Jaguars in the Pantanal

The Pantanal Jaguars can be easily seen and photographed from a boat. The Pantanal is the largest contiguous wetland on earth.  It is situated in the geographical center of South America. While the largest part lies within the borders of Brazil a small area in the west extends into Bolivia and Paraguay. The Pantanal is a huge, gently-sloped basin that receives runoff from the upland areas and slowly releases the water through the Paraguay River and tributaries. It constitutes an enormous internal river delta, in which several rivers flowing from the surrounding plateau merge, depositing their sediments and erosion residues, which have been filling, throughout the years, the large depression area of the Pantanal.

The Pantanal is world-renowned for its abundance of wildlife. And though it's often overshadowed by the Amazon rainforest to the north, the Pantanal boasts the highest concentration of wildlife on the continent. There is estimated to be about 1,000 bird species, 300 mammal species, 480 reptile species and 9,000 invertebrates. Many animals that live in the Amazon basin also occur in the Pantanal where they are much easier to spot due to less dense vegetation and more vast open spaces. The jaguar, the world's third largest cat is one of these. While in the Pantanal, the powerful jaguar will be our main focus and highlight during our days spent on the Cuiaba River. Over the past decade, these large cats have become more habituated due to boat traffic from fishermen. Today this once very elusive cat can easily be seen on river banks hunting or swimming across channels and narrow rivers. The waterways in the northern Pantanal are without question, the best places in the world to see and photograph jaguars in the wild.

We will spend five days cruising the Cuiaba River and its tributaries in powered speed boats in search of jaguars. At the same time we will have great opportunities to see yacare caimans, endangered giant river otters, capybaras (the world's largest rodent)  and many bird species including the world's largest stork, the jabiru.

On our way to and from the Cuiaba River we will spend 4 days at lodges near the Transpantaneira where we may see giant and little anteaters, capuchin and howler monkeys and several macaws species. The water-filled artificial ditches next to the Transpantaneira attract myriads of waterbirds. These birds are used to the road traffic and can easily be photographed from a close distance. 

Come and join us not only to see the Jaguars in the Pantanal but also the myriads of birds, capybaras. giant river otters, ocelot and the world's largest stork

‘Travel Different’ with Wild Focus Expeditions!