Orange-Eyed Jaguar

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 9, 20181,460 views11 comments

A unique sight from last year's Brazil trip. This jaguar had bright orange eyes, different from all of the other yellow-eyed jaguars we encountered in the Pantanal. This is the same cat that was facing off against giant otters for a while (in a photo I shared last year), and boy, was she pretty. A lot of my shots of her were perhaps too close, as this was my best (and final) opportunity to get close facial detail out of any of our jaguar encounters, but in this case it at least yielded a better view of those eyes. The root going across the bottom is unfortunate, but I thought you guys might be interested in seeing this different-looking cat.

Canon 1DX
Canon 600mm f/4 IS
ISO 1600
1/800th
f/6.3
(Hand-held from a boat)

Max

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Jake Alletson on May 9, 2018 at 11:49 AM

What a beautiful cat! At risk of being un-African and unfaithful to our own spotted cats of which we have a number here in South Africa, I think that the Jaguar is El Supremo in the clan.

Registered on May 3, 2016, 12 Posts, 163 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on May 9, 2018 at 11:56 AM

She is indeed gorgeous Max. Fantastic close up intimate portrait.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on May 9, 2018 at 6:05 PM

Max: this is an excellent photo showing this beautiful cat in its environment. Her eyes are really exceptional and the root is a non-issue. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on May 9, 2018 at 9:46 PM

Gorgeous animal. Those eyes are amazing. Is it just me or does this guy lhave more white than your typical jaguar?

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on May 10, 2018 at 12:36 PM

Thanks guys. I'll be pretty delighted if we saw this same cat again in a few months.

Jerry, the coloration is definitely lighter. There's a chance it was an immature cat, as it was smaller than most of the other jaguars (oddly all female, btw... and we had a lot of sightings) that we saw on this trip. So there's a chance that the fur could darken as it gets older.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on May 11, 2018 at 2:20 PM

Beautiful posing subject. And yes, the root is totally a non-issue. Interesting that you describe this as smaller than norm, as the feeling I get is of a solid, almost chunky individual! Yes, find her again for some follow up!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Gavin on May 13, 2018 at 8:01 PM

Root? What root? Splendid image. Close? Not in my opinion. While this full body shot is wonderful, I think an additional one that includes from her shoulders up would also be fantastic.

Registered on August 14, 2008, 293 Posts, 1250 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on May 14, 2018 at 8:57 AM

Great subject abd beautiful frame ! I don't mind that root, as powerful eyes don't let you wander across the frame.

Jagdeep Rajput devil

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on May 16, 2018 at 3:02 AM

Max,
A truly beautiful image devil

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on May 16, 2018 at 2:40 PM

Wow! That is some eye contact!. You handled the highlights in the background well. The root does not bother me, but wish you could have gotten the entire cat in the frame. Excellent image.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on May 20, 2018 at 1:13 PM

Congrats on the double WP!
Fine detail and great eyes here -
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments