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THIS is the horrifying moment a jaguar lunged at an unsuspecting group of tourists out of nowhere.

The terrifying encounter was caught on camera by a tour guide who was attacked by the beast in a dense jungle near Puerto Maldonado, Peru.

The jaguar pounces on a tour guide out of nowhere in the jungles of Peru
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The jaguar pounces on a tour guide out of nowhere in the jungles of PeruCredit: Jam Press Vid
The furious big cat was hiding behind bushes moments before the attack
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The furious big cat was hiding behind bushes moments before the attackCredit: Jam Press Vid
The beast was hard to spot as it was well-camouflaged in the jungle
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The beast was hard to spot as it was well-camouflaged in the jungleCredit: Jam Press Vid
Tour guide, Fernando Vera, was left with a few scratches in the aftermath
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Tour guide, Fernando Vera, was left with a few scratches in the aftermathCredit: Jam Press

Fernando Tapia Vera was exploring the jungle with tourists when they realised they were not alone.

A large male jaguar was staring at the group from just meters away - before dashing towards them.

The group was caught by surprise as it was hard to spot the huge beast behind the bushes.

The onlookers can be heard making loud, animal-like grunts in a bid to scare the large beast away.

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But the furious big cat stops only for a split-second before it suddenly pounces on Fernando again.

Luckily, the attack is fleeting and Fernando only gets a few scratches to his legs from its claws.

He grabs a machete and begins hacking away at the undergrowth to frighten the feline off.

As it finally retreats into the jungle, one of the group can be heard uttering “F***ing hell” in relief.

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Fernando said: “I always wanted to see one, but not like this.

“Miraculously it didn’t give me anything but a few scratches.

“I thought he would go away but no, he stayed for a couple more minutes.

“It seemed like hours until he got bored and turned around and we never saw him again.”

All members of the group have survived the horrifying encounter unscathed and continued their journey.

The jaguar disappeared into the bushes and was not seen by the tourists again.

Fernando said: “It was a unique and memorable encounter. In the end, it was just a good memory.

“The jaguar left and we too went on our way. But of course, I am more alert than ever."

Biologist Gustavo Figueiroa told Latin American media that after spotting the big cat, the group should have moved away silently.

He said: “It’s a bluff attack, as it jumps and moves forward just to intimidate.

“And that’s the most common thing with jaguars, they give a warning signal to stay away when they feel cornered, but since they stayed there, it went after them.”

However, after the jaguar charged them, he says, the group used the correct tactic to intimidate the beast.

Figueiroa said: “They stepped back, raised their hands, made noise.

“In short, they scared it off and showed they outnumbered it.”

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This comes after horrified zoo staff discovered a half-eaten body inside a tiger's cage after a visitor apparently jumped in.

The chilling discovery was made in Bahawalpur's Sherbagh Zoo in Pakistan after staff spotted one of the three tigers with a shoe in its mouth.

The group managed to scare the beast away
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The group managed to scare the beast awayCredit: Jam Press Vid
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