This is the incredible moment a powerful jaguar caught a caiman the same size as it as they battled in a raging river.

Wildlife biologist Abbie Martin was in the Pantanal region of Brazil when she spotted the hunter in action on one of the riverbanks.

Astonishing footage captured the spotted predator as it wrestled with a caiman, grabbing its throat in its powerful jaws.

With the unfortunate reptile gripping in its teeth, the big cat thrashed it around in the water until it was lifeless.

Abbie, who runs the conservation project Jaguar ID Project, said: “Jaguars are the world’s top hunters when it comes to big cats.

“They are extremely specialised and use a very targeted attack.

“They are the only big cat that regularly kills their prey by piercing the brain or crushing the spine.

“The Pantanal is not only home to the highest density of jaguars in the world, but also the most habituated jaguars, allowing it to be the best location to see wild jaguars in their natural habitat.

“As a consequence of these jaguars becoming relaxed, we have been able to follow various individuals and document their behaviours.

“Since the early 2000s jaguars have been catalogued in this area by using their spot pattern, which is comparable to a fingerprint.

“Using facial, left and right photographs, mainly provided by tourists, we are able to identify individual jaguars which has led us to build the Jaguar Guide.

“This guide has provided us with an amazing amount of information on individual behaviour, lineages and relationships, as well as home ranges and movement.

“Our technique is unique and completely un-invasive to the cats.”

This is the incredible moment a powerful jaguar caught a caiman the same size as it as they battled in a raging river.

Wildlife biologist Abbie Martin was in the Pantanal region of Brazil when she spotted ‘the world’s top hunter’ in action on one of the riverbanks.

Astonishing footage captured the spotted predator as it wrestled with a caiman, grabbing its scaly throat in its powerful jaws.

With the unfortunate reptile gripping in its teeth, the big cat thrashed it around in the water until it was lifeless.

Abbie, who runs the conservation project Jaguar ID Project, said: “Jaguars are the world’s top hunters when it comes to big cats.

“They are extremely specialised and use a very targeted attack.

“They are the only big cat that regularly kills their prey by piercing the brain or crushing the spine.

“The Pantanal is not only home to the highest density of jaguars in the world, but also the most habituated jaguars, allowing it to be the best location to see wild jaguars in their natural habitat.

“As a consequence of these jaguars becoming relaxed, we have been able to follow various individuals and document their behaviours.

“Since the early 2000s jaguars have been catalogued in this area by using their spot pattern, which is comparable to a fingerprint.

“Using facial, left and right photographs, mainly provided by tourists, we are able to identify individual jaguars which has led us to build the Jaguar Guide.

“This guide has provided us with an amazing amount of information on individual behaviour, lineages and relationships, as well as home ranges and movement.

“Our technique is unique and completely un-invasive to the cats.”