TOP Remnants of the jaguar’s significance
in ancient culture endure today. Among
the 1,500-year-old ruins at Chichen Itza,
Yucatán, stands the Platform of the Eagles
and Jaguars. Serpent gargoyles mark
its corners, and carvings of jaguars and
eagles are etched into the walls. The birds
represent a unit of elite archers known as
the Eagle Knights; the cats a band of skilled
fighters known as the Jaguar Knights.
ABOVE Pared de Reyes is a Mayan ruin
in the heart of the Calakmul Biosphere
Reserve, Campeche. Unlike Chichen Itza,
which is now a major tourist attraction,
Pared de Reyes is remote and difficult
to access, and as such is visited more by
wildlife than people. Calakmul is Mexico’s
largest forest reserve, and harbours one of
the country’s largest jaguar populations.66 BBC Wildlife July 2020