The Tamandua flag confronts the jaguar and takes the best of the fight | Nature

Alerts, both species of Latin America, both considered vulnerable to extinction, are very close and calculate movements.

The confrontation therefore takes place. But it is not the predator that attacks the prey. It's the anteater that leaves self-defense. He advances towards the jaguar and seems to be trying to hit him with his strong paw of strength, his long, sharp claws – his only interest is to defend himself when he feeds on ants and termites.

After the Anteater attack, the feline moves away with great agility. And give up the hunt, because the prey is too brave.

Such scenes are rare moments in Brazilian wildlife. In recent years they have been filmed twice. One by the Onçafari project at the Caiman ecological refuge in Mato Grosso do Sul in September 2018. Another at the Gurupi Biological Reserve in Maranhão in January 2016 by the Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio ).

"We watched the jaguar eight years ago, during which time we saw that the jaguar was trying to snuggle it five times – and he was not successful. that once, "says Mário Haberfeld, coordinator of Onçafari. In the images recorded by the project, the anteater repels the approach of a female jaguar about two years old, known by the project team as Xereta.

"The imagination of people is that it is always a fatal encounter, in which the jaguar is the one who preaches, but there are a number of factors that give the final result, with little hunger," says biologist Rodrigo Viana, founder and researcher of the Jurumi Institute, who works with anteaters. "The anteater tends to flee, but if he feels threatened, he may try to defend himself."

"The jaguar is a jaguar prey, but it is not the main one, it will actually try to defend itself by using its claws," said Ronaldo Morato, coordinator of the National Center for Research and Development. Conservation of carnivorous mammals (Cenap) of the ICMBio, which monitors biodiversity with night-time cameras – one of them, including the meeting between the anteater and the jaguar at Gurupi in 2016. [19659009] Jaguar and anteater face similar threats 19659010] Originally, the jaguar and anteater lived scattered from south of North America to south of South America, but over time, they have lost much of their natural habitat. In several countries, such as the United States and Uruguay, species are already extinct.

Today, it is in Brazil that the population is more numerous. But here too, they are considered vulnerable to extinction. Previously, they lived scattered throughout the country, from north to south and are virtually extinct in the Pampa, in Rio Grande do Sul, and are not very visible in the Atlantic Forest and Caatinga. The Amazon and the Pantbad are the regions where they occur most often.

"The jaguar and the anteater are no longer present in several places in Brazil, where one has ceased to exist, the other also," says Rodrigo Viana of Jurumi.

"Jaguars are very good in the Amazon and in the Pantbad, in the Pampas, they are extinct, in Caatinga and in the Atlantic forest, they are very threatened," said Haberfeld. Over the past eight years, the project has identified 134 ounces. The identification is done using the pints pattern, which looks like a digital file, specific to each animal. The same thing happens with the anteater, which is already considered extinct in most of southern Brazil and Rio de Janeiro.

The main threat to both species is the loss of habitat caused by deforestation, the advance of agricultural and livestock production and the establishment of highways. It is estimated that the number of animals of both species has decreased by 30% over the past three decades.

In the particular case of jaguars, the species is also hunted by cattle ranchers who want revenge if the cat has attacked the cattle.

Tamanduás-bandeiras, who have slow movements, are often trampled on highways. "Another problem is that people kill the anteater because they think it's dangerous, but that's not the case," says biologist Flavia Miranda, one of the Largest Brazilian specialists of this species, from the Tamandua Institute. "He's very calm, even in the movements," Rodrigo Viana adds.

The largest feline of the Americas and one of the oldest species on the continent

The jaguar is the largest cat on the American continent. It can weigh more than 100 pounds and measure over 1.5 meters in length, not counting the tail. Extremely agile, it does not have a natural predator.

Their favorite dishes are tapirs, capybaras and alligators, but they may also include dates earlier than the anteater. Usually hunting in the late afternoon and evening.

ICMBio estimates that there are only about 10,000,000 jaguars in Brazil. Each can occupy an area of ​​260 square kilometers.

The anteater is one of the oldest species in Latin America, more than 50 million years old, says Flávia Miranda. "They are living fossils," she says.

The animal is much lighter than the jaguar, weighing between 30 and 40 kilos. But it has a similar scope. It can measure over 2 meters long, counting the long tail full of long hairs, similar to a hoisted flag – hence its name.

Their diet is made up of insects. During the day you can eat around 30,000 termites or ants. The strength of the front leg and claws 8 to 10 centimeters are used to mop the termites.