This is the heart-stopping moment a jaguar stalks a giant anteater – only to let it walk away completely unharmed.
Luke Massey and his partner Katie Stacey were floating on a rickety canoe through a cattle ranch in Pantanal, Brazil when they spotted the huge ant bear enjoying a drink.
But the animal had not seen the huge predator pursuing it from behind.
The couple, from Hertford, watched as the anteater turned away from the water and stared straight into the eyes of the jaguar.
But instead of leaping at its potential meal, the big cat sat and watched as its prey wandered off into the rainforest.
Luke Massey and his partner Katie Stacey spotted the anteater having a drink
The jaguar stalked the unsuspecting animal from behind
Katie said: “As naturalists we were in awe of the sighting, it was just incredible.
“They are two of the most sought-after species by visitors to the Pantanal, so this was an incredible sighting.
“Luke wasn’t sure if he breathed the whole time the incident happened, it was so surreal.”
The couple were asked by leading conservation biologist, Doctor Charles Munn, to recce a newly located waterhole for his ecotourism company, Southwild.
As it was the dry season, they expected the waterhole to be an oasis. The encounter happened in the fourth week of their six-week excursion in September 2017.
The big cat watched the anteater drink but did not pounce
Katie said: “We weren’t sure what would occur, it was really interesting to see.
“The anteater at first was completely unaware of the jag, the jag just sat and watched.
“He was clearly thinking about doing something, ready to pounce and his tail was flicking.
“We assumed he’d go for the kill and if he did there’d either be a fight, or it’d be over quickly.
“Giant anteaters are equipped with huge claws which can easily disembowel a creature, in the past even humans have fallen victim to them.”
Despite following the anteater back into the bushes initially, the jaguar then turned around and lay next to the watering hole.
Amazingly the jaguar let the anteater stroll off
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