The following event, which Winter captured, happened in under 15 seconds.
Scarface came from the river with a caiman in his teeth, bobbing his head beneath the water to securely grab his victim.
Although the third-largest cat in the world, the jaguar, the caiman is about twice as massive, according to Winter’s photographs.
Scarface pulls the lizard completely out of the water and into the shelter of a thick forest by making a swift and elegant exit from the sea.
Winter couldn’t witness what occurred next, but he assumes that the caiman was doomed as soon as the jaguar’s sharp fangs pierced its vertebrae.
Winter claims that when he eventually witnessed Scarface execute a victim, he was overcome with adrenaline and suffering from cramps from holding down the camera’s shutter button for so long.
Although the hunting process is rarely recorded, caimans are a well-known food source for jaguars.
Animals like caimans and capybaras are more prevalent in and around rivers during the dry season in this area.
Winter compares it to a supermarket for Jaguars.
Because of the method they hunt, jaguars are able to hang onto stronger and bigger prey like caiman. Other large cats end the life of their victim by smothering it with their jaws while clenching its neck.
Jaguars end the life instead by biting their victim repeatedly.
According to Winter: ,,Jaguars are constructed for power, not for speed. They have amazing jaw strength and great upper body strength.”
He claims that while filming, he regularly observed jaguars swimming for hours upstream in quest of prey.
According to Winter, jaguars in the Pantanal don’t appear to pay any attention to his modest fishing boat.
The Brazilian natural reserve is the only area where they are completely protected throughout their range, which stretches from the northernmost tip of Argentina to the border with Mexico.
Winter has plans to visit the Pantanal again in the future to continue his research on tigers. Scarface is already more than ten years old. He is doubtful if he will still be alive. He anticipates chasing a fresh alpha.
