Jaguar

Panthera onca

In August of 2023 I traveled to the Pantanal Region of Brazil with Jeff Parker Tours to explore and look for wildlife, primarily Jaguars.  We stayed at Southwild’s Jaguar Flotel, located on the Piquiri River about a 35 or 40 minute boat ride from Porto Jofre, which is at the end of the Transpaneira Highway several hours south of Cuiabá.  In addition to providing our lodging at the Flotel, Southwild also provided our guide (Liko).  We also enjoyed having a Naturalist (Xavi Tobin) on board who was available to answer our questions and who gave nightly science lectures each night after dinner.  To see my blog post that covers this portion of my trip to Brazil, look here.  As I was working on my blog, I realized I had taken many photographs that I would never have room to post in my blog, so I decided to do separate galleries for each of the major species I encountered on my trip.  This gallery is the result of that decision.  Below you will find some notes I took about the Jaguar during Xavi’s lecture, followed by galleries of photos of the Jaguars I met while staying at the Flotel.  I hope you find them enjoyable!


Notes From Xavi’s Lecture on Jaguars, Saturday, 8-26-23…

  • Largest Cat in the Americas, third largest in the world
  • Jaguar means “He Who Kills With One Leap”
  • Jaguars in the Americas are stockier and larger than the Leopards of Africa and Asia
  • Jaguars eat meat only, but may eat grass for fiber and digestive system purposes
  • Males are 30 to 50 percent larger than females
  • The range of Jaguar habitat in the Pantanal has shrunk 50 percent
  • Jaguars travel far to hunt
  • There are 233+ cats in the Rio Cuiabá area
  • Jaguars have eyes that are adapted for night hunting. They have a mirror-like structure called the tapetum lucidum, in the back of the eye, which reflects light back into the retina, nearly doubling the cat’s ability to see at night.
  • Avi recommended a famous video about the Jaguar…look here to see it.

 

The Jaguar Galleries

Ginger

(First Sighting Thursday Afternoon 8-24-23)

(Second Sighting Friday Morning 8-25-23)

Ryan

(Only Sighting Friday Morning 8-25-23)

Stella
(First Sighting Friday Afternoon 8-25-23)

(Second Sighting Saturday Morning 8-26-23)

(Third Sighting Monday 8-28-23 Afternoon)

Ofelia

(Only Sighting, Saturday Morning, 8-26-23)

Patricia

(First Sighting, Saturday Morning,8-26-23)

(Second Sighting, Monday Morning, 8-28-23)

Shy

(First Sighting Saturday Morning, 8-26-23)

(Second Sighting, Monday Afternoon, 8-28-23)

Juliet

(Only Sighting Saturday Afternoon, 8-26-23)

Carmen

(Only Sighting Sunday Morning, 8-27-23)

Katniss (and Cubs)

(First Sighting, Mother & Cubs, Sunday Morning 8-27-23, Set 1)

(First Sighting, Mother & Cubs, Sunday Morning 8-27-23, Set 2)

(Second Sighting, Katniss Only No Cubs, Morning, 8-27-23)

Olivia

(Only Sighting, Sunday Afternoon 8-27-23)