Jaguar conference was great; met lots of zoologists and individuals interested in preserving the fragile eco-systems of Guatemala. Our lecture (FLAAR Mesoamerica) was on Maya iconography of jaguar pelage designs (on polychrome vases, plates, and bowls) and on the different colors of jaguars out in the wild: they can be white, gray, black-ish, and “solid black.” But if the sun shines at a certain angle, or if the solid black felines jump into the water, you can easily see their complete spot pattern (which is always black, even on a “white jaguar.”
Jaguarundi also comes in diverse colors: we are making tabulations of every color for each species. Plus which have spots only when cubs (pumas). That said…. rare pumas do still have spots when adults, but this is unusual and definitely unexpected.
Previously we found the boat-billed heron along Rio Ixtinto (between Topoxte Island and Paxte island, in the southwestern area of Lake Yaxha). On our recent October field trip we found the boat-billed heron on a tree at the south shore of the lake (not near the islands, but en route).
Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo is where we are presently focused on studies of plants and animals, and we are preparing books for the local schools to encourage the children to learn to respect the five felines and their habitat.
Conference was organized by Panthera Guatemala, coordinator Barbara I. Escobar Anleu. Sofia Parades, La Ruta Maya Fundacion, gave a nice presentation on jaguars in pre-Columbian art. All the other equally informative lectures were on jaguars and/or pumas in Guatemala.
Here is a download
(about 4MB) of samples from this jaguar lecture. If your university, zoo, club, social organization, corporation, institute, or family would like Dr Nicholas Hellmuth to give the full presentation in your home city, it can be in Spanish, English or auf Deutsch.
The entire presentation is longer but here we would like to show samples of the images and text.