The incredible biodiversity of the Pantanal

So, I am way behind on posting on the blog. It's been quite a journey with some highs and lows. In the next few days I will attempt to catch up on where I've been and what I've been doing.

After the Amazon, I headed to the Pantanal. The Pantanal is in the Mato Grosso region of central western Brazil, and extends a bit into Bolivia and Paraguay. It is the largest wetland in the world. It was formed as a depression in the earth's crust after the rise of the Andes with several rivers flowing into it. During the rainy season between December and May, it is 80% flooded. Of course, the dry season is the time to visit.

The Pantanal is incredibly biodiverse with thousands of known species of flora and fauna, including the greatest diversity of aquatic flora in the world. There are more than 650 species of birds, many of them endemic, while many other bird species use the Patanal as a stopover in their migratory routes north or south. Among the bird species are egrets, storks, herons, toucans, parrots, and macaws, including the endangered hyacinth macaw. Among the large animal species are the cabybara, peccary, tapir, giant river otter, caiman, and anaconda.

But I came here to see a jaguar. This is the one place in the world where it is easy to see this magnificent creature. In the dry season, they hunt along the river banks and are used to the boats with tourists there to see them. Not only did I see a jaguar, but on this particular day, we saw eight different jaguars! Wow! What a beautiful animal!

Jaguars are the third largest cat species in the world, behind the tiger and lion. They range from Arizona to northern Argentina in a wide diversity of habitats from the humid forests of Central and South America to drier grasslands of Mexico and Argentina. In the United States they were found from southern California to Texas and as far north of the Grand Canyon as recently as the early 1900s, but are now only sighted occasionally near the Mexican border in Arizona. They are an object of veneration and religious significance for many indigenous cultures from Mexico to Argentina. They have an exceptionally powerful bite. To kill their prey, they bite down between the ears to pierce the skull and into the brain. Where I visited in Costa Rica, they prey on large sea turtles, piercing the shell. In the Pantanal, they stalk the riverbanks looking for cabybara and caiman. It was interesting to see how wary the capybara and caiman were when a jaguar approached. (Cabybara are the world's largest rodent, and actually quite cute.)

I drove on the Transpantanal "Highway" to Porto Joffre to see about a boat to look for jaguars. Although there were less expensive options, I went with Jaguar Camp. Although not really a campground for overlanders, but rather a lodge for tourists, probably on some sort of package, they allowed me to camp at their facility. The boat tour included a knowledgeable biologist who spoke English well. The tour lasted from sunrise to sunset. We saw lots of birds, capybara, caiman, giant river otters, agouti, and some cool bats. I also saw many birds, capybara, caiman, deer, a fox. and a giant anteater (such a cool creature) on the drive to Porto Joffre and on my drive through the south Patanal. Also of note, was the beatiful pink ipê or pink trumpet trees. They only bloom for 7 days of the year, and I seemed to have hit the peak.