The jaguar vs. the caiman on Big Cat week seems almost like mismatch. The caiman is a cousin to the crocodile and since these creatures can go on land or in water you would kind of think that the jaguar has no real chance when it comes to an aquatic battle. And yet this fierce jaguar that the narrator deems as ‘scarface’ yanks the caiman out of the water like it’s no big thing. The caiman can’t even begin to defend itself before Scarface has hold of its neck in his jaws and is hauling it out of the water as though it weighs almost nothing. That’s what I get for underestimating a big cat I suppose.
Big cats in the wild are no joke. They hunt creatures that are bigger than them, sometimes meaner than them, and yet still come away the victor many times. It could be the fact that cats have the type of intellect that allows them to either outsmart or somehow outmaneuver their opponents and go in for the kill that much quicker. They don’t always win however, since some prey are vicious and strong enough to fend them off. But a determined cat will usually find a way to bring their prey to the ground and finish the fight then and there.
Jaguars are considered to be especially fierce as they are one of the top predators in their region, if not THE top. The fact that Scarface yanks the caiman out of the water with such horrible ease is enough to think that there are few if any contenders that could possibly match the jaguar for speed, ferocity, or strength. Jaguars aren’t known for being nice, just like any animal, and will actively go after their prey.
They have a very distinctive way of killing their prey as well. As far as big cats go they’re about third in line after the lion and the tiger. They also have a very powerful bite, which is how they kill their prey. A jaguar’s bite is so powerful in fact that they can penetrate nearly anything they bite when it comes to attacking their prey. That leaves one to think that a caiman’s leathery, armored hide wouldn’t be much of an impediment to a jaguar that’s on the prowl for food. This bite is so strong that it can pulverize bone and shells alike, which leaves their prey defenseless and unable to resist. On top of all this jaguars can climb, swim, and outpace a lot of creatures on land, making them a triple threat that’s hard to deny when it comes to their efficiency at being a top-ranked predator.
That’s one tough kitty, and nothing you’d want to face off against in the wild. They’re the biggest cat in the America’s, bigger than even the notoriously dangerous mountain lion that inhabits the northern part of North America, and they’re every bit as vicious as well. National Geographic is one of the best documentary shows when it comes to capture the real-life habits of creatures in the wild, and clips like this prove it.
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