Small Wild Cats

[Dark Jaguar]

Ocelot Predation on Seriema

https://oncafari.org/2013/07/05/ocelot-c...ortuguese/


Onçafari

Written and photographed by Adam Bannister

''We were patiently waiting for a female jaguar to come out of the bush. We had found her using the telemetry / VHF signal in a very closed bush. Although we could not see her, the beep, beep, beep of the VHF signal receiver indicated that she was there. She is one of two female jaguars being monitored by CENAP and Projeto Onçafari at the Refúgio Ecológico Caiman through a collar with GPS and satellite transmission. The forest was very dense so there was nothing to be done but wait. We turned off the lights and waited in silence.

With the light of the full moon, even with the headlights off, we could see if anything was moving around. Half an hour passed. "She must have slept!"

Suddenly we saw movement to our right. It was 180 degrees from where the beeps were coming from. Slowly I picked up and turned on the cilibin.

I couldn't believe what we were seeing.

An ocelot dragging a siriema. Ocelot are nocturnal, climb trees very well and hunt many birds. But siriemas are relatively large birds and watching this episode was fantastic.

I quickly grabbed my camera with one hand and, holding the cilibin in the other, managed to take four pictures. Below are them...

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

The ocelot was looking into the woods, the same area where the jaguar was sleeping. In a few seconds it disappeared into the forest with the bird in its mouth.

We left the place very happy to have had this incredible sighting.

The next morning we went there to investigate. We found traces of both the jaguar and the ocelot, but only one of the poor siriema's feathers! Could it be that the jaguar ate the siriema before the ocelot could enjoy its meal?

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The Two of the characters in this story...

The Ocelot (seen here fishing)''

*This image is copyright of its original author

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The Seriema

*This image is copyright of its original author

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