On Costa Rica’s coast, hidden cameras reveal a rare glimpse into jaguar courtship and rivalry. Meet Alonzo, Amanda, and Jorge: three big cats whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways.
Features
Inside “Jaguar Beach”: Filming Costa Rica's Wildlife
Cameraman and producer Filipe DeAndrade shares the challenges and triumphs behind “Jaguar Beach.”
How Filmmakers Used Camera Traps to Film Wild Jaguars
Go behind the scenes with “Jaguar Beach” cameraman and producer Brian Moghari.
How Jaguars Are Saving Sea Turtles
On Costa Rica’s coast, jaguars are doing more than hunting. They’re helping sea turtles survive.
How a Jaguar's Hunt Feeds a Forest
A jaguar’s midnight hunt becomes a feast that feeds the forest.
Jaguar Beach
On Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, turtles and jaguars collide in unexpected ways.
TRANSCRIPT
Here, an abundance of turtles keeps competition for food low, and these intensely solitary cats live in much closer proximity.
This gives Luis's cameras an unprecedented view into their social lives.
Luis has recorded jaguars mating, (jaguars growling) wrestling, and even carting off an ill-fated dolphin.
(jaguar growling) The project identifies the individual cats by their rosettes, the spots on their fur.
Each jaguar's pattern is as unique as a human fingerprint.
(tongue lapping) In the last 10 years, Luis's team has documented and named around 40 individual jaguars.
And they're capturing not just behaviors, but personalities.
Alonzo, the 12-year-old dominant male, asserts his right to any female or food on the beach.
Amanda, highly territorial, she seems to be the dominant female.
(waves pounding) And Jorge, a young tough on the cusp of adulthood.
He's been gravitating towards the females in heat.
(paws pounding) (waves pounding) Tonight, Jorge is on the prowl, heading to the beach in search of an easy meal.
And he's well equipped to spot one.
His eyes are backed with a mirror-like tissue that reflects light into his retinas and gives all cats their famous night vision.
Tonight, he finds no turtles, but something for other appetites.
It's Amanda, enjoying her own turtle catch.
Jorge is eager to put his adolescent prowess to the test.
In this rare peek into Jaguar courtship, Jorge and Amanda take playful breaks between couplings.
(jaguars growling) But the interlude is cut short when Alonzo arrives.
(jaguar growling) (jaguar roaring) Jorge beats a hasty retreat.