Your Wildlife experience in the Pantanal, Brazil.

[Pckts]

Marley

*This image is copyright of its original author

The Female

*This image is copyright of its original author

She was actually with 2 cubs who were feasting on a Caiman kill.


These are just a couple of cell phone shots, I have much better shots on my camera.





The reason Pantanal Jaguars are so big comes down to a few factors...
First is the huge supply of Caiman to prey on, they're everywhere. They're literally the Impala or Chital of the Jaguar world.
Second is because the rivers are so large and the grass can be so thick that you need a large muscular cat to trek through the harsh terrain.
Last is what I just witnessed and Ties into the second point and that is the strength that's required to carry prey up steep banks and through thick dense Bush which is wet and muddy.


Why amazon Jaguars are smaller than pantanal... 
In the amazon the Jaguars favorite prey are sloths, the trees that Jaguars hunt sloth  on arent especially strong and will break with too much weight. With a mixture of small prey, dense vegetation and special needs for hunting their prey contributes to a smaller cat 
For any skeptics, my guide has worked in the amazon for years and says its absolutely true that Amazonian Jags are much smaller than their Pantanal cousins.

The Pantanal is a meeting of 3 different rivers and it contains 3 different biomes. It's absolutely gigantic and the Jaguar population is insane. I've never seen a place where so many cats live so close to each other. It's also the perfect place to see hunts and kills because the banks attract Caiman to bask and that's where Jaguars usually make their kills.

I'll start my full day safari in a few hours and hopefully ill have much more to share but so far this place has been incredible! Reply