Jaguar eating underwater

I came across this video this morning and had to share it.

Look how long this jaguar can go underwater for, and eat at the same time.
Who said cats don't like water!
This one is clearly very comfortable with the concept of holding its breath.
And how it maneuvers itself by rotating its body... this thing can swim better than most people I know.
You would think it would catch its prey down there, return to the surface then eat on land.
Nope - some of the lunch is devoured at the bottom of the water.

I miss read and with a quick glance saw ‘Jaguar eating underwear’
Much disappointment.

Some cats don’t mind water, this being one of them.
Indeed very odd that he eats underwater, but could be a personality trait and not a trait common to all Jaguars.

"Jaguar eating underwear"

I KNEW I couldn't be the only one!

Pretty interesting, but I think what we're seeing in this video is a trained behavior. Jaguars are known for their swimming ability, but they typically don't hunt in the water (not fish anyway). They do eat turtles and such, but most of those are killed on land.

Anyway, one of the things I find very interesting in the video is the fact that the cat seems to know remaining still in the water increases its dive time (because more motion burns oxygen faster). Notice how the cat almost freezes and slowly drifts several different times. That's pretty darn smart, a learned behavior for sure.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
they typically don't hunt in the water (not fish anyway).

Don't tell that to this panther.

a reply to: Homefree

Well, maybe not!

Wow...that's something!! That was awesome to watch!

Though I still think the other video was a trained behavior. Mainly because the food the jaguar was going after was not live prey (like it was thrown into the tank the jaguar was in).

originally posted by: GreenGunther
I miss read and with a quick glance saw ‘Jaguar eating underwear’

Me too XD I was fully prepared to yell at DB for animal cruelty.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

It may be an instinct or behavior the species has picked up and taught to its offspring over time. Cats learn by observation of others.

Jaguars are rainforest critters over a large part of their range so they'd encounter lots of flooding during parts of the season. It would make sense that they'd learn a behavior and hunting style like this in order to cope with the rains.

Now the really interesting thing would be to see if it's a species trait or a learned behavior. Jaguars also live in the deserts ranging up as far north as desert southwest. I'd like to see if a desert jaguar does the same thing, or if it's unique to jungle ranging cats.

Well, here's the deal...I encountered a "black" panther/jaguar one time in the Florida Everglades. I was in a fishing contest which had started at midnight. We went out at exactly midnight. We were fishing for Snook, and Redfish, in the mangroves of the "Ten Thousand Islands" off the coast of Marco Island, Florida. We were trolling needlefish at sunrise, and I hooked a BIG Snook! We had swung a wide loop in some shallows with a lot of bait fish. It was a big fish, and it took a while to reel it in. We immediately pulled out away from the mangroves, trying to keep him/her from running through the roots and breaking the line (something Snook are famous for). It was a big fish, and it was peeling line off my reel.

It did get tangled up in the mangrove roots, but it was still on the line. It was a legal catch. So we pulled up to the island and sorted out the snag. Hauled the fish over the side and put it in the locker (I would win 2nd place in the fishing contest).

We were in shallow water, less than a foot or so deep. Our 24' boat was digging bottom, and we had to raise the engine. It was just about daylight, but not quite. I was using a spotlight to get the fish in the boat. We were right there when we saw the green eyes. It was a black panther (I guess a jaguar by today's standards). It was jet black, and it was moving around on the shore, looking at the fish.

We had heard about big cats out in the Everglades from a old fishing guide we used to go out with, and he had a cat on his wall (which he nearly went to jail for). I didn't believe they were real...and then we saw one that morning.

The funny part was, I had hiked around on that island endlessly. Me and my friend always used to go there and go hiking. Never saw any tracks. We even camped on that island a couple of times.

But, then again, they do swim...so I don't know.