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We visited the house today to see where it happened and learn more about the dogs that could send a jaguar running to hide. Jomarie Lanza reports.

For Hattieville residents, living adjacent to the Maya Forest Corridor means accepting that the environment is a shared space between man and the animals of the forest, like Jaguars for example. And for the Castillo family, at the crack of dawn yesterday they awoke to the alert sounds of their dogs barking, only to look outside and be greeted by an unwelcome guest.

George Castillo, Hattieville Resident
"The morning we got up about 5:00 when we normally get up and my wife was getting food prepared and we heard the dog barking and barking and so I looked outside me and my son and we became conscious that the cat was in the yard and then my male dog bit him and he gave him a small scratch and he gave the younger dog a scratch here by his paw and the three of them actually grabbed him and when they grabbed him well you know he will defend himself right because it's a he you know it's a he and that damn thing is so powerful man you wouldn't believe how that animal got annoyed with the dogs them. He actually wanted to eat the dogs the younger one and I normally have the tools house open because that's where I had them in locked up throughout the day and it ran in the tools house and I normally have a light under the shed and I went out with a machete and my son went out with a piece of iron should in case it rushes out back again and so u closed the door and I locked it."

And there the Cat remained until the proper authorities and professionals showed up to take him away. But how did the jaguar end up on Castillo's fenced property? Chances are he was in search of a snack, but was sadly outnumbered by three of Castillo's dogs:

George Castillo, Hattieville Resident
"I think he was hunting because he was hungry he was actually hungry because you could see he was hungry and how it would be thirsty I wanted to know how it would be thirsty because you have a lot of water to the back because the river has been rising to about nearly 5 to 6 feet."

Jo-
"And how are the dogs doing now?"

George Castillo, Hattieville Resident
"They are okay. Ms Castillo treat them last night, brought all the bones them and treat them so they are okay now they are alright. We didn't have any problem with them."

"The older one which is The German Shepherd her name is Angela and the younger one which is her daughter is named Ileona and the man one is Benjamin."

"This is the first time I've seen them actually fight a Leopard. I was amazed to see those dogs move and move fast."

"But Benji which is the male one, he is aggressive bad. He bit him on his tail and in his foot he turned around and fired back at him but you know they are fast."

The jaguar Is currently under the care of the Belize Zoo where a comprehensive health assessment is being made. After that it will be relocated to an undisclosed area and collared to monitor its movement.

The working theory is that the floods in the Belize and Cayo Districts pushed the cat out of the bush and towards Hattieville.