SPOT THE JAGUARS IN BRAZIL
Gorgeous cats part of the diverse wildlife in the huge Pantanal wetlands
It is a blisteringly hot afternoon in the Brazilian jungle. I am in a boat on the Cuiaba River, watching for movement on the banks.
We slow down; our guide has spotted something through the vegetation. A golden coat with black rosettes comes into view; two jaguars, lying side by side in the shade. They look content. As if shy of us, one moves away from the other and settles down a short distance away. Entranced, we watch and wait. Finally, one makes its way to the river below and cools off in the water. He looks at us, but clearly we are no threat to him.
I am on an Extreme Jaguar Expedition run by the Arcana Mundi company. The location is the Pantanal region of Brazil, northwest of Sao Paulo. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world and is half the size of France. This area is where you go if you want to see jaguars. The prospect of seeing these gorgeous felines in the wild has brought me and 10 fellow travellers here. I am the lone Canadian; there are four couples and John, a lone man from San Francisco, and Ginny, a woman from England. With his impressive camera equipment, John has been designated as our official tour photographer.
This tour is six days in length, four nights of which are spent in a floating hotel (flotel) on the Cuiaba River. We are taken out on river expeditions twice a day, for four hours each time. Arcana Mundi guarantees at least one jaguar sighting during the five days of our stay; clients are refunded US$1,000 if there is no sighting.
During our stay, we have 16 sightings of jaguars; walking, sleeping, and cooling off in the water. Paulo, our guide, is able to identify most of these jaguars by their facial markings. The jaguars have names; among others, we have seen Maxim, Patricia, Judy, and Mick Jaguar. (Mick Jaguar is even on YouTube, killing a caiman).
Jaguars are the third-largest feline species in the world, eclipsed by only tigers and lions. The largest males can measure over six feet (almost two metres) from nose to base of the tail and can live up to 15 years in the wild. Their bite is so powerful that they normally kill their prey with one lethal bite to the brain. Here in Brazil, they are the King of the Jungle.
We are lucky to see these creatures at all, as in the past they were hunted for their beautiful fur. Years ago, the Brazilian government realized the value of jaguars and other indigenous animals for the tourist industry, and banned hunting.
The Pantanal also has its share of colourful, tropical birds. Among the most striking are the macaws, in their plumage of dark blue and bright red. One afternoon, a pair of large black vultures delighted in posing for our cameras. Capybaras, the biggest rodents in the world, were numerous, both in the water and on land. These animals can easily weigh up to 140 pounds (63.5 kilograms), stand up to two feet (half a metre) tall at the shoulder, and look like big guinea pigs. They are herbivorous and somewhat shy of humans.
Did I mention that they are also unbelievably cute? Another creature, rather sinister in appearance, is the caiman. These reptiles are members of the alligator family and the males can grow up to eight feet (2.4 metres) long. The ones which we saw were all smaller. Despite their armour-like surface, they are prey for jaguars.
Prior to this trip, I had the misconception that if I fell into the river it would be “game over;” either the caimans or the piranhas would get me. Paulo assured us that neither creature would attack us. Regardless, it was with some trepidation that five of us went for a swim one afternoon. We made sure that Paulo entered the water first. Despite our fellow travellers’ horror stories of other evils lurking in the river, we all returned safe and refreshed.
The flotel where we stayed on the Cuiaba River was comfortable, but not luxurious. The single rooms were about 100 square feet (nine square metres), and were selfcontained. There were also larger suites. My bed was very comfortable, and best of all, the room had air conditioning — a necessity in the hot, humid climate of the Pantanal. Meals in the dining room were buffet style, usually with fish as one of the two main courses. Fresh fruit was plentiful. The local Brazilian drink, the caipirinha, was a big hit. It is made in a blender, with fresh limes, sugar, ice cubes, and cachaca, a hard liquor made from sugarcane.
A wonderful feature of our trip was that during the evenings, we had interesting scientific lectures on the various creatures that we saw by day.
The Pantanal is accessible from Sao Paulo by air to Cuiaba. The state is Mato Grosso which translates to “thick bush,” but it is now a mixture of grassland, wetlands and jungle. Its capital of Cuiaba has a population of about 500,000.
The journey to the Pantanal began with a convivial buffet lunch with my fellow travellers, followed by a three-hour drive in an air-conditioned bus to our overnight destination at the Southwild Pantanal Inn on a ranch. The next morning, we had another three-hour trip, this time in an open truck, over dirt roads to Porto Jofre, a small fishing village where we made the acquaintance of various brightly coloured macaws, as well as domestic geese. From there it was a 20-minute trip by boat to the flotel.
Aside from the wildlife, I was impressed with the Brazilian cuisine. Buffet style meals in restaurants feature an impressive array of salads and cold dishes as well as various hot foods. As might be expected, wines from Argentina and Chile are readily available. Brazilians clearly enjoy their food and drink.
Lastly, a word of caution. Mosquitoes and many other insects are abundant here and an effective mosquito repellent is essential. Apparently the particular mosquitoes which carry the Zika virus are not found in remote areas such as the one we were in.