14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, environmental group the World Wildlife Fund released a pretty amazing video showing a black jaguar that was not too long ago spotted in the wild in a remote corner of the Amazon.
The footage, available below, was obtained by the organization's CEO, Carter Roberts, while exploring the Juruena National Park in Brazil.
What's super awesome is that, when the conservationist and his team chanced to lay eyes on the elusive feline, the jaguar wasn't just walking around the local forest.
No, sir, it was swimming across the local Tapajós River. Apparently, jaguars aren't just extraordinarily predators but also talented and strong swimmers.
In case anyone was wondering, black jaguars are not a distinct species. On the contrary, they are just like any other such feline, except that they are, well, black.
Wildlife researchers explain that black jaguars owe their peculiar body color to a condition dubbed melanism. This conditions also gives them yellow eyes.
What's interesting is that, although they appear perfectly black when observed from afar, these cats do have spots on their body that are perfectly visible when one looks closely.
Needless to say, black jaguars are a rather rare sight. In fact, it is estimated that just 600 such big cats currently populate their species' natural habitat in the Americas.
