Amidst all the stories of property damage and loss produced by Hurricane Richard, an even more incredible story emerged this morning - that a jaguar killed a man in the La Democracia Area.
The first report was that the jaguar had escaped from the Belize Zoo when that facility was clobbered by the Hurricane. But that's not what happened; all the zoo's jaguars were locked up and accounted for.
It turns out that the jaguar escaped from Richard Foster who lives a mile down the road from the Belize Zoo. Foster is an internationally renowned nature photographer who keeps a captive jaguar as a photographic subject.
He's been keeping jaguars for decades - but when Hurricane Richard raked through that area a tree fell on the jaguar's cage and it got loose. And now the big cat has killed someone and it is an unprecedented, incredible story.
Monica Bodden has been following it since morning; she has this report:
Monica Bodden, Reporting
The jaguar is the third largest cat in the world and the largest and most powerful in the Western Hemisphere. It's not a family's average pet and with its exceptionally powerful bite, this spotted cat leaves few hopes of survival. Last night that fact was proved at mile28 and a half on the Western Highway - the home of 47 year old Bruce Colleton. He was fatally attacked by his neighbor's pet jaguar who had escaped.
This morning his body was found by his neighbor and taken away in the bed of this police pickup truck to the City's morgue.
Brian Collerton, Father of Deceased
"Apparently Bruce was visiting at the Fosters, our neighbors last night and left about dusk to go home and body wasn't found until this morning when Richard Foster and another close friend were looking for him."
Owner of the jaguar, nature photographer Richard Foster told us the animal escaped on Sunday night during Hurricane Richard. He said a tree fell on his cage causing a hole which he escaped through.
He was last seen last night - lurking in front of Cullerton's yard.
Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"Last night about 10 o' clock I heard the dogs barking at the back of Bruce's house and I went down the road and I saw the jaguar sitting in the road looking at the dogs and I call his name and he saw my light and he turned and started to run up the road towards me because he knows me. So I made my speedy return to the house here and he came into the car park and he walked right through here, right where we are standing here. At that time I didn't know whether he had attacked Bruce by then, or if it happened later in the evening. I have no idea."
Bruce was found lying a couple yards away from his gate with fatal bites to his neck, head and hand. No one knows what really happened. But as you can see the tracks of this mature male were still visible.
Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"It wasn't until the next morning when a friend of his came by at the house and couldn't get a response. He came up here and asked if I had seen Bruce and I said 'no' and that he went back last night after looking at the internet here and we haven't heard from him, and I know that the dogs were barking at the jaguar and that he came up here. And so we went and went up to the gate and we saw that the gate was still locked. It was strange. Then we noticed the white thing on the side, his sneaker - it had blood on it and we looked further over in that direction and Bruce was lying around the corner. It's just the most awful thing that has happened."
Max - as the Foster's pet jaguar is affectionately known is 3 years old. He had been their pet for the past 1 and a half years. And over that period he had never shown any signs of aggression towards humans. According to the Foster's something like this is out of the ordinary for a jaguar.
Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"There is no record ever of a wild jaguar ever attacking a human being. That's only cats that are in captivity that have no fear of man, keepers and zoos and things, that do the wrong thing but this kind of thing can happen. We just don't know what the circumstances were down there. The little dog of Bruce's could have attacked the jaguar, got his aggression going and then one thing led to another. But normally if I see the jaguar out here I would have a fire extinguisher and if it came too close I would use it and that would keep him back. Many years we put jaguars in big enclosures and we've been with them for weeks and weeks, fifteen feet away and they don't attack you. It's just the jaguar's nature, they are not aggressive to human beings."
Monica Bodden
"At no point was there any aggression towards you or your family?"
Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"No, but jaguars are jaguars; they are predators in the wild and I would never put my finger towards them, that would be asking for trouble because he might just grab it playing, they are so powerful and they have such big claws and teeth. You just don't take that risk."
Bruce Colleton was a diesel mechanic who moved to Belize some 18 years ago. He has been living at mile 28 and a half on the Western Highway for the past 15 years. Bruce who suffered from Diabetes was schedule to return to his home in the US today - but never made it.
Brian Collerton, Father of Decease
"He came down from the states back in 1992 and he did a lot of cave diving, spelunking and river rafting and he was an outdoor type and thoroughly enjoyed single life in Belize for all these years and was leaving under protest but he realized he needed to get more help than he could down here."
For this dad who has lost his son to an alpha predator believing is not easy.
Brian Collerton, Father of Decease
"I think that the terms of the killing is less important than the fact that you've lost a son and I think I probably had many of the same feelings of the parents of the south side have when their children die from gun violence: it's a shock, you first don't want to believe it. But facts are facts and you live with it and it's still tough to imagine that he was within days of returning to the states after 18 years in Belize to get medical attention and now to have this happen…."
Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"It is the biggest nightmare that we have ever experienced in our lives. It will take a long time to get over this."
Meanwhile a trap is set for Max - hoping he returns today.
Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"I think without a doubt he is probably right close here now and as the dark comes in he will get bold and he will come out here or he may get back to where they set a trap for him right down there by the enclosure. There is a narrow place and Mr. Figueroa, the researcher and trapper here is doing very good research on jaguars and this beautiful animal in our country. He has set a trap with a little radio connection that if the cart springs it we'll know and then we will go down there and dart him quickly and get him inside."
Monica Bodden
"What are you guys planning to do with this jaguar? You think because it has tasted human blood it might....."
Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"Not at all, he doesn't know he has done anything wrong. It was a circumstance that we put in him in really, we have to say that and Bruce should not have walked down there maybe at night."
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