects of better results regarding the preservation of the species in the long run than isolated and geographically very restricted actions.



CONSIDERATIONS ON CONFLICTS BETWEEN MAN AND MAMMALIAN CARNIVORES IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON.
Emiliano Esterci Ramalho, Elildo A. R. Carvalho Jr., Martin B. Main

The Amazon covers more than half of the Brazilian national territory, it is home to 18 of the 27 species of carnivores that live in Brazil and it is extremely important for the conservation of these animals due to its good state of conservation, wide territorial extension, unique and diverse ecological characteristics, low population density and connectivity with other biomes. This diversity of characteristics is reflected in different scales and types of conflict between humans and carnivores. In this chapter we review conflicts between carnivorous mammals and man in Amazon to understand where, when and why they occur, determine which species are most susceptible, and identify gaps in knowledge.


Which species are involved the most in conflicts in Amazon?

The species of carnivores most frequently associated with conflicts with man in Amazon are those of large size of the families Felidae and Mustelidae.  jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor) and giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). In the case of large cats, conflicts are related to real or perceived impacts on domestic animal breeding, but also to the perception that these species pose a risk to human safety (Michalski et al. 2006, Carvalho Jr. & Pezutti 2010, Ramalho 2012, Macedo et al. 2013). The Giant Otter on the other hand is involved in conflicts with fishermen because in their view the species damages fishing material hinders activity and competes for fishing resources (Lima 2009, Rosas-Ribeiro 2009, Michalski et al. 2012).Other carnivorous species such as small cats and dogs also engage in smaller scale conflicts with humans (Naughton-Treves & Salafsky 2004).


2 Children from Medicilância PA - Brazil, playing next to amazonic jaguar killed by a local resident.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Predation of domestic animals in Amazon.

Available evidence indicates that the impact of predation on cattle herds in the Amazon is extremely low. For example in the Alta Floresta region (MT), losses attributed to predation by carnivores represented 0.26 to 1.24% of the cattle herd size (Michalski et al. 2006) and in the Transamazonica and Xingu region (PA), losses represented only 0.58% of the regional herd size (Carvalho Jr, unpublished data). These values are similar to those reported for other Brazilian biomes (e.g., Azevedo and Murray 2007, Palmeira et al. 2008) and indicate that low levels of predation are usually the rule. Other causes of mortality and minimal investments in management and adoption of new technologies have an immensely greater impact on productivity and return on livestock investments (Arima et al. 2005, Siegmund-Schulze et al. 2007, Minervino et al. 2008). However this does not mean that the losses are negligible for the individuals harmed. The relative impact of predation depends largely on the economic conditions of the individual and his social group (Oli et al. 1994). In this sense, small traditional producers are particularly vulnerable. These populations live with carnivorous mammals at a much higher intensity than most other social groups in the Amazon living in low population densities in environments that are little altered and generally contiguous to large extensions of natural habitat (Lima & Pozzobon 2005). In addition, small producers suffer proportionally greater losses because they are decapitalized and have small herds kept for subsistence or savings for eventual needs (Oli et al. 1994, Palmeira & Barrella 2007, Siegmund-Schulze et al. 2007.)




Risks of attacks of carnivorous mammals ( including jaguars )

Some conducts related to people's safety are especially important for the observation of wild carnivores. Different animal species allow different approach distances before they feel threatened. Once a certain safe distance is broken the animal will try to reestablish it by running away or demonstrating in some way that the "invader" must move away. In this way, the observation of the fauna must respect this distance, because any attempt to diminish it in an improper way may cause damage to both people and animals.

Getting animals accustomed to human presence by means of the ceva ( feeding of wild animals ) is a practice that should definitely be avoided, since the animal can get used to human presence by relating it to food, which in turn can significantly reduce the safety distance ( see Annex 4 for a new ordinance that establishes standards for the observation of jaguars in the northern Pantanal ). In the case of small species, the risk of an attack with serious injuries is low but in the case of large carnivores such as Jaguars, Pumas or Maned wolves the risk of serious accidents is high and can even lead to death (Burns & Howard 2003; Gurung et al. 2008; Kruuk 2002; Paula et al. 2008, Campos Neto et al. 2011).

Whenever possible the animals should be observed by a vehicle, boat or observation tower in order to prevent accident risks (See Annex IV for the new Consema standards on jaguars observation in Mato Grosso ). In walking tours through trails the group must remain cohesive and in the case of observation of any large carnivore, maintain a safe distance until the animal leaves the site. Respecting some basic rules the observation of carnivore mammals in free life is a completely safe and extremely pleasurable activity stimulating the conservation of wild carnivores on private properties which dominate the landscape in most of the areas where these species occur in Brazil.


Table 1.

*This image is copyright of its original author

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BEST PRACTICE IN OBSERVATION AND COEXISTENCE WITH JAGUARS

1) Not to feed or practice ceva with wild animals of any kind under any circumstances;

2) Not to use any kind of sound, visual or olfactory attraction to keep wild animals nearby or to increase the chance of observation;

3) The vessels must remain at a minimum distance of 10 meters from the jagaur on the riverbank;

4) When the river is narrower than 10 meters, the vessel must still be kept at this distance (at an angle of 45o from the ravine);

(5) a maximum of three small vessels ( maximum six occupants each ) may remain at the same time as the jaguars, at the above specified distances;

(6) Each vessel may remain in the same place by observing one jaguar for a maximum period of 20 minutes.

7) Keep silent when a jaguar is being observed in the riverbank;

8) Boats are not allowed to berth at a distance of 100 meters on any bank from the point where an jaguar is being observed;


9) In case of need of landing:

a) identify clean areas, previously uncamped;

b) avoid docking after 18:00 pm

c) blow the whistle, honk the horn or make a lot of noise before landing;

d) observe well the place of landing for the occurrence of traces of jaguars (footprints, feces, carcass / vultures in trees) - in case of evidence of recent presence of jaguar, look for another place for landing;


10) In camps, make sure that the surroundings are free of traces of jaguars (footprints, faeces, carcasses/vultures in trees);


11) surround the camp with 2 rows ( 20 cm and 50 cm from the ground ) of string/ribbon and hang bells and ribbons of various colours at half-metre intervals with a minimum distance of 3 metres from the tent to the fence.


12) WARNING: In cases of encounters with jaguars on land

a) Keep calm and never run, stoop/get down or lie down;

b) If you're lying down or crouching down to get up slowly;

c) Raise your arms ( take off and lift up your shirt ) so as you can look bigger but avoiding making sudden movements;  

d) Speak in a loud and firm tone of voice but without shouting;

e) Never turn your back to the jaguar, it may stimulate its natural hunting instincts ; move away keeping the eye contact, preferably looking into the animal's eyes; walk back slowly until you reach a certain distance where you can move on, the jaguar will probably do the same.

f) Provide space for it to run away, avoiding cornering the animal;

g) If you're with a child, hold it tight to prevent it from running or despairing or put the child behind you.

h) If the jaguar attacks, blow the horn, use pepper spray, or other suggested repulsion material;

i) In physical confrontations, protect mainly the head and neck/nape and fight using available objects.

---

Although we already know the domestic horse predation happens more often than many imagined, I managed to ask Crawshaw about this to get more details on domestic horse predation by jaguars.

here is what he told me:

'' The predation on domestic horses are relatively common, This may vary by regions and apparently by individual predilection as well.''


I also managed to mention in my opinion Tapirs are like tanks, many times they literally tank jaguars attacks and manage to survive with claws and bite marks around its body and domestic horses in my opinion are easier for jags to kill than a Tapir.

he said:

''Yes, I believe a domestic horse predation is relatively easier.''


I mentioned about some cases of Puma predation on wild horses too.

he said:

''Yeah but in some countries, donkeys are used to protect flocks of sheeps against puma atacks. And there are cases of donkeys even killing pumas.''


To finish I mentioned again about the giant anteaters tough predation.

he said:

''I don't think we can generalize. It would be like Tapir predation, it's not any jaguar that can kill a tapir and perhaps it is a function of the frequency and/or density of the giant anteater in the area where jaguars get better at predation every time they can kill one giant anteater.''

---

Now to wrap up I decided to leave a Bonus for you guys which is a special interview with the 2 legends George Schaller and Peter Crawshaw about jaguars in Brazil. ( 90% IN ENGLISH ).



Crawshaw and Schaller interview ( 90% IN ENGLISH ).


Enjoy it.

---

*This image is copyright of its original author

Reply