July 10, 2024
Mom – Ti and two cubs, male jaguar – Bagwa
We focused on finding jaguar again today. On our way out, we enjoyed the interesting trees and scenery along the way.
We first found a pair of giant otters searching for food. These are the largest river otter in the world. They are an endangered species due to habitat loss, hunting and the devastating effects of gold mining with mercury which drains off that poisonous element into the rivers.
One caught a piranha. Instead of gulping it down right away, it carried it through the water. They are piscivores meaning they only eat fish and shellfish. They need to eat 9 pounds of fish a day. When they devour a fish, they eat the whole thing - bones and all.
In the morning we saw a mother, Ti, with her two mostly grown cubs eating the carcass of a cow. The cubs, Kyyavera and Tingana were born in 2023. so they are around a year old now. Kyyavera kept lookout above the carcass and Ti and the other cub were down below having their morning meal. It was difficult to see the carcass and the Tingana because it was hidden in the vegetation near the shore. Fabi said that they didn't kill the cow, but instead dragged a carcass floating on the river onto the shore.
Fabi suggested I move to the bow of the boat to get a better angle for the pictures.
Ti took a break from eating and climbed up to her cub and they cleaned each other.
Soon Tingana joined them and wandered off by himself, probably to take a nap hidden in the grass.
Some vultures flew into the trees and the jaguars turned to watch them. Jaguars do not like vultures messing with their food.
Next, a pair of river otters swam by and caught the jaguar's attention.
The otters swam on and the cub settled back down, but Ti was no longer tired. Even though it looks like she's yawning, when jaguars open their mouths like that they are taking in oxygen and getting ready to move. She licked Kyyavera and headed down to have a snack.
As Ti worked at the carcass, it became more visible. She then began to tug the carcass up the ridge, stopping occasionally to view her work and decide how to proceed next. Eventually she left it halfway up and went back to rest.
We let the jaguars rest and headed out to find Marcela. She was on the prowl searching for food near the water. She spotted and caiman and stalked forward and then raced ahead, but unfortunately it had disappeared, so it was back to the hunt.
She decided to head for higher ground.
Soon she was disappearing into the underbrush. Can you find her?
She would appear and disappear and our pilot kept predicting where she would reappear and positioning the boat for the best view. There was a lot of competition as many tourists were out to see the jaguars.
As she faded out into the undergrowth again, we spotted a capybara directly in her path. We hurried to position our boat nearby and waited.
We waited and waited but Marcella never appeared. Apparently, she had gone off in a different direction. Lucky for the capybara! We stayed in the general area, but took some time for birdwatching. We saw some neotropic cormorants and lesser kiskadees.
We caught a glimpse of a flame-colored tanager hidden in a tree.
The grey-crested cacholote most commonly lives in the Pantanal. Its claim to fame is the huge stick nest it builds.
The rufous-tailed jacamar waits on a branch for insects then darts out, catches one, and returns to its perch.
The tiger heron launched into flight.
We got word that Marcela had reappeared, and we returned to jaguar viewing.
After some exploring, she headed down to the water and began swimming, crossing over to the next bank.
She continued her search on land.
She then headed back into the water, briefly climbing out occasionally.
She climbed out of the water but stayed close to the shore as she continued her search.
We continued to enjoy watching her as she up and down along the bank of the river.
She tried walking out along a log but was stymied by the long branches that blocked her way.
She soon found another route. We watched her adventures until she once more melted into the bushes and we headed back to the lodge.
On the way back, we saw a cocoi heron in flight and a great egret.
On the lunch break Fabi, our guide, took me to see the toco toucan at the feeder one of the women put out for them.
Brent posed with the macaw statue that we were warned away from last night.
The capybaras had recovered from their trauma and returned to the area as well
On the evening tour, we again went jaguar hunting. We saw a male jaguar, Bagua. It wasn't a long viewing as it was with Marcela, but it was exciting to see a male jaguar.
After he disappeared, we did some exploration and saw several caiman and many different birds.
The smooth-billed ani is a type of cuckoo. They hang out in groups and share a communal nest like the Guira cuckoo. However, they are less competitive and don't toss out older eggs. Instead they bury them twigs creating layers of eggs (up to 36 in a nest!). Unfortunately, this has the same effect as only the top layer hatches. These birds are "zygodactyl" which means that they have 2 toes pointing forward and 2 toes point backwards.
Off to the right in the same tree was the guira cuckoo.
Another rufous-tailed jacamar flitted back and forth from its branch as it caught insects.
Many larger birds were also hanging out in the treetops instead of down by the shore. Perhaps they were getting ready to roost for the evening?
We saw a southern screamer,
a rufescent tiger heron,
great egrets and cocoi heron,
wood stork,
and neo-tropic cormorants.
A green iguana was catching some sun.
A group of caiman were enjoying the sun as well.
An aninga was drying its wings.
As we motored along, we continued to see more caiman.
We also got to see an aninga swimming in the water so we could see for ourselves why it is called the snake bird when it swims with only its head and neck showing.
Some monk parakeets landed in a pombeiro branco and enjoyed eating its flowers.
A yellow-billed cardinal dipped down from its branch and caught an insect mid-air.
We saw one last caiman as we headed off to see Ti and her cubs.
Finally we returned to the jaguars with the carcass. It seemed to be mostly cleaned off by this time.
At first we only saw Ti.
Then Tingano woke up and came over. They played together a bit while Kyyavera watched in the background.
Once Tingano wandered off, Kyyavera came up to pay her respects to mom.
Then Ti was left alone again.
Although the vultures still kept watch in the trees,
Ti finally laid back down to rest.
We now had to hurry back to the lodge as it would be dark soon and we were a ways out.. We enjoyed the setting sun as we raced back to the dock.
When we arrived back, it was almost dark and the hyacinth macaws had settled down to roost for the night.
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