UNARMED, Jorge Adleberto sat in a blind he built to scout the edge of a cornfield. He expected turkeys would come into the area and scratch before flying into the trees above to roost, but, without a sound, a large jaguar slowly moved in. Jaguars are the largest cats in the Americas, third in the world, and have a bite force that’s powerful enough to crush the bones of a cow and pierce a turtle’s shell. For a half hour, Jorge didn’t move, twitch, or make eye contact. Though coming as close as 4 feet from the blind, the large cat eventually left uninterested.
Before sunset, a gang of turkeys emerged from hiding, and a week later, Jorge brought me to the same spot. Refreshing the vegetation that camouflaged our…