22 Sept 2024
I awake to an opera of birds. One cannot describe it as a symphony as it is too discordant, too raucous. The Curicaca’s endless squabbling as they chase about the grounds and into the trees will wake the soundest sleeper. It begins at first light and continues for hours. The beautiful pair of blue Hyacinth Macaws and the Taco Toucans cannot compete.
Also in the yard is Eddie. I call him this because I cannot look at the floppy long-eared jackass and not think of Shrek, the movie. Eddie silently stares, calmly ignores the monkeys and scurrying birds at his feet, and continues to search for a blade of grass.
For the fourth day, Sapo pilots Roger and I about the rivers. It is an active day with many fascinating wildlife sightings. Some places and animals are becoming familiar. Tho all caiman look alike, many mammals of the Pantanal become distinct individuals one may meet every day.
Giant Otters
Our morning begins with time spent with the family of otters, this time at the riverbank by their burrow. Their pups are not in sight and it seems mom is testing them that they not come out. The otters chomp away on their catch-of-the-day, leaving not a scrap of waste. Then all five adults pile into the den.
apex predators
Jaguars here, Jaguars there
We again find the jaguar MAGDALENA sound asleep atop the riverbank. Leaves and branches obscure our view. We decide to move on.
We revisit the site where we have spotted KWANG in the past. He and Baguá were sleeping atop the riverbank yesterday. This morning, Baguá is gone but Kwang is at the water line behind tree roots on the shore’s edge. One can actually hear him snoring. He awakes and walks to the water for a drink, turns back to his spot, does a fast marking of his territory, and lays back down.
(Very sadly, not 24-hours later, we learned Kwang was found dead presumably at this resting spot. His remains were collected and sent to the labs at the university in Cuiabá. They will determine his cause of death. Our photos and videos of Sunday show what may have been a sick Kwang. It may also explain why he and Baguá were not fighting the day before.)
Our third sighting of the morning was just minutes away. The female TI was seen along the banks about a mile and a half from our first sighting of her. This morning, she sleeps.
And not far around the river bend we see another jaguar. He is hunting atop the riverbank. This male is identified as GUARACI, the 2021 cub of Ti.
Jaguars walk several miles a day when hunting. The more expert they become, the faster they get their dinner. Manath and Rio were still perfecting their technique; Guaraci knows his stuff. He quietly and carefully places each foot so as not to make a sound.
Looking at the groupings of water hyacinths, Guaraci is aware they represent a Kmart of caimans. He silently stalks the water plants, swims along the banks, looks over the terrain to spot his prey. Jaguars are called Yaguará for a reason; they are known for jumping more than 30 feet. Guaraci makes a giant leap from the bank into the water and hyacinths below; amid thrashing and splashing, I know he has caught his lunch.
Guaraci emerges from the river with a 5′ caiman grabbed around the neck. He climbs onto the bank and rests, never releasing his hold. It is quite a load even for this large 250+ lb cat. The going is rough, over boulders, rocks dislodging into the river, having to wade thru some water. Is the caiman dead? Appears not as it slips from Guaraci’s grasp. But not for long as he grabs the caiman once again and drags it up the bank to his lunch table.
Just 2,999,998 caiman remain in the Pantanal. No fear of this food selling out.
For details about the identified jaguars like Guaraci, the Jaguar Field Guide is downloadable for $5.
We follow Guaraci’s cue that it is lunchtime, finding a site to park under shade among the water hyacinths.
The top show of the day
PATRICIA is not my namesake but I disagree with her grandsons, Manath and Rio, that she is disagreeable. She descends a tall riverbank to pant from the heat and enter the cooling river. She is being observed by 20 boatloads of people and countless long lenses snap away.
She can see her sitting in the cooling river behind tree branches and concealing leaves. But wait! What is that second movement of spots we see? Next to Patricia is her young cub, perhaps 4-6 months old.
Jaguars have no defined breeding season and will mate any time of year and gestation is around 100 days. Patricia was seen with three different males in 2023 so short of DNA testing one cannot determine patriarchy. This little cub has been named MIKAELA. We all wait for movement. Patricia will move when she feels like it.
Presently, Patricia feels like it. She leaves the water and leaps up the steep bank to disappear into the vegetation. Mikaela remains somewhat hidden in the river.
Three minutes later, small Mikaela struggles up the steep bank to join her mother. Patricia will continue to feed her cub until she is one year old, and she will stay with her for an additional year. Then, like Ibaca and daughter Apeiara of the tree stump, mom will fight to create an empty nest.
Zipping less than a mile downstream, we come across our 7th jaguar of the day. An unidentified male is along the river.
Males tend to be more elusive than the females. He stays for just a few moments before climbing up the bank and disappearing inland. Hopefully, he will not scent Patricia and walk her way. Males are known to kill young cubs. If he discovers Mikaela, her mom will have a fierce fight on her paws protecting her cub.
Life on the river – It’s a hoot
A pair of Southern Screamers sits in the canopy above Patricia and Mikaela. I can see them watching the cats on the bank out of our sight. The Screamers announce their every move. They will have a lot to tell as just down the river is the male jaguar.
Capybaras are also tattletales who bark and fuss when they see a jaguar coming. Caiman don’t seem to respond to these warnings; in the river, on the sandy shores or in the water hyacinths, they seem easy pickings for the jaguar hunter.
Along the shore, next to our boat is a small Jacana, seeming to walk atop the water. He is so unfazed by us, I believe given the right insect, he would eat from our hands.
Up in the trees, bird life continues to proliferate, chirping, singing, screeching and whatever. A Great Potoo sits, unmoving, atop a dead, leafless tree, his gray coloring helping him to look like just another stump on the tree.
My guides, clap their hands. I wonder is this to warn the jaguar to exit or alerts the jaguar that dinner is coming? Wise move, as just across is a jaguar. Last seen sleeping but you never know. I’m happy that the water sweats out of me. I do not want to share a toilet with any wildlife.
A Tapir walks along the shore as do Jabiru couples. Sometimes my guides walk up the river banks.
No worries
A few days ago, I worried over what I would do on the rivers for 8 to 12 hours a day. Watching jaguars snooze is not real exciting. However, when you’re able to observe the behavior of these animals within their native habitat, time flies by. The jaguar, or yaguará, as he hunts and leaps upon his prey is a memorable way to spend a few hours.
He who kills with one leap is an amazing animal.
