PANTANAL: WHEN THE CAT’S AWAY

SOUTHERN BRAZIL’S REMOTE PANTANAL REGION — THE HOME OF THE MAJESTIC JAGUAR — CONCEALS A WEALTH OF CURIOUS SIGHTS. WORDS: DEBORAH TELKMAN

“There!” says our guide Susan, pointing into the gloom beneath the overhanging trees at the side of the rolling brown water. As I peer into the darkness, a shape begins to resolve itself, and suddenly I find myself in the presence of the most iconic animal of this continent: a jaguar.

I’m sitting in a small, open boat on the Tres Irmãos River, deep in the Pantanal region of Brazil. The sun is beating down: it’s nearly

40C and I can feel the sweat sliding through my hair. This is ‘Jaguarland’: a freshwater wetland covering an area as big as the UK and, Susan tells me, the best place in the world to see these elusive animals in the wild.

The journey has been a long one: three flights, followed by two days sliding along the sand and mud and under the rickety wooden bridges of the Transpantaneira Highway to Porto Jofre. Finally, boarding the boat that would take us to our ‘flotel’, we sped down the river, prow aloft and the wake flying behind us. I felt as though I was part of a Bond film.

Despite the remoteness, however, we’re not alone. Six other boats are here, each one anchored and swaying slightly against the strong river current. In each boat, eyes and cameras are all trained on the sleeping predator beneath the jungle canopy. He’s been sleeping for a while now, but we wait in the heat, hoping for some action. It’s quiet here, apart from the hum of insects, the birdsong and the occasional, hopeful click of a camera.

I hear a splash behind me, and turn to find a giant otter looking curiously at me from the water. He’s eating his lunch, an enormous bright green catfish, turning the slippery fish dextrously in his delicate paws. The boat behind ours was filled with serious photographers, their huge lenses bristling like bazooka barrels. So focused were they on the jaguar that not one of them noticed the amazing dinner show going on behind them. READ THE FULL VERSION ONLINE AT

TRAVEL