Kitty's in the Neighborhood

What can I say, it is always nice to see the jaguar known as Kitty Carlisle. And here she is, moving fairly rapidly, through the Bajo Trail intersection at Chan Chich Lodge. She's made regular appearances near the Lodge with a portfolio dating back to 2004. I keep hoping sometime she'll bring her offspring by the camera (since she's almost certainly had young every other year or so), but it hasn't happened yet.

Female jaguars, as it turns out, are fairly secretive and not photographed as often as males by the camera traps. This is borne out with my own data, and that of colleagues. Still, on occasion, I've met a researcher who has shown me camera trap photos of young jaguars in their study area -- I'm envious! It hasn't happened here yet although there are plenty of eye witness reports (sadly, I am not among those that have seen a jaguar cub). At any rate, clearly the Kitty feels confident in the Chan Chich neighborhood to venture out during all hours.

The Kitty in black-and-white

The jaguar "Kitty Carlisle" was active around Chan Chich Lodge last month. And how do I know this is the Kitty? It's really pretty easy now that she's so "familiar" from her growing photo portfolio. Her unique coat patterns have become very recognizable after so many comparisons with previous photos of her.

This is a nice sequence from one of Ben's camera traps, that appears in black-and-white due to low light levels and infra-red use. One of the neat things here is seeing her ears flick and the subtle movements as her body tenses and relaxes as she regards the camera on the River Trail before moving on.

She's gotten to be quite the star at Chan Chich, showing up in several photos over the last years. On Friday, several guests had a nice look at a jaguar on the River Trail in late afternoon. Interesting to speculate that it might have been Kitty since it is only a couple hundred meters from where this image series was taken. After all these years based around the Lodge, she certainly is human-habituated and is probably pretty unflappable. It's been our experience in Gallon Jug Estate and Chan Chich Lodge that jaguars here, unused to persecution, are generally confident but cautious when confronted with humans.

Be sure to check out other posts for more info about her.

Kitty Carlisle walks again

Here's a new jaguar photo from Ben, just in. Yes, a quick look at the spot pattern and it is clear that it is Kitty Carlisle again. She's in her "usual spot" on Chan Chich's Bajo Trail, 06 January 2010 in early afternoon. Just about like clockwork. The Kitty's looking especially good in this photo, sleek and well muscled. She'd be, at a minimum, about 8 years old. Her first photos were taken in 2004 very close to this same location just a couple hundred yards from Chan Chich Lodge. She appeared to be a full adult then, let's say at least 2 years old. Great to see that she has made her 2010 trail debut!

"Kitty Carlisle" in June 09

And finally, here is another look at "Kitty Carlisle" near Norman's Temple in June 09. All of her photos but one, were recorded during daylight hours. Many people ask me whether they should go out to look for jaguars after dark "since they are nocturnal." With the excellent protection from hunting here in Gallon Jug Estate/Chan Chich Lodge, jaguars and other wildlife with nothing to fear, are not forced to be strictly nocturnal here. So by all means, hit the trails during the day!

Meet "Kitty Carlisle"

Ben, my partner in crime, or should I say, camera trapping, has come up with a name for UF2. (There she is above, a bit blurred due to motion, but still clearly recognizable, about 3km from the Lodge on 28 May 04). For those of you wondering, UF2 translates to "Unnamed Female 2." I amassed quite a database of jaguar photos several years ago when I was conducting a track study and two jaguar density studies in the Gallon Jug Estate. It is fantastic to recognize some of these same animals still stalking the trails.

While we in science are often chastised for "anthropomorphizing" study animals with names, that never bothered me overmuch. After all, the animal is never going to know and feel insulted or flattered, as the case may be. A name is a nice shorthand method for referring to individuals rather than the ponderous "UF2," which is a sort of name anyway (besides, it always reminded me of unidentified flying objects). Not only that, if naming helps people connect to wildlife and come to care about its conservation, then hey, I'm all for it.

So once I'd gotten more than a couple photos of an individual jaguar -- which implied it was using our area and likely to turn up again -- I invited people who had been helpful to our various conservation projects to Name-the-Cat, as a show of appreciation. Since this isn't a Formal Study we're doing, just sharing and enjoying some of the magnificent wildlife found in the Gallon Jug Estate/Chan Chich Lodge area, I say: let the naming begin.

And, with more photos of UF2 still to be posted, it is clear that she is a regular presence near the Lodge and is thus in need of a better name. Ben suggested it was HIS turn to Name-the-Cat. After some days of thoughtful deliberation, he announced: "I would like to name the jaguar ‘Kitty Carlisle’ or Carlisle for short. It is in memory of the late Uncle Scotty who loved his cats and would be honoured to be named after a jungle pussy cat!"

So there you go. Kitty Carlisle she is.