The Mexico Diaries: The jaguar

The jaguar at La Tovara. Photo by David Lansing.

When you get back to the end of La Tovara to where the natural spring comes out of the ground there is a cocodrilo nursery where they raise crocodiles to be released into the river. There is also a fenced in pond with very clear water where we saw hundreds of tilapia and catfish as well as about a dozen or so turtles either swimming about or sunning on logs. There was also a jaguar.

Our guide said that the jaguar had been found in a pen at a little village high up in the hills and that it could not be released because it had been declawed. What a magnificent looking animal.

It looked to me to be a juvenile and in good health although you couldn’t help but feel sorry for his modest circumstances—a small enclosure no more than ten by ten with a concrete floor and just a couple of boulders for ambience. Still, the jaguar looked to be in very good shape and was quite active when we were there, rolling around on his back like a dog with an itch and showing off his beautiful smooth belly. Such a rare animal. Such a beautiful animal. Too beautiful to be locked up alone in such a small cage.