In October 2012 and again in October 2014, I had the great good fortune to visit the Pantanal in southern Brazil. The Pantanal is a world-wide destination for wildlife lovers known for its diversity of birds - nearly 100 species of herons, ibis, egrets, storks that weigh more than a pound, plus hundreds of species of passerines - and also for the charismatic big cat, the jaguar. For very good reason, the central portion of the Pantanal, accessible by boat on the Cuiaba, Piquiri, and Tres Irmaos Rivers, is dubbed "The Jaguar Zone" by our tour operator. (Note that most of the photos and narrative in this diary are from the 2014 trip.)
Join me below for a pictorial safari to see the wildlife of the Pantanal.
A note to the squeamish - there is some minor gore coming up so proceed with caution.
Straddling the borders of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia, the Pantanal is the world’s largest freshwater wetland, a seasonally flooded marshy plain fed by the tributaries of the Paraguay River encompassing an area of 54,000 square miles, nearly 10 times that of the Everglades in Florida. The Pantanal is one of the world’s most productive habitats. The wildlife is amazingly abundant here - it's one of the most mammal rich areas of South America, with the highest concentration of Jaguars in the world.
Tropical rains (November - May) lead to annual floods that create a giant nursery for an amazing variety of plants and animals. As the waters recede in the dry season, the Pantanal attracts a great influx of birds and other animals. The savannahs and tropical forests of the Pantanal offer among the finest wildlife habitat in Latin America. This area harbors nearly 400 species of birds including an approximately 100 species of large birds, thousands of which we saw as we traveled by car on the raised Transpantaneira Road, the only all-year route that penetrates the heart of this special wild place. The region also provides habitat for Giant Otters, Capybaras, Capuchin Monkeys, and the region’s gem, the Jaguar.
From the north, the Pantanal is accessed from the city of Cuiaba (about the size of Sacramento, CA, Cuiaba was one of the host cities for the 2014 World Cup). We flew into Cuiaba, from where we were transported south in a bus by our tour operator. About an hour and a half south of Cuiaba is the entrance to the Pantanal. The transpantaneira, an elevated dirt road constructed in the mid-1970s, is the only road into the Pantanal. This road was constructed like many of the levees in the Central Valley where I live - basically, soil was pushed up to form the road that is high enough above the wet season flood waters to be passable year round. It is punctuated by about 120 rickety wooden bridges, some of which provided a few heart-stopping moments for those of us looking out the windows of the bus as we passed over them.
In the north, we stayed several days at SouthWild, located at kilometer 63 of the transpantaneira (not shown on the map), several days on the SouthWild Flotel, on the bank of the Piquiri River, and several days at Pouso Alegre, at kilometer 33. We also spent several days in the southern Pantanal at Pousada Aguape, accessed through the city of Campo Grande (not shown).
Side note - the neck of the meander near Corixo Negro failed during the 2013-2014 wet season. As we boated upriver from the mouth of the Piquiri River, we turned left to go up the Tres Irmaos River rather than right.
On the first day of our 2014 trip, we spent the morning sightseeing along the transpantaneira. It's amazing how much wildlife can be seen along the road - more about that later. We arrived at Santa Tereza Fazenda in time for lunch, checking in to our rooms, and a brief siesta. In the afternoon, we set off for a boat ride along the Pixaim River. Here's half of our group.
Our goal was to see birds, otters, maybe some bats or snakes. We weren't in "The Jaguar Zone" yet. But, to our amazement, we came upon a gorgeous female jaguar lounging on the river bank. She's pictured in the photo at the beginning of this diary. She was remarkably tolerant of our presence, lolling on the beach for quite a few minutes.
Eventually, she got about and started to walk along the river bank. Something caught her attention and she took on a stalking stance.
One of my traveling companions caught this next bit of video.
Did she catch her prey? Another member of our group captured this photo.
She did, in fact, capture her prey, a caiman, and drag it into the woods for a little privacy while she ate. We were amazed, plain and simple. What a way to start the trip! Watching a jaguar effortlessly capture a caiman by crushing its skull with her powerful jaws.
In keeping with the bird theme of Dawn Chorus, here are a few of the birds we saw along the Rio Pixaim as well as along the transpantaneira on our journey to and from the Flotel.
Maguari Stork
Boat-billed Heron
Whistling Heron
Plumbeous Ibis
Little Blue Heron
Southern Screamers with chicks
Scarlet-headed Blackbird
Toco Toucan eating a piece of fruit
and then flying away.
We spent 5 and half days at the flotel, spending our days looking for jaguars and all of the other wildlife that the Pantanal has to offer. We were not disappointed. Our group had an amazing number of jaguar sightings - 12-15, depending which boat you were in. We saw them hunting, swimming, and resting in the relentless heat (mostly). We even got to see a male and a female interacting - mostly having a stand-off but probably mating, too, if the caterwauling from behind the trees was any indication. Here are a few more jaguar photos to give you a sense of the behaviors that we observed.
We were also able to watch Giant Otters from a close distance. They have become quite used to having people in their territory so they more or less ignored us as they went about their business. Plus many of the local guides will occasionally toss a fish their way.
Caiman are also staples along the rivers - and along the roads. We saw several walking along the road. They are smaller and not quite as ferocious as alligators and crocodiles - though I wouldn't want to go swimming in these rivers knowing that they are there!
This caiman caught a large fish that it was having trouble swallowing. A larger caiman came along and tried to steal the fish. This smaller caiman was having none of that! It dove under water with the fish in a game of keep away and surface some time later to finish its meal.
In yet another life-and-death struggle, this eel put up an amazing fight to escape the jaws of this caiman. In this photo, the eel has wrapped itself around a stick and is trying to pull itself from the caiman's grip. Alas, the eel eventually succumbed. We had to leave before the eel was consumed so I don't know how the caiman managed such a large prey.
A few more birds before I close.
Wattled Jacanas are quite common in the Pantanal. It was chick-rearing season while we were there. Jacanas are polyandrous, with the males raising the chicks. The males put on quite a display when they attempt to district other large animals from their chicks.
Wattled Jacana - male
Look at those toes!
Wattled Jacana - juveniles
Muscovy Duck
There are not a lot of waterfowl in the Pantanal but the glorious Muscovy Duck makes up for the lack of diversity with its brilliant plumage and odd facial warts and colorful bill.
Rufous-tailed Jacomar
Pied Plover (aka Lapwing)
The cutest bird of the Pantanal!
I've only scratched the surface of the birds of the Pantanal so I'll have to leave the rest for a future diary or two.
I'll close this morning on a positive note. It wasn't long ago that jaguars, macaws, giant otters, and even caiman were on the brink of extinction. Fortunately for all of us, Brazilians took steps to preserve these magnificent animals and the Pantanal habitat on which they depend. Cattle ranchers of the Pantanal have an uneasy relationship with jaguars - jaguars are occasionally shot for killing cattle - but most ranchers recognize the economic benefit of jaguar ecotourism on their region. Caiman populations are increasing. Macaws are adapting to an agricultural landscape and their capture for the pet industry is banned. It remains to be seen how this region will be changed by climate change though I'd assume it's safe to say that change is imminent.