Having just encountered this pair by the river it was not known whether they had mated or not, or whether Merlin was just following Pantaneira while waiting for her to come into full oestrus and allow mating. The female Jaguar may be in oestrus but for at least 24 hours after first allowing herself to be mated she shows a lot of aggression to the male. This aggression then tends to settle down and she actually encourages the male to mate her.