The 2023 Brazil Journals, Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Day of the Jaguars

 

 

“Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you.”

—Ghaniya Dewy Arassyi

 

 

Once again, we leave the dock at 5:30 in the morning as the sun begins to rise and bathes the scene with golden light.   Soon we are abreast of the jabiru nest, but none of the birds want to pose for us.

 

A male jaguar has been spotted so off we go on a “Ferrari boat ride” only to spot just the tip of its tail as it disappears into the tall vegetation.  No pix.  

 

As long as we’re in the lagoon, we take a look around and spot two Tiger heron nestlings.   They are big enough to fledge and certainly that nest is crowded if they both lie down.

 

 

Back on the main river, our old faithful Marcella makes her appearance.  The boat drivers let other drivers know when they’ve spotted a jaguar.   It does increase traffic to the sighting, but then everyone gets to see a cat.   

Once again Marcelle obligingly swims the river.

This happens in Africa, too, when a guide finds a lion, leopard, or cheetah.  He lets other drivers from his camp know so they can bring their guests there.

 

Occasionally, photographers ask for a couple minutes before the guide texts the spotting.   Sometimes it’s granted and sometimes not. It works both ways, so usually they let the other guides know in a reasonable time.

 

Marcella swims along the river in her search for a caiman.   We leave her to explore other tributaries and find some capped herons.   All but one fly away and that’s enough for me!

 

We get some good poses and shots of this unique bird.

 

Then we race to another lagoon where two juvenile male jaguars were seen.   This time we find them sleeping in dense vegetation right along the bank.

 

 

The second jaguar is in the vegetation over the rump of this one in front.

During late morning, a jaguar named Ti appears in the dense vegetation and climbs down the bank to hunt.    This is Marcella’s grandmother.

 

After about 45 minutes of following Ti, I catch her leaping for a caiman but the reptile escapes.   It happens that quickly.   One second they’re hunting and the next they’re leaping.

THE LEAP!

 

So far today, we have seen five jaguars.   What will this afternoon bring?

It’s time to head back to the hotel and a break from the hot sun.   I look at a small thermometer I have attached to my photo bag and it reads in the mid-to-high 100-and-teens!   

A pair of Southern Screamers

 

Can’t be, I think, though I do think it’s the hottest day yet and I am wiped out by the time we get back.    I leave my photo bag with its little thermometer  outside on a chair in the shade, sans cameras, of course.

I check the temperature after a while.    It still reads over 110.   I bring it in and check it against the air-conditioned room.   It still agrees with that temperature.