Going Big in Brazil 2018 - A big trip in search of some of Brazil’s biggest beasts!

[Ginny]

15 hours ago, kittykat23uk said:

27 September 2018

 

We first had a sighting of a couple of Bare-face Ibis as we were heading toward our first Jaguar sighting of the day:

 

P9270003 (2) Bare-faced Ibis by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270022 Bare-faced Ibis by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Then we stopped around 0930 to spend some time with this beautiful cat:

 

P9270040 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270046 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270063 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270067 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270084 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270092 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270100 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270101 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270108 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270121 Great Kiskadee by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270146 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270150 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270160 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270168 (2)  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270188  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270193 Great Kiskadee by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270204 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270218  Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270229 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

[Ginny]

What incredible Jaguar photos!

Ginny

 

[kittykat23uk]

Later that afternoon we reconnected with the second Jaguar we saw in the morning, this time, she was on a hunting mission!  

 

P9270764 (2) Jaguaress by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270775 Jaguaress by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270780 Jaguaress by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270683 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately for her, word had got around and every one of the 15 boats that were out on the water had gathered to watch her hunt.  

 

20180927_152652 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270784 Jaguaress by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270850 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270866 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270876 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270877 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270882 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270884 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270892 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270896 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270898 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270900 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270901 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270919 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270928 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

This could have been fine if everyone had been respectful and kept behind the Jaguar; however, many of these boats consistently moved ahead of her to take positions so that their customers could get the head on shot.  

[kittykat23uk]

P9270930 (2) Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270934 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270942 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

This action gives the game away to her prey, capybara, who have got wise and know that a crowd of boats means danger. We saw a family of them swim straight towards the boats for cover. 

 

P9270981 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270984 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270990 (2) Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270997 (2) Black-crowned Night Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271003 (2) Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271034 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271052 (2) Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271054 (2) Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271060 (2) Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271073 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271079 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271085 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Julio kept us towards the back of the pack, being respectful of the Jaguar's space. He believes that if all the boats kept back people would see many more successful hunts, which I'd argue is a much better photo opportunity than thousands of head on walking shots.

 

P9271090 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271092 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271096 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271123 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271139 Jaguaress hunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

So photographers, as tempting as it may be to get to the front of the pack for those head on shots,  please think about the impact this has on the Jaguars' ability to hunt and ask your guides to behave responsibly! Who knows, you may be rewarded with something really special! 

 

Thankfully no boats are allowed after sundown and I guess whilst one jaguar is hunting in the open the other 24 in the area will be able to hunt in peace for a bit as all boats will be at the one sighting. Maybe they have a rota?

 

P9260636 Smokey Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9260642 Smokey Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270039 Roosting Egrets by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9271160 (2) Roosting Egrets by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[SafariChick]

Continuing the trip report to add a few photos of the hunting jaguar from the same afternoon @kittykat23uk was writing about, the afternoon of the 27th of September. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2019 by SafariChick

[SafariChick]

28th September 2018

 

This would be our last day in Porto Jofre. We had had such amazing luck seeing many jaguars, but all along we had really been hoping to see a jaguar cub. We knew there was at least one around because Bill Given of the Wild Source had posted that he had seen it and he'd been there just before us.  And Julio knew of it as well. I believe, if my memory serves me correctly, that it was a cub of around 6 or 8 months that we had heard about prior to this day but it had not been sighted during our stay at PJ.  This morning, knowing it was our last day, we expressed the hope that this would be the day we would manage to see the cub. Of course, you hope for things but know the chances may be slim. Once we got out on the river, amazingly we heard that some though they'd had  brief glimpse of a mother and cub! It took us a long time to get to the area where the rumored brief sighting was.

 

We went up and down both sides of a narrow island or spit of land as there was some thought she'd crossed over the river. The bank was high above us and we strained our eyes looking at the heavily vegetated areas along the bank. Suddenly ... there they were! A mother and a much smaller cub than we were anticipating, I think it was estimated to be about three months old? So this was a different one than the one we'd heard about previously! It was a very quick sighting, first the mother walking across the short opening in the vegetation and then the cub, and then disappearing into the bushes again. These are the best shots I managed to get:

The mother: 

 

 

and the cub:

 

 

 

It was very quick and we tried but didn't manage to find them again. Still, we felt very very lucky and happy to have seen them, and by sheer luck, we were the only ones there!

[kittykat23uk]

Whist it was a dream to see a jaguar cub, it turned out to be quite a frustrating sighting for me personally. I was on the offside of the boat when we were at this sighting. I had a clear view as the mother crossed:

 

P9281170 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

But just as the cub emerged, the boat, or Jane, shifted position and a white shadow appeared in the frame. I snapped off just one shot before my AF went off target and by the time it can back into focus the window of opportunity had gone and I just had a final glimpse of the cub disappearing into the thick cover, not to be seen again. I was really upset as I didn't really get to appreciate the cub crossing and it happened in a second or two so too quick to re-position for a better view. 

 

I tried to do a bit of PP on the one image I got and this is the best I could do with it so far.

 

P9281178adj copy 3 month old Jaguar Cub by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We had several further sightings of jaguars throughout the day. In fact it was hard to keep track of which ones we'd seen before. The second adult we saw was a female walking. She didn't stick around for too long. 

 

P9281217 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281234 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281242 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We saw another Jaguar lying down in thick cover, you could really only see bits and pieces, a few spots.. a leg.. not much to look at so we carried on. 

 

Other wildlife we encountered were the ever-present capybara, birds and iguanas. 

 

P9281247 (2) Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281250 (2) Cocoi Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281266 Black-collared Hawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281287 (2) black-fronted Nunbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9260564 Black Vultures by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270020 Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9270021 Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9280047 Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9280065 Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281301 Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281312 Capybara by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281325 Green Iguana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281335  Green Iguana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281351 adj copy by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281356 (2) Amazon Kingfisher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281363 adj Roots by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281394 Great Black Hawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281403 Great Black Hawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281421  Green Iguana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281442  Green Iguana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9280095 Green Iguana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

As we drifted down one of the channels we were surprised to find that we were being accosted by suicidal fish that repeatedly leapt into our boat. I would imagine that they were evading an underwater predator of some kind. 

[michael-ibk]

Wow, seeing a Jaguar cub is really extraordinary!

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks @michael-ibk Yes we were very lucky! Just wish it could have been a few seconds longer and that I didn't have my view obscured! 

 

We were watching Julio return one of the suicidal fish to the river, others had landed on the bank. The river terrain makes it difficult to keep track of where one is in the area. But Julio knows all the waterways like the back of his hand. At this juncture we were alone, it was the midday times when most of the boats have departed back to their lodges and flotels for lunch. He pointed to a Jaguar on the bank. It wasn't until I checked my images that I realise now that this is the same female we saw earlier in the day, after the mum and cub. We had her all to ourselves for a good amount of time before we were eventually joined by a couple more boats. During our private time with her she was quite active. 

 

P9281458 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281465 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281491 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281500 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281502 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281504 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

She got interested in something on the bank, what is this? 

 

P9281515 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281516 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Ah, it was one of the suicidal fish, a tasty snack for a hungry jaguar! 

 

P9281533 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281551 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Some black vultures were taking an interest in the Jaguar's spoils.

 

P9281566 Black Vulture by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

But our girl wasn't keen to share her meagre meal

 

P9281576 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281580 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281589 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281596 (2) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281602 (2) adj Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281606 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281608 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281669 Black Vulture by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

After chasing off the vultures she disappeared for a nap. We waited in vain for her to reappear or to get more word of the mum and cub before we reluctantly had to start heading back. We had encountered very few boats whilst we were waiting around and the reason for this became clear as we turned a bend to find nearly every boat encircling the riverbank. A handsome male jaguar was recumbent on a fallen tree. 

 

Being late to the party our initial position was not too good but we patiently waited and were able to get a better view towards the end of the afternoon. 

 

P9281718 Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9281771 (3) Jaguar by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

It was a great finish to our last afternoon on the river. That evening, and indeed the previous evening, there had been quite a heated discussion about what to do on our final morning. Jane and I had hoped to fit in a final early morning trip on the river and then head back along the Transpanteneira to Pouso Alegre in time for lunch.  Christa was keen to spend time on the Transparenteira highway, also Herbert had not come out with us on the last two full days owing to some injury with his back that made being out all day quite uncomfortable.

 

Julio counselled that the Transpanteneira had not been delivering the same quality sightings that Ian and I had experienced (we saw 3 tayra on the road on our last visit), in fact he hadn't seen Tayra on the road aside from that one time with us.  So we delayed making a final decision, pending the outcome of our quest for a jaguar cub on our final full day. 

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by kittykat23uk

[SafariChick]

A lot of my photos are similar to @kittykat23uk's but I will just add a few from this day that hopefully are not too repetitive : 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

29th September 2018

 

So given our luck with the cub the previous day we reluctantly agreed to forego an early morning boat ride and head on back to Pouso Alegre. But first I suggested that we swing by the pond at Porto Jofre hotel so that the others could appreciate the beautiful giant water lillies for themselves.  We had been planning to swing by there at some point but given the amount of jaguar sightings we never returned to the lodge in time to see it in daylight until now. 

 

When I was there the first time we stayed at this lodge and I remember thinking how beautiful the pond was back then. Here's a few a photographs from that time:

 

Giant waterlillies P1320460 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Giant waterlillies P1320461 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

and a couple of my favourite shots from that pond 

Rufescent tiger heron P1340674 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P1320441 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Well I regret to report that the pond is now a shade of it's former glory and according to Julio it is slowly dying, so I don't know really how long this sight will be around for. 

 

On a somewhat more overcast morning we still got a few birds

 

Striated Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr 

 

P9291784 Giant Waterlillies by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291795 Wattled Jacana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

P9291823 Striated Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291831 Striated Heron by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Around the grounds of the lodge were more birds.

 

P9291836 Bare-faced Curassow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291845 Grey-breasted martin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

On the way back we met an old friend, Great Horned Owls continue to nest in their usual spot:

 

P9291856 Great Horned Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291860 (2) Great Horned Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291882 Silver-beaked Tanager by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Our journey back along the Transpanteneira was much the same as our journey in. A few standing pools of water attracted flocks of wood storks, egrets and occasional roseate spoonbills, kingfishers and Caiman. If you read  @Botswanadreams's trip report you will note that they were quite disappointed that the drive didn't live up to their romantic notions of flooded wetlands teeming with birdlife (frustrating, given that we'd allowed extra time for them to appreciate the drive!). For me, perhaps it was a bit drier than when @BigBaldIan and I were last there, but I guess we were a bit further into the dry season than when we went before (August). 

 

Whenever we stopped to try and photograph the birds we were confounded as as soon as one of us tried to take a picture they flew off! 

 

P9291893 Wood Storks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291896 (2) Snowy Egrets & Wood Storks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291908 adj Wood Storks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9291952 (2) Wood Stork & Great Egret by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by kittykat23uk

[kittykat23uk]

The only good thing about not seeing much on the drive there meant we had more time to appreciate the wildlife at Pouso Alegre. Well that's how I tried to console myself anyway, so whilst some of the others had a bit of down time, I headed out for a walk. A colony of Yellow-rumped Caciques were building nests by a small pond. 

 

P9291957 Yellow-rumped Cacique by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

I was delighted to next encounter a very confiding and beautifully ginger-coated coati that came snuffling along seemingly unaware that he was heading straight towards me! It was only at the last moment that the coati noticed me and snorting in alarm raced off across the grass away from me!

 

P9292045  South American Coati by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292046  South American Coati by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292051  South American Coati by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292054  South American Coati by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292064 South American Coati by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Afterwards, it was time to head back for lunch.

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

After lunch I headed out again. 

 

Birding around the lodge entrance road also brought it's own rewards

 

P9292077 Savannah Hawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292132 Orange-backed Troupial by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292143adj Orange-backed Troupial by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292171 Chestnut bellied Guan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292174  Bay-winged Cowbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292179 Limpkin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292189 Monk Parakeet by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292197 Red Brocket deer by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292201 Orange-backed Troupial by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A male Greater Rhea was on chick-sitting duty

 

P9292220 Greater Rhea & chicks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292224 Long-tailed Ground Dove by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A particular highlight was finding a pond with two incredibly confiding sunbitterns, alongside Ibis and Caiman, and for once, the sun was out!

 

P9292267  Sunbittern by Jo Dale, on Flickr 

 

P9292268 Sunbittern by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

This Caiman was having a "late lunch"

 

P9292272 Yacare Caiman by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292280 Caiman by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292287 Caiman & Green Ibis by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292288 Caiman & Green Ibis by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292291 Green Ibis by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292296 White-winged Swallow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

I returned to the lodge to get ready for our afternoon trip to the tapir pond. 

 

P9290159 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

We saw a few agoutis from the "hide" including a mum and young one, too far really to get decent shots on the other side of the pond. We saw no anteater and no tapir and the weather was playing up again. 

 

P9292318 Azara's agouti by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292341 Azara's agouti & baby by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292352 Azara's agouti by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We did have a very fleeting sighting of Marmosets that crossed on the ground behind the pond before disappearing back into the surrounding forest. Sadly I did not get a shot but I think @SafariChick did. 

 

 After waiting as long as we could we headed back for dinner.

 

After a lovely meal, Jane and I headed back out with Julio, as her last night with us we didn't want to miss a thing! Christa and Herbert opted to stay behind. It was a great night drive! We first spotted a six-banded armadillo racing away in the dark- a good chance for a panning shot!

 

P9292375 Six-banded Armadillo by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Then we had a fabulous encounter with a tapir which we followed for quite some time and it was a wonderful opportunity to really appreciate the odd-looking beast!

 

P9292492 South American Tapir by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292493 South American Tapir by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292494 South American Tapir by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9292497 South American Tapir by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

After we lost sight of this one, we later saw a second individual- I think Jane got some nice video footage of it feeding:

 

P9292545 South American Tapir by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

[SafariChick]

I will add a few more photos from this last part of the trip in Northern Pantanal and a couple of videos as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entry in to Pouso Alegre has this beautiful tree that I admired each time we drove in

 

 

 

Daddy Rhea with his babies. 

 

 

 

and here's a little video of the Rheas (very short)

 

 

The agouti at the waterhole

 

 

 

Yes I did get a photo of the marmosets (or one of them!) but it's quite poor - can you see the marmoset leaping across in the back at about the middle of the photo?

 

 

I just loved the tapirs we saw on the night drive - such a cool animal!

 

 

 

 

 

This was the second one we saw eating leaves

 

 

and here's a video of the tapir eating:

 

 

 

[Botswanadreams]

For all how are interested in the names of a few of our seen Jaguars according to the www.jaguaridproject.com/jaguar-guide

 

Our two brothers are Kim und Tore

 

Our mating Jaguars are  Marley und Hunter

 

Our hunting lady should be Cesi. She is a new jung female in the area according to the scientists of the project. 

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

It's good to see some identities for the Jaguars, although Julio is pretty opposed to naming them so we didn't really get a lot of the background from him as to who was related to who! 

[kittykat23uk]

30 September 2018

 

Today was a sad day for me as we were saying goodbye to both Jane and Julio. We had an early morning walk around the grounds of the lodge. We searched high and low for the marmosets but although we heard them calling we never saw them. 

 

We were delighted to find another Blue-crowned Motmot and another Blue-crowned Trogon. But the light was not as good for photography. We stopped to appreciate some nesting jabirus. Coatis were also present but didn't stick around for photos. 

 

P9300012 Jabiru and young by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9300021 Solitary Black Cacique by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A Black-tailed Tityra was a new bird for the trip:

P9300038 Black-tailed Tityra by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P9300040 blossoms by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We stopped off at the same Chuhascaria that Ian and I ate at last time. It was a great experience, but not as amazing as it was on our first time. The rest of the day was spent getting to the airport, saying my goodbyes to Jane as she was staying in Cuiaba before her flight the next morning,  giving both her and later Julio a big old hug before we left and wishing Julio well in his upcoming surgery. 

 

We then caught our flight at 16:50 arriving  at 19:25  in Brasilia departing at 20:45 at Belo Horizonte and arriving at around 22:00. We searched a fair while to find the right stand for the courtesy bus to our hotel and once we eventually tracked it down we checked into Linx Confins- a perfectly comfortable setting for one night before our rendezvous the next day with Bob ( @Wildship) and our guide for the next three nights,  René Tubarara Santos. 

 

ETA: @BigBaldIan has had a play around with the Jaguar cub shot and got a bit more detail out of it  :

 

P9281178adj copy2 Jaguar cub by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited January 16, 2019 by kittykat23uk

[BigBaldIan]

GIMP plus GMIC filters to try and do some texture and tone enhancement, couldn't go too hog wild as you can end up with something truly nasty.

[SafariChick]

@BigBaldIan I don't know what that means but it looks quite good now!

[SafariChick]

I did not end up with too many photos from our last morning at Pouso Alegre, where we went on a walk as Jo said, at a very early hour. I will just share a few:

 

Julio from the back showing the tools of the trade for a Pantanal guide: Binoculars over one shoulder and a machete over the other:

 

 

I did mange to get a few "action shots" of the coati - blurry but I will say they are 'artistic' and post them since this will be my last post of the report:

 

 

 

 

 

the Jaiburu parent and offspring

 

 

 

and finally, some horses seen sharing a tender moment as we came to the end of our walk

 

 

With that, I will conclude my portion of this trip report and say thank you to @kittykat23uk for inviting me on this trip and having investigated so much of it by the time I came on board.  It was a good deal of work putting it together, but the trip was great fun and I am so glad to have been along on this adventure! And now, I turn it back over to Jo to continue with the rest of the trip.

[offshorebirder]

The yawning Jaguar photos are superb, and show the teeth well.   They look like very healthy teeth to this layperson.

[TonyQ]

@SafariChick I have enjoyed your trip! Lovely photos and great sightings- thank you.

[kittykat23uk]

More to come as we head to a completely different area in search of our last big mammal target!

[Kitsafari]

more awesome sightings and great images from you both.