Jaguars of the Pantanal
In August and September I joined a photography tour of the Atlantic Rainforest and the Pantanal in Brazil with Pantanal Photo Tours. The tour had been on my bucket list for some time and it exceeded my expectations.
This post focuses on the jaguars of the Pantanal.
The Pantanal is one of the largest tropical wetlands in the world. Most of it lies in Brazil, with smaller areas in Bolivia and Paraguay. It is a mix of rivers, grasslands and forests that change with the seasons. During the rains, large areas flood. As the water recedes, animals gather around the rivers and remaining pools. This seasonal cycle shapes life in the wetlands.
Jaguars and the river
Jaguars are the largest cats in the Americas. They have stocky bodies, broad heads and strong jaws. Unlike many cats, they are comfortable in water and swim well. In the Pantanal, they hunt along the riverbanks, catching caimans, capybaras and other animals. Their jaws are powerful enough to bite through a caiman’s thick skin.
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| Caiman |
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| Capybara |
As jaguars hunt and rest along the river channels, sightings are virtually guaranteed during the dry season, when numerous tour boats cruise the waterways in search of wildlife to observe and photograph.
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| Jaguar and photographers |
Photographs can also help researchers follow individual jaguars. Each cat has a different pattern of spots and rosettes. The Jaguar Identification Project uses these markings to identify jaguars in the northern Pantanal. Visitors and guides can contribute photographs, helping the project keep track of the cats over time. It is a useful connection between wildlife photography and research.
Drought and fires
The Pantanal may look full of life, but it is under pressure. Drought, land clearing and climate change are affecting the wetlands. When less water reaches the floodplain, vegetation dries out and burns more easily. Changes to the water cycle affect both the animals and the people living here. |
| Wild Pantanal |
In 2024, serious fires followed an exceptionally dry rainy season. By August, more than one million hectares had burned. A study of the June fires found that climate change had made the hot, dry and windy conditions more likely and more intense.
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| Cattle land in the Pantanal |
These changes are part of the story behind the photographs. Jaguars depend on more than the stretches of river where visitors see them. They need a functioning wetland, enough prey and space to move. Photographing them is one way of paying attention to that wider landscape.
Stunning images! And I learned something new.
ReplyDeleteAmazing photos and interesting report. Good idea to use tourist photos to track the jaguars.
ReplyDeleteStunning pictures and the narrative most informative and interesting. .
ReplyDeleteAs you say, pity that “ development” is the destroyer of natural habitats for soon to be extinct animals. Thank you for sharing
In neighbouring Guyana , the UN supported Iwokarma sanctuary was set up to protect the rainforest habitats of the black jaguar and other animals. I unfortunately never took the opportunity to visit while O was Representative in Guyana .
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