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Brazil Pantanal wildlife Expedition, August 1-10 2024 Trip Report

Reported by: Cindi LaRaia

Seven of us ventured from Sao Paulo to Cuiaba, to start our Pantanal adventure in search of Jaguars!

While we felt confident, we would see them, never in a million years did we think we would see 13 total new Jaguars, in 5 days at the Lodge for Jaguar viewing!!

Not to mention all the other amazing wildlife; mammals & bird life. Big birds and many of them, colorful birds and many of them. This was like being in a new Jurassic Park movie!

August 1 2024: On the long drive to our first lodge, Pauso Algre a very rustic - eco lodge we saw a plethora of birds, so many caimans, a yellow anaconda and more! just some of the birds, Jabiru stork, wood stork, Caracara falcon.

The entire Pantanal is 95% private owned land, a well-preserved biome. The word Pantanal means ‘swamp’ in Portuguese as 6 months of the year its underwater, being a huge flat savannah plain. October to March is the wet season.

We stopped on the road at a bridge - wow! Sooo many birds, storks, roseate spoonbill, capybaras, loads of caimans, snowy & great egrets, ringed kingfisher, Savanah hawk, black collared hawk, blue hyacinth macaws roost outside our rooms near the main area each morning we have seen them!

We saw Greater Rhea, in the emu family. Great black hawk! Their biggest hawk, South American Coati- in raccoon family, beautiful animal.

And Wikipedia says there are 10,000 million Caimans here! I must admit, it’s very possible! They are everywhere you look! The rivers are full of fish to feed all the many species and quantity of birdlife as well as Caimans and the Giant River Otter! What an amazing place!

To think this was most likely what the rest of the world was like before the human population exploded!

Aug 2: 5:30 am walk up to the tower to see birds and sunrise.

Loads of wake-up calls from so many birds.

8 am game vehicle drive to a very productive water hole. Ringed kingfisher - eating a big fish! There is so much wildlife here and amazing birds! I cannot keep track of it all! (my friend Shari is a birder and has sent me a birding list of what we saw. I will add it to the end of this report.)

We went on the afternoon activity in the game truck to a different waterhole! It was outstanding! Everything came to drink! Several different Toucan’s, and all the birds we have been seeing!

2 different tapirs, the common large rodent capybaras they are so cute! A smaller rodent called coati.

And much to our delight and very unexpectedly, a Giant Ant Eater! Yippee!!! I had so hoped to see one here in the north Pantanal! We had a slight chance as they are mostly in the south Pantanal!!

After he left, another Giant Ant eater came from another direction!!! What a treasure!

Just as we said goodnight, as a very early start to the next camp, a knock on the door! A giant ant eater in camp as the staff put hard boiled eggs in a pot and one showed up! He walked around us all and for some reason liked me and my feet! Hahah a very fun day with so much wildlife and Giant Ant eaters!!!

Aug 3: Early morning departure for our Recanto Jaguar lodge! We will travel to the farthest south end of the Trans peninsular highway! A 4 hour drive plus 1.5 hr boat ride!

This Pantanal is a Savanah! Flat and dry very much like the African Savanah!

This time of year, is winter, August and September. Peak season for jaguar viewing. However, is broiling hot at 100 F and extremely dry!

This is a great spot with close by jaguars and away from the busy houseboat - hotel area!

The drive offered us a lot of birds, and some new birds! Which made our birders happy! We also saw our first yellow anaconda. Very exciting!

We finally arrived to what feels like the ends of the earth here in the farthest south and west of the Pantanal! A lovely eco lodge!

3:00pm our first river safari to find the elusive Jaguar!!

Wow! 30 minutes into our boat safari Therese spotted the jaguar!! We sat with her for some time, with great photo opportunities she started to stalk a caiman, it went in the water, she laid in the brush. We are waiting for her to come to drink!

Aug 4: Very early morning departure at 6:15 am, wake up at 5:00am for the next 5 days.

Overcast sky, saw mom howler monkey and 2 babies.

Swimming capybaras, mating Jabiru storks, ringed kingfisher, Cocoi heron is a beautiful white heron with black markings - large and majestic also called white neck. A large group of Munk parakeets, so cute!

Jaguar!!! Followed a female as she walked and swam along the river. Tried to hunt capybaras but failed. She went onto land we circled around to where they thought she would come out.

We found another! They don’t think the same one would have been too far! Cool!

A long 6 hrs in the boat ! Lunch and back out at 2:30 pm.

We found a dead floating buffalo with black vultures and a female jaguar! She kept trying to get to the buffalo, climbing up and back on the cliff and back down. She jumped on it and fell off. She must have tried this 5 times! Great photo and video ops!

Aug 5- 6:15 am In the boat! After a few hours Shari spotted a jaguar coming down a bluff; we witnessed it grabbing a caiman and brought it up the hill! Wow! All happened so fast! I’m so happy I got the entire sequence of her taking it up the hill! Just after she grabbed it!! Amazing sighting!!! Lots of adrenaline!!

Went down another small channel we had not been on before, and bam; John spotted a big jaguar ahead! It was big and darker; they think a male! He walked along the top of the bluff in the bushes.

Finally, we spotted him again ahead at the water’s edge, maybe hunting caiman. He went up the hill as we approached, allowing us some amazing images! What a morning!

We now have 4 game drives with 6 different jaguars! This is incredible.

2:30pm

Beautiful large blue green iguana! Looking for male jaguar again! No luck.

No jags this boat safari (our only time) we did see a big male Howler Monkey!

As the sun sets at 5:30pm, we make our way home. It’s a surreal setting, a few giant trees before our lodge are home to hundreds of egrets! A most impressive sight to behold.

Feelings of Jurassic Park with so many big birds, parrots, parakeets! They just keep coming and coming, how can so many fit in one tree? Also, a tree full of cormorants. Mind blowing! Oh and the bats!!! Hundreds and hundreds of these adorable small bats come out skimming along the top of the water, along with the swifts.

Aug 6: A very smoky morning from the fires in the south Pantanal.

Saw a female before 8am. Lots of boats. Did not stay for long, some pics of her cleaning herself.

2:30pm

Saw a jaguar on the beach, went under the brush.

A little further down on the opposite side of the channel, saw a male on the beach he swam across the channel in front of us. There was a female on the other side he went to. Then he disappeared and we followed her, she went behind the bramble up the cliff.

Next thing you know, the male came back looking for her. Wow!

They got together with some growling sounds; we did not have a good visual however they were mating!! Yahoo! Just what I asked for! :)

He pooped after and marked his territory! The end.

What a great afternoon boat safari! 3 jaguars this afternoon and 1 this morning!

Great day!

Had a fantastic fish for dinner called Pacu- highly prized for taste! Caught in front of our lodge!

Aug 7: Last Jaguar Day!

1 female jaguar, swimming a long way. Trying to cross with so many boats. Finally made it across, she has nipples, maybe she has cubs!? Jaguars swim all the time; this must be the only cat I know that swims a lot!

We have now seen 11 different Jaguars. We are at 7 boat game drives now! Great odds.

One afternoon drive to go! Wishing for cubs !!🙏

Nearly back to lodge, Daniel spotted jaguar on the beach. She’s with a male! Stayed with them a long time as lots of branches, they mated, we saw him mount her through the thicket! No good images but we could see it happen before us! Incredible.

2 matings in 2 days different jaguars! We are now at a total of 13!! Woooo hooo!!

Late for lunch off we go!

2:30pm

On our way and got a call, the same place we saw our very first Jaguar named Bonito! She is laying under branches. It’s hot at 3:05 pm!

Aug 8: Leaving the river with our beloved Jaguars! Horrid smoke from the southern fires. No jags spotted on the long way back to the van!

Lance head pit viper was found by the lodge manager, he showed us to be released far down the road, it’s severely venomous, a baby.

Saw another yellow anaconda and a false lance head pit viper with crane hawk, they have extra-long legs to reach into holes and pull out prey.

Snake crossing road, a yellow anaconda. Lots of snakes in this area! Love it.

Another beautiful snake next to the road eating a wolf fish!

Made it to the lovely Amara Lodge, our nicest lodge of the trip!

Gardens full of colorful parrots and in front of my room, the home of the stunning Hyacinth Macaws!!! Beautiful blue with yellow accents!

One came out so we could photograph him! Looking forward to seeing them fully out of the hole in the tree!

The biggest surprise bonus was walking to the new hide they made to see what might come along.

To our shock and surprise, in walked a beautiful small cat!

Ocelot! So rare to see, we heard mostly in south Pantanal, and here we are in the north Pantanal! We have been so lucky!

2 species I did not think we would see, a giant ant eater and this gorgeous Ocelot!

He came by around 4:30pm for around 20 minutes!!! They have a small pond in the forest down a walking path, he was happily eating lots of little things around the trees and up a big fallen tree branch right in front of us! Maybe 20 feet away! Holy cow! Fantastic photo ops here!

We are blessed yet again! What’s left? We have 1 full day to walk and hike to see more amazing wildlife!

This area by far offers the most unique wildlife on the planet! And you know I have been around!

Thank you, Universe, for the luck we have had with 13 different jaguars and now a rarely sighted ocelot!!! Not to mention all the magnificent birds in so much abundance, and unique mammals.

Lovely to know there are still amazing places on earth to witness astounding wildlife on our planet!🙏

Aug 9: Last day, boo hoo. Walking around the lodge with guide Roberto & Daniel.

Cold front still here since yesterday, ugly overcast skies. Saw a small marmoset!

Outside my room, the hyacinth macaw came out of his nest; in full splendor!!

Sun bittern bird at the pond. A must see here, at the pond with its mate! John got a great shot with it flying and wings open! What a beautiful bird!

Great Potoo bird of the Pantanal! Very unusual bird, gorgeous feathers, a very camouflaged bird. Sits quiet All day. Night hunter. It looks like an owl to me 😊

2:30pm canoed down the river in nice wide stable canoes, through the water hyacinth. Very peaceful and zen with birds. Finally, some exercise!

4:30 pm went back to the hide to see if the Ocelot will return! 🙏🏻 YES he did!!!

My bird pics at Aymara: Bare face Currasow- with top white curly hair, so cute.

So many birds all over the majestic Pantanal.

Today is our last day in the Pantanal! We sure have seen a ton of everything!

Amazing trip!🙏🏻🐆

Cindi LaRaia

***Birding list created by Shari H, thank you Shari!***