This Jaguar’s Epic Battle With a Croc Will Leave You Speechless

This jaguar was not going to let a patch of water get in the way of it securing a meal. The determined big cat makes a spectacular leap out of the branches of a tree to land on a crocodile (or caiman) in the waters below. The reptile literally does not know what has hit it. This amazing clip was captured in Pantanal Wetlands in Brazil. There is a battle in the water between the stunned reptile and the big cat, but it is eventually hauled onto dry land, where it becomes the jaguar’s next meal.

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Five Awesome Facts About the Pantanal Wetlands

The Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland on the planet, covering 42 million acres. It crosses Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay and is home to thousands of species of plants and animals. Here are five awesome facts about this very special place!

1. This place is huge – it covers the same area as 29 US states put together or nine European countries.
2. Wetlands are crucial ecological habitats and cover 1.4 billion acres of the Earth’s surface. The Pantanal makes up just 3 percent of the total.
3. It is home to the highest concentration of crocodiles in the world and a staggering 10 million caimans.
4. It also contains one of the highest concentrations of jaguars in the world.
5. It needs protection! This is a globally significant site that needs carefully controlled and sustainable development.

What Do Jaguars Normally Eat?

Jaguars are large carnivores who need a lot of prey to keep them healthy. Overall, they target at least 85 different species. The unique thing about jaguars is that they are the only big cat who has a taste for reptiles. Whilst some other cat species will eat reptiles occasionally, jaguars often focus on them as their main prey.

When jaguars are hunting caiman, they use a stalk and ambush technique. Once they have reached the prey, they bite on the throat as you can see in this clip. It is also common for them to drag their prey to another location so that they can eat it in peace. They have been seen dragging their kills over large distances and through difficult terrain.

Jaguars also hunt turtles and tortoises and can break their shells with their teeth. They also hunt capybara, marsh deer, and giant anteaters.

An adult jaguar needs over 3 pounds of food a day. The jaguars living in the Pantanal Wetlands are larger than those found elsewhere in the world and, therefore, need more food!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock.com