Ecology and behaviour of the jaguar in Belize

This pioneering radio-telemetry study followed jaguars in the forests of Belize, providing one of the first quantitative pictures of the species' spatial ecology in Central America. The work documented home-range sizes, movement patterns, and diet, showing that jaguars in this rainforest setting relied heavily on medium-sized prey such as armadillos, peccaries, and brocket deer, and maintained territories structured by a land-tenure system resembling other large cats. The study highlighted the challenges of studying a secretive forest predator and laid groundwork for jaguar conservation, including the eventual creation of the world's first jaguar reserve in Belize. It remains a foundational reference for understanding jaguar ranging and resource use in tropical forest and helped shift jaguar research from anecdote toward systematic field ecology.