Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Prowler is back

Just in from Ben, another jaguar photo! Those of you that have been following this blog for awhile now, probably can immediately recognize that this is not the jaguar known as Kitty Carlisle! For one thing, it is massive, a much heavier build than Kitty. This stocky body is typical of adult male jaguars, and yes, if you look carefully, you can see the "details."

So we have a male jaguar on the move near Kitty's hangout. A comparison with my database photos shows that it is "Prowler," who has appeared 22 January 2009 (see earlier post). That's almost a year ago to the day (see date/time stamp top left corner of the photo above).

The Prowler's photo file dates back to March 2005, a few kilometers northeast of Chan Chich Lodge. It seems more than likely Chan Chich figures in his regular territorial "patrols." He'll make his presence known to Kitty and any other jaguars in the area through scent marking and spraying.

Note the confidence shown by appearing mid-day near the Lodge. Clearly, the Prowler knows he has nothing to fear striding along a main trail close to the Lodge without cover of night or vegetation.

4 comments:

  1. Carolyn, I just stumbled upon your blog and you got me hooked. My wife and I visited Chan Chich 2 years ago and are returning this summer. We are amazed at all the great cat pictures that you and Ben are getting from the traps. Keep the posts coming!

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  2. Thanks Alan! It is a lot of fun to see which cats are going to turn up where! Glad you will be coming for a return visit -- we'll have to raise a Belikin in the Looter's Trench.

    I was able to check out your Belize trip report -- wow, you have some FABULOUS photos!

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  3. Hi Carolyn, thanks for the kind words about the photos. It is hard to take bad ones in an area as pretty as Chan Chich.

    I would love to raise a Belikin and talk about cats, the area, whatever. We will be at Chan Chich the first week of August.

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