Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Amazing what to tell when you watch a big cat grab a temporary snack.
Climate Change Induced Conflict? Rare footage of Jaguar Killing Ocelot at the watering hole
FROM WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY JANUARY 6, 2021
In a conflict possibly caused by climate change, researchers have gathered rare photographic evidence that a jaguar killed another predatory wildcat at an isolated watering hole in Guatemala.
In the footage, a male jaguar arrives near the watering hole and apparently lurks for an hour. It lets a potentially dangerous prey, a large tapir, pass by, but when the ocelot stops drinking, the jaguar rushes and abducts the smaller predator.
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“Although these predator-predator interactions are rare, there may be certain instances when they occur more frequently and one of them could be over controversial water resources,” said Daniel Thornton, assistant professor and co-author of the WSU paper. “People don’t often think tropical systems are dry, but in many parts of the world tropical rains are quite seasonal and with climate change some of these tropical ecosystems are expected to become even more seasonal. The more isolated and infrequent water resources become, the more they become hotspots of activity. “
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While some research has found signs of ocelot in the jaguar feces, no known images have been taken of a jaguar directly killing an ocelot.
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“We have evidence that many things are happening related to climate change, but we may not know every detail and implication,” said Lucy Perera-Romero, a WSU PhD student and lead author on the study. “For example, in these beautiful green forests we may not be aware that water flow is a serious problem. It could be another source of mortality apart from deforestation, hunting, and everything else we do. “
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Read more: https://scitechdaily.com/climate-change-induced-conflict-rare-footage-captured-of-jaguar-killing-ocelot-at-waterhole/
I mean, it could have been a jaguar driven to despair by the ravages of climate change. Or it could have been a hungry big cat, fed up of waiting for a snack and grabbed the first little animal unlucky enough to get too close.
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