jaguar

exploring the riverbank

We were lucky to have a very memorable encounter with three jaguars, a female and two well-grown cubs. Unfortunately they did stay in the dense river-side vegetation for the most part, and since this was in the middle of the day the contrast between the sunlight on the river and the shade of the...

We were lucky again with sightings on our very first morning on the river! We found this female hunting along the river for a while, making it to the edge and looking down. Jaguars in the Pantanal have specialized on hunting caimans. Unfortunately for us (and for her) there were no caimans...

The light was fading, and the cat didn't do anything other than lie there, turning around once, scratching itself, and eventually moving off, but we were spell-bound nonetheless. We hadn't even reached the prime spot for watching Jaguars yet, and here we had our first specimen. And even...

The big cat was very relaxed, and since we were quiet with the engines turned off we didn't do much to disturb this big male. One of the boatmen had jumped into the water and was holding us against the current - clearly caimans and piranhas didn't worry him!

We had gone in one direction for our first boat trip on our first afternoon when our boatman received a message over the radio that had us turn around and move at maximal speed in the opposite direction. Everybody who visits the Pantanal wants to see its big cat, I'm sure. Barranco Alto isn't...

Jaguar (Panthera onca subsp. palustris) Hiding in the creeping river grass. A tributary of Piquiri River, Pantanal, south of Porto Jofre, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Along the berm of the river along a gallery forest (Vreza forest) at about 128 m (420 ft) elevation.

Jaguar (Panthera onca subsp. palustris) River bank of an unknown tributary feeding Ro Cuiab, Pantanal, north of Porto Jofre, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Gallery forest (Vreza forest) at about 128 m (420 ft) elevation. This cat was the purpose of this trip though we found a few hours each day to bird...

A male jaguar we spotted sleeping on the beach had finally woken up and began to prowl.

Jaguar female hunting cayman and capybara in the late afternoon on the Cuiaba River in the Brazilian Pantanal - taken from the safety of a boat!

Jaguar, Pantanal, Brazil 2008 http://www.smandrews.com

Jaguar, Female Pantanal. Brazil http://www.smandrews.com

Mating Jaguars, Rio Cuiaba, pantanal, Brazil