Jaguar 😋 turtle

[enchilada]

 

[Yvonne G]

Must be photo shopped. I doubt a jaguar would come in contact with a sea turtle???????

 

[TammyJ]

It might be real. That's probably on the South/Central American coast. Turtle was digging a nest. Looks like the jaguar has already taken the turtle's head off.

 

[EricW]

Apparent is an issue. I thought it was photoshopped too. I also would have never thought it to be true. Here are some links but a quick search results in plenty of stuff on the topc.

Where Turtles Meet Jaguars — The State of the World's Sea Turtles | SWOT

By: LUIS G. FONSECA, STEPHANNY ARROYO-ARCE, IAN THOMSON, WILBERTH VILLACHICA, EDUARDO RANGEL and ROLDÁN A. VALVERDE

www.seaturtlestatus.org

Jaguars hunt endangered sea turtles in surprising new footage

The unusual behavior happens as thousands of sea turtles crowd Costa Rica’s beaches in their annual migration, known as the arribada.

www.nationalgeographic.com

jaguar sea turle picture at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[Wayfarin]

Yes, jaguars in Costa Rica have been known to hunt sea turtles, even the giant leatherback sea turtles, which are twice their size but defenseless on land when faced with such a deadly predator. Jaguars are actually quite capable of biting through turtle shells, but since sea turtles cannot retract into their shells, the big cats simply go for their heads and necks to spare themselves the effort.

I feel sorry for any sea turtle that has to go that way. Big cats are already terrifying enough, but imagine having to encounter one when you're low to the ground and hardly able to move. I know that jaguars have to eat, but it's just terrible, even more so than an ordinary predator-prey interaction since even "defenseless" animals like rabbits have a fair chance of escaping from danger.