A mother jaguar captured an anaconda for dinner and found herself battling with her own child over the yummy delicacy. The mother and youngster were sighted tussling on a riverbank in Porto Jofre, Pantanal wetlands in southwest Brazil.
According to the photographer who photographed the struggle, the mother jaguar had seized the anaconda and was assisting her pup in carrying it over the river when the five-month-old cub suddenly confronted her on the bank.
‘After a few hours of searching for jaguars in Porto Jofre, we stumbled upon a mother jaguar and her five-month-old pup,’ says Dutch photographer Arjan Jongeneel. We spent some time following these fascinating cats as they strolled along the river’s edge in search of food. Soon after, the mother and cub vanished into the bushes, and there was a lot of commotion from the dry leaves on the ground.’
‘We waited patiently, and after a few minutes, mother emerged on the river’s edge, sliding down the two-meter (6ft 6in) high embankment into the water.’ The cub followed and plunged into the river as well. The river was traversed by both jaguars. ‘We observed the mother had something in her jaws during the journey.’
‘As we got closer, we noticed it was a gigantic yellow anaconda, perhaps five meters long’ (16ft). The youngster clutched the anaconda with her jaws as she swam to her mother. Mr Jongeneel stated that the couple arrived on the opposite side of the river with both jaguars clutching the anaconda and refused to let go.
The struggle began, and both mother and cub clung to the yellow anaconda, refusing to surrender. After some time. Mum let go, and the cub proudly and quickly vanished with its prey.’
