Jaguars in a small fishing village in Mexico are starting to prey on people's dogs, according to a new study.
The attacks are increasingly taking place in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, Mexico, a small fishing village that has seen its population increase over the past 15 years as a tourist attraction.
As people increasingly enter areas away from the main center of the village, there have been 20 attacks of jaguars on dogs over the last nine years, with 60 percent of them fatal.
Jaguars in a Mexican fishing village turned tourist attraction are starting to prey on people's dogs
The jaguars are attacking the dogs from behind, biting them on the neck or head to avoid getting into a fight.
The attacks are increasingly taking place in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, Mexico, a small fishing village that has seen its population increase over the past 15 years as a tourist attraction
Ninety-five percent of the attacks by the animal known as 'America's great cat' occurred at night and 65 percent of them happened during the country's dry season.
The jaguars are attacking the dogs from behind, biting them on the neck or head to avoid getting into a fight.
Scientists are not yet sure why the jaguars are increasingly attacking and killing the dogs, but they speculate it could be the population levels of other prey are decreasing.
'Although we do not know the importance of dogs in the jaguar’s diet, we hypothesized that dog consumption is related to the decrease in natural prey and because they are easy to prey,' the researchers wrote in the study.
'If humans and domestic animals continue encroaching in the jaguar’s habitat, disease transmission and human-jaguar conflict will likely increase, potentially resulting in population declines.'
The attacks were split evenly between the north of
