The 2023 Brazil Journals, Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-four

 Dragon Slayers

 

Traveling—it leaves you speechless,

Then turns you into a story-teller.

—Ibn Battuta

 

 

 

The alarm on the iPhone under my pillow tells me it’s time to get up.   I don’t want to.   I had a restless night.   My throat feels scratchy and my eyes seem to be looking through binoculars from the wrong end.

 

I want to stay in bed, but I tell myself that this might be my last international trip and I better take advantage of it.  So, I’m out of bed and eventually on my way to the boat dock.

 

Earlier than ever before, we find a jaguar prowling the river banks in search of a caiman.  I think it’s Marcela, but when I look closely at the photos, I can’t see the little notch in her ear.   So, I don’t know for sure.   It might be a completely new-to-us jaguar.

 

 

We watch the jaguar hunt for a while.  She swims through the water hyacinth and climbs over brush on the bank.

 

 

She crosses the river.

As you can see, the boat with the film crew is front and center.   Always.

The jaguar can be seen immediately in front of the film crew boat.

 

In this photo, you can see how width a berth the boat drivers give a swimming jaguar.   Except the film crew, which apparently has permission to get closer.

 

 

 

 

We move away to a new jaguar—Patricia.   Patricia moves her two cubs to a shaded spot on the bank and they lie down to relax.    Patricia is the mother of Medrosa and the grandmother of Marcela.  

Jaguar and cub.  This might be Medrosa or her mother Patricia.

 

We are busy snapping photos when a half hour later, we get word that Marcela has caught a caiman!   Back we go to watch her catch her breath.

Marcela is right in the middle of the photo.   See how well-camouflaged she is?   Also see how we sometimes have to work around passengers in other boats for clear shots?

 

She looks to choose her route up the steep river bank and grabs the reptile by the head.   The boat drivers were pretty sure she would catch one today as she hadn’t eaten in two days.

She looks up at the top of the river bank, perhaps checking for intruders or how difficult her climb will be.

She choses a brushy area to make her climb with the caiman in her mouth,

And away she goes.   I assume the rest of the caiman is under Marcela's body.

 

Up she goes and into the forest.

 

Back in the river, another new-to-us jaguar has  just crossed the river with her two cubs and are making their way to some trees where they stop to relax.  This jaguar mom is Ibaca.

A cub looking back.

 

In the brush.

The two cubs of Ibaca.

Ibaca

Ibaca at right, the two cubs at left.   The dark spot is the second cub.

 

Back at the hotel for lunch, Shelly catches a family of capybara near the dining hall and takes this video:

 

It might as well be a still shot because they don't move!

Now, time for a rest break before our 3 PM boat ride.