Rafael, 50, has been caring for Maya, his 175lb feline for the past four years.
The music producer feeds Maya, who loves gorging on 2.5kg of organic turkey, fish, beef, deer and wild boar every day.
To keep her fit and active he takes her for walks and even visits public restaurants with Maya by his side.
'We have a strong bond': Mexican music producer
Rafael Villafane hangs out with his pet Jaguar whom he has looked after
for the last four years at his home in Mexico City
Dining out: Rafael loves visiting his favorite
restaurant and ties Maya on her lead around a tree - just feet away from
other customers
The pair often visit the park near his home in Mexico City, Mexico, where he walks the huge predator and lets her swim in the river.
After her exercise, Rafael loves visiting his favorite restaurant and ties Maya on her lead around a tree - just feet away from the tables and other customers.
At home, Rafael plays with Maya - tumbling and wrestling with her on the ground to keep her in shape and stimulated.
Rafael said: 'I know that she could grab my head in a second and kill me.
'She has all her claws and teeth, and she's incredibly powerful.
'I'm aware of the dangers of course, I realize she's a jaguar - but we have a strong bond and I really don't feel any danger around her.
'Once I saw her as a little cub, I fell in love with her.'
Present: Rafael was given Maya as a gift from a friend and he originally intended to release her into the wild
'I'm aware of the dangers': Rafael plays with
Maya - tumbling and wrestling with her on the ground to keep her in
shape and stimulated
Affection: For three months after he was first
given Maya, Rafael spent eight unbroken hours with her every day, so she
would get familiar with him
Rafael was given Maya as a gift from a friend and he originally intended to release her into the wild.
Rafael said: 'My friend bought Maya from a jaguar breeder, naively thinking we could free her in a reserve in the Mayan Forest in the southern part of Mexico.'
But he soon realised she was unlikely to survive in her natural habitat because animals born in captivity lack hunting and survival skills.
Rafael said: 'A wild jaguar is scared of people and would run away from them.
'Maya will go up to people and check them out because she's been around people all her life.
'She would have sought human contact and would have ended up as a rug somewhere due to human poaching.'
Maya lives in a custom enclosure built on the hillside of Rafael's home.
Walkies: Rafael realised Maya was unlikely to
survive in her natural habitat because animals born in captivity lack
hunting and survival skills
Play time: The pair often visit the park near
his home in Mexico City, Mexico, where he walks the huge predator and
lets her swim in the river
Her living quarters cost Rafael about $50,000 and took nearly a year to build.
It spans 4,000 square feet and includes a sleeping area, a giant litter box, and an observation deck with a very low fence s she can see out.
'Jaguars like to be high up, they like to dominate whatever is below them - so she likes to enjoy the view from up on her observation deck,' added Rafael.
'I'm always with her when she's up there though.'
For three months after he was first given Maya, Rafael spent eight unbroken hours with her every day, so she would get familiar with him.
'In the beginning she would growl at me if I got too close,' he said.
'But the fact that I can sit with her on the ground is showing her that I trust her, so she trusts me back.
'She has bit me and scratched me - but it's all in play, it's never been an aggressive attack.
'I have a strong bond with her - she's like my best friend. I feel no danger or fear, and I'm sure she doesn't either because of the way she acts with me.'
Rafael's is one of several stories which appear in new Animal Planet series Preposterous Pets which starts on Thursday, April 3 at 8pm.
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