Zona 1: Rancho El Zapotal
February - March, 2004
Here are a few pictures from the project's first two months of field operation.
The study has 24 cameras distributed over approximately 25 square kilometers.
The red numbers in the lower right hand corner indicate the date and time.


The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) ranges from southern Canada to northeastern South America. It is a prey species for both jaguars and pumas. Most of the time, fawns like this one are bedded down and hidden by their mothers.
The red brocket deer (Mazama americana) is a tropical American deer species, most often found in thick forest. One obvious physical difference between it and the white-tailed deer is that the brocket deer's antlers are simple and mostly unbranched. The deer in this photograph is an adult male. Jaguars and pumas prey on brocket deer.

The puma (Puma concolor) ranges from Canada to Chile, and has many local names. Depending on where you live, it might be called mountain lion, puma, cougar, screamer, painter, or panther - and those are just a few from the United States. It also lives in many types of habitat.. Not necessarily a direct competitor with the jaguar, both species can coexist in the same area because they often hunt different prey under different conditions. For example, pumas may hunt in open spaces while jaguars prefer a dense cover of vegetation. Jaguars like water but pumas avoid it.
We were very pleased to acquire a jaguar (Panthera onca) photo in the very first batch of film. This cat doubled back and triggered the same camera again one minute later - possibly investigating the source of the flash.

The grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) is seen from Canada to Venezuela and is one of the many small predators found in the forest.
Another small predator in the tropical forest is the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), which is found in a variety of habitats from the southern US through South America.

Ocellated turkeys (Agriocharis ocellata) are not normally found this far north on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Very curious, active and omnivorous, the coati (Nasua narica) is a forest dweller related to raccoons and kinkajous.