This was the question I would get most often when I told people of where I was heading in mid-July. I would then explain that the Pantanal was the largest wetland in the world. It is roughly the size of the state of Washington.
It is also the home to the largest concentration of jaguars on the planet. July is a great time to visit since it is the dry season, meaning the waters in the wetland are receding and the jaguars will come out to the shores to hunt, making photography much easier.
While normally jaguars need large areas to live, the abundance of food in the Pantanal means that these large cats do not have the same territorial issues as they would elsewhere.
And since I'd never seen large cats in the wild or had been to South America, when a spot opened up on the jaguars tour with Aaron Baggenstos, I cleared it with Andrea and threw my hat (and dollars) into the ring to go on this adventure.
A little background about jaguars. They are the third largest of the big cats, coming in behind the Siberian tiger and African lion. A jaguar's bite force is the fifth strongest of all animals and the strongest among the big cats.
In other words, if they catch you, chances are you are not getting away. In part, they use this bite force to capture their number one prey, Yacare caiman, who have skulls that seem as thick as armor.
The day finally came for me to jet off on my 26 hour trip to Cuiaba, which is located in south central Brazil, not to far from the Bolivian border. With a long flight from Atlanta to Sao Paulo, I splurged and bought a first class ticket. This was the first time I had traveled like this and I've got to say, it was pretty nice.
Soon after landing in Sao Paulo, I discovered two things. One was that Google translate was going to be my new best friend for the trip since I don't speak Portuguese and two the Sao Paulo airport really looks like they build a large shopping mall and then just decided to add some airport gates on as an added bonus.
Before and after security, there were shops everywhere and just like a Disney ride, you needed to walk past all of them to get to the any gates. I had no issues traveling down and just like my other trips with Aaron, I arrived the day before so I had plenty of time to rest and get ready for the trip.
As usual with Aaron, the group at a 6PM meeting the first evening followed by a dinner. I was very happy to see another participant that I had been with in Costa Rica and Alaska, Gonzalo. We've always gotten along well, and this trip was no different.
The next morning we were off early. The trip from Cuiaba to Porto Jofre was going to be five hours, most of which was on the iconic Transpantaneira Highway. The first hour and a half would be on paved roads and the remainder would be on roads best described as bumpy.
The paved road was poor at best, but the real fun was the unpaved dirt/rock road. If you've ever rode Test Track in EPCOT, you'd understand when I say it was like three and a half hours of driving on Belgian blocks at 30 to 40 miles per hour. To top it off, the air conditioning in our van was not working. It was too dusty to open the windows, so we had a fun ride.
We finally made it to Porto Jofre, where we then got on boats and took a half hour ride to our accommodation, the Jaguar Suites. After a quick lunch, we were off for our first boat safari.
It didn't take long to find the jaguars. As soon as we got in the boats, the drivers punched it and we went flying down the river to a sighting. Within 15 minutes of getting in the boats, we were watching a pair of cats, sitting by the water's edge. It was a mom and her older cub, Amber and Browser. Jaguar young stay with their mother for 2 years before heading off.
We spent the next few hours watching these two as they lounged around and eventually started to walk down the river bank. As they went, the flotilla that had assembled followed. When a jaguar is spotted, it doesn't take long for ten to fifteen boats to appear. For the most part they work together and those that arrive later do not just force their way to the front. It's best to describe the scene at a sighting like a bear jam in Yellowstone.
The benefit of Aaron having us stay at the Jaguar Suites is that it is located a half an hour closer to the cats, so when others need to head back to Porto Jofre to be off the river by sundown, we were able to stay and photograph the jaguars during golden hour.
Like magic, both cats came out to stand under a tree during golden hour with the light perfectly set behind us and our group had the cats practically to ourselves.
We spent the next three days on the river photographing the cats as well as a plethora of other animals. This place is a birding paradise. If you like to photograph kingfishers, then definitely head here. There were hundreds of birds flying around.
Besides the five species of kingfishers, there were countless herons, egrets, storks, hawks and caracaras. We also saw many capybara, the world's largest rodent. And one morning as we headed out, there was a family of capuchin monkeys eating in a tree by the river.
In watching the jaguars, like all predators, they hunt to live. During our time there, we watched two hunts. The first one was unsuccessful. We didn't see what the cat was watching, but it dove off a branch into the water.
A minute later, it was back on the shore and onto the branch again, shaking off the water. A few seconds later, a river otter popped up and started to scream at the jaguar. Then another three or four otters appeared doing the same. Since otters and jaguars do not like each other, we guessed that was the target. River otters live in groups working together and will fight off an attack by a jaguar.
The second hunt we watched was a female jaguar stalking a group of caiman. For over an hour a bunch of boats watched as she peered at her prey in the water. At one point many of the caiman were startled by something and took off. But after some time she crept closer to the edge and then with a leap, she sprang into the river.
Unfortunately we didn't have the best view of the leap but we could see some of the struggle as both animals were rolling in the water. Eventually, she dragged the large caiman to land and killed it. While I know this is how these animals survive, it was a scene I was hopping not to witness.
After resting for a few minutes, she disappeared with her catch over a mound.
As the final day at the Jaguar Suites was ending, we spent some time photographing heron silhouettes until the last light was spent. It was a good way to end our time here.
The next morning we were off to our second location. We repeated the boat ride to Porto Jofre and stayed for a little while, photographing a couple of hyacinth macaws that nest nearby. Unfortunately, there are only around 3,000 left in the wild, so this was a rare sight.
Before long, we were back in the vans with a three hour trip ahead of us on the same dirt/rock roads to the Southwild Pantanal Lodge. At least the air conditioning had been repaired, so the journey was a bit better.
After lunch at the lodge, we had the afternoon to explore. I went on a hike with our naturalist guide Luci and a couple of others from the group. We found a few different birds, including the rufous-tailed jacamar.
Around 5 PM the group gathered and headed towards the lodge's main selling point, the chance to photograph a wild ocelot. These are nocturnal cats that are very wary, so even though we arrived at the blind well before dark, we had to be completely silent.
We settled in, hoping that the cat would make an appearance. A little over an hour into waiting, I repositioned myself in my plastic chair when SNAP, the arm broke off with a loud sound. Not making a sound, I sat there the rest of the shoot with a sharp plastic edge poking into my leg. Later when I told Aaron what had happened he asked why I didn't say something, to which I replied, you said keep quiet so I did. He just laughed.
Some 30 minutes after the chair, the ocelot appeared, munching on a couple pieces of chicken that was set out for it and then walked back into the forest. A few more pieces of chicken were put out and a minute or so later, the cat reappeared. After another round of this, the cat disappeared into the night.
The next morning we went out to a feeding station and watched a group of capuchin monkeys eating. Eventually some howler monkeys came in as well. The lighting was difficult and I did not get any photos that I was happy with. But it was interesting to watch.
I spent the rest of the day resting and then tried my luck with the ocelot again. We got fortunate as he showed up even sooner and I did not break my chair.
Our final morning arrived and after breakfast, we were on the river one last time. Instead of looking for jaguars, we were going to try to photograph kingfishers by using some fish.
A couple of the birds are onto this, so they followed the boats and when we were in position the driver threw his fish and we tried to photograph the bird as it came swooping in. They only throw one or two fish so the birds do not get too dependent on humans, so you had to be ready.
Soon though it was time to head back to Cuiaba and we packed up for the three and a half hour trip. Half the time was again on the fun dirt/rock road, but before too long, we were back at our starting hotel having our farewell dinner. For the most part we meet as strangers, but leave as friends, with stories and bonds of an adventure shared.
The flights home went without issue and after a 24 hour travel day, Andrea was there to greet me in Toronto and drive us back to Rochester.
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