Back to Pantanal - October 2021

[pedro maia]

7 hours ago, kilopascal said:

Loved the otter photos. I think I am more excited about seeing them than jaguars. Hope we do as well as you did.

It was one of the best sightings of the trip.

[pedro maia]

Third and final day at the river, some of the usual suspects

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One not so usual, another anaconda, not the best sighting since it was sleeping at this hole in the river bank

 

[pedro maia]

In 2013 tourism in Pantanal was starting to grow, there were many boats on the rivers and some sightings were a bit crowded although not as crowded as in the following years, in documentaries I could see that sometimes the rivers were packed with boats "fighting" for the best position.

 

This time things were totally different, it´s terrible for the people who rely on tourism to make a living but from our point of view it was just perfect, sometimes we felt like we had the whole river to ourselves, we had jaguar sightings without any other boats, even at the kill it was nowhere as crowded as it would have been in a normal year, it was just the best time for us to get back to the Pantanal.

 

The highlight of our final day at the river happened in the Três Irmãos river we started by spotting a female jaguar, it was a brief sighting and I didn´t get any pictures of that jaguar.

 

At that moment ours was the only boat there, we soon were joined by another boat from our hotel, another couple with their boatman, just like us.

 

In the same area we could hear roars coming from inside the jungle and after a while a second jaguar made its appearance, this time a male called Zangado (angry).

 

 

He wasn´t in a good mood and had some wounds in he´s face

 

 

Zangado doesn´t really like boats, as I was told and could confirm liver

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there he went

 

[pedro maia]

Then we heard more roars coming from the other river bank, we followed the sound, waited a bit and a third jaguar showed up

 

 

It was another male, Dumé, he also didn´t stay long with us

 

 

There were 3 jaguars in a 100 meters stretch of the river, we didn´t see but Dumé crossed the river and we spotted him again in the other bank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He too had some recent wounds, I suspect he had been fighting with Zangado and the reason should be the female we saw in the first place.

 

Dumé looked quite agitated, going in and out of the jungle

 

 

 

 

 

Last time we saw him he was about to cross the river but backed off, he looked stressed and I think the boats (ours and the other one) were disturbing him

 

 

 

 

 

He disappeared once again and it was the end of our last jaguar sighting, another great sighting, in total we saw 7 different jaguars, one kill, I don´t think it could be better (well, maybe if we had seen Ãgue´s cubs, we tried at the end if that day but they didn´t come out of the jungle).

[wilddog]

what fantastic sightings. Great TR.  thank you.

[Kitsafari]

Such an enjoyable TR and so wonderful to see the capybaras, the anteater, the anacondas, the otters, the primates, the great diversity of birds and of course those mascular impressive big cats!

thanks for taking time to do the report @pedro maia 

 

[LarsS]

Thanks @pedro maia you had a trip full of great sightings. Lots of jaguars, which is the main attraction for many, but the diversity is what makes it so interesting for me. Your otter with the fish photos are amazing. Enjoyed your anaconda in the road and fully understand your comment about being at the right place at the right time. It's unfortunate you had to go back for gas (at time of reading I feared you had a problem with the car, but luckily that was not the case), but once you are rewarded with a sighting like that, it's all forgotten.

 

 

PS: I had to laugh a bit in myself for your comments about having to leave Portugal to clear your minds. My wife and I did just that by visiting Lisbon the other weekend and it really helped to forget about daily life and measures in the Netherlands. For us, Portugal was such a relief with nice weather, open shops/restaurants, exploring the city and countless pasteis de nata; it definitely cleared our minds.  

[pedro maia]

Thanks for the comments @wilddogand @Kitsafari.

[pedro maia]

2 hours ago, LarsS said:

Thanks @pedro maia you had a trip full of great sightings. Lots of jaguars, which is the main attraction for many, but the diversity is what makes it so interesting for me. Your otter with the fish photos are amazing. Enjoyed your anaconda in the road and fully understand your comment about being at the right place at the right time. It's unfortunate you had to go back for gas (at time of reading I feared you had a problem with the car, but luckily that was not the case), but once you are rewarded with a sighting like that, it's all forgotten.

 

 

PS: I had to laugh a bit in myself for your comments about having to leave Portugal to clear your minds. My wife and I did just that by visiting Lisbon the other weekend and it really helped to forget about daily life and measures in the Netherlands. For us, Portugal was such a relief with nice weather, open shops/restaurants, exploring the city and countless pasteis de nata; it definitely cleared our minds.  

 

I read your TR and your opinion that everything was too "jaguar focused", it´s understandable since there´s no other place where you can be sure you will see jaguars but of course there are many other fascinating animals, such as the giant otters, and if you have a private tour on the river, either with a proper guide or with a boatman, you can decide what to look for aqnd how long you want to stay in one sighting.

 

In order to clear one´s mind right now I think anywhere different to where we leave is a good choice, it´s funny but I went to your country the other weekend and even if it was grey and raining all the time it was good enough to clear our minds, at least for a while (we did see a bit of blue skies but only on the train back to the airport ).

[LarsS]

15 minutes ago, pedro maia said:

I read your TR and your opinion that everything was too "jaguar focused", it´s understandable since there´s no other place where you can be sure you will see jaguars but of course there are many other fascinating animals, such as the giant otters, and if you have a private tour on the river, either with a proper guide or with a boatman, you can decide what to look for aqnd how long you want to stay in one sighting.

Yes, I didn't want to refer to my tr, as I don't think I did the Pantanal in the 'right' way. But I can fully imagine you appreciated there were lesser boats around on your trip. I need to go back one day, be better prepared, make a better planning and have a better experience. Although our brief visit was still was very special.

 

15 minutes ago, pedro maia said:

In order to clear one´s mind right now I think anywhere different to where we leave is a good choice, it´s funny but I went to your country the other weekend and even if it was grey and raining all the time it was good enough to clear our minds, at least for a while (we did see a bit of blue skies but only on the train back to the airport ).

That makes it even more funny!   Fully agree, change of environment can be really important right now.

[Atravelynn]

You saw lots on your self drive! Anaconda and giant river otters have to be at the top of the list.  Thanks for the video ride along the wooden bridge.  Glad to see those mating macaws.  Their species needs more of them. It was good to read about your approach to booking this trip and how well it worked.  Not only were you rewarded with solo jaguar sightings, but you were bringing some tourism dollars to a spot they were needed in these times. 

 

Good move to stay put at your river hotel.  Fantastic jaguar sightings here, along with that kill post, plus more otter.  I bet marbled eel is a new one for you.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Atravelynn

[BRACQUENE]

Thanks a lot @pedro maiafor this incredible trip report with fabulous pictures on top : the question is not will I go ,  but when ? 

[pedro maia]

Thanks @Atravelynnand @BRACQUENE.

 

@BRACQUENE, I advise you to go as soon as possible before tourism in the Pantanal goes back to the pre-pandemic numbers, I think it was really becoming to crowded, for that reason I don´t know if I´ll return to Northern Pantanal (never say never, of course), although I would like to visit Southern Pantanal sometime.

[pedro maia]

I have been to lazy to finnish the TR, but I will do it now.

 

Time to start the trip back home, but we still had one full day ahead of us, we had to drive the Transpantaneira again and we would sleep at the Pousada Piuval before leaving early in the morning to Cuiabá to catch our flight.

 

There is always something to see along the Tranpantaneira, birds mainly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pedro maia]

But the highlight was another Anaconda sighting:

 

 

 

[pedro maia]

We arrived at Pousada Piuval in time for a late lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon lazing by the pool, it was hot and everything was very dry and dusty.

 

 

 

 

So much that the capybara preferred the grounds of the pousada, where there was at least a bit of grass

 

 

 

 

 

At Pousada Piuval one can´t go for a walk in the (more or less) nearby forest because there are a few resident jaguars, we went for a night game drive and saw some jaguar footprints but the cat didn´t show up, we had to settle for a coati shown in this horrible picture

 

[pedro maia]

We had to leave to Cuibá early in the morning, around 7:30, but still we decided to go on a game drive starting at 5:00 with the condition of being back at 7:00, it paid off right after the beginning with a great sighting of a Giant anteater (and another embarrassing photo:

 

 

 

After the anteater was gone it started to rain, go news for the locals, not so good for us since after a while it was pouring and we had to take shelter inside the truck cabin, I had some hope of finally seeing a tapir but it wasn´t meant to be, all we saw was this turtle

 

 

and this Six-banded armadillo

 

 

And that´s it, it rained strong until close to Cuiabá but we arrived perfectly in time to the airport, the flights were smooth and we considered ourselves very lucky to have made such a great trip, the Pantanal really delivered in every way, weather, sightings and peace of mind, we could ask for more than what we got.

[Atravelynn]

3! jaguars is not a crowd but a celebration.  You beat the rain.  Good job.

[michael-ibk]

Such a great report Pedro! Your sightings were over the top excellent. A kill, Jaguars galore,Otter fun,Anaconda and Ant-Eater, not to mention all he cool birds. And excellent photos. Also enjoyed the videos, really taking me back. Such a paradise, and you experienced it without the crowds. Thanks so much for sharing!

[jeremie]

Fantastic @pedro maia!!!! You had a great safari! Many cat I don't know such as Dumé, Ague (who was the Queen during 2021 with many kills from her!), Kailana...

 

It's great to see that Dzangado (= Tusk) is still there! He is the dominant male around Corixo Negro and Lower Tres Irmanos River and fights strong to stay the kind as Juru came back on the Cuiaba River between Tres Irmaos and Piquiri Mouths. He starts to get full of scares!!!

 

I also definitely share your words that it's literraly diferent to be on the river alone. Same was the case for myself in 2020 and 2021 and it was a privilege! i would never go at Porto Jofré during the crowds otherwise, but being alone there was... a privilege!

 

I will try to eventually post my last pictures in the TR, I still need to finish it and I nearly ended to edit my pictures... It's coming!

[pedro maia]

On 1/15/2022 at 11:13 PM, jeremie said:

Fantastic @pedro maia!!!! You had a great safari! Many cat I don't know such as Dumé, Ague (who was the Queen during 2021 with many kills from her!), Kailana...

 

It's great to see that Dzangado (= Tusk) is still there! He is the dominant male around Corixo Negro and Lower Tres Irmanos River and fights strong to stay the kind as Juru came back on the Cuiaba River between Tres Irmaos and Piquiri Mouths. He starts to get full of scares!!!

 

I also definitely share your words that it's literraly diferent to be on the river alone. Same was the case for myself in 2020 and 2021 and it was a privilege! i would never go at Porto Jofré during the crowds otherwise, but being alone there was... a privilege!

 

I will try to eventually post my last pictures in the TR, I still need to finish it and I nearly ended to edit my pictures... It's coming!

 

The problem with the crowds is that to avoid them in a normal year one has to go during the rainny season, I don´t think I will do that.

 

I´m looking forward to see the end of your TR, I´ve been following it.

[jeremie]

2 hours ago, pedro maia said:

 

The problem with the crowds is that to avoid them in a normal year one has to go during the rainny season, I don´t think I will do that.

 

I´m looking forward to see the end of your TR, I´ve been following it.

 

Rainy season is nice but hard. You will see less cats on the river for two reasons: the prey are widespread in the marshes and flooded areas, sometime far away from the river, and when it's raining, cats are inside the thicket.

And bugs are voracious and difficult to handle. In Santa Rosa hotel, where we stayed, we couldn't even go out of the room or the restaurant. There were thousands of mosquitoes

[pedro maia]

2 hours ago, jeremie said:

 

Rainy season is nice but hard. You will see less cats on the river for two reasons: the prey are widespread in the marshes and flooded areas, sometime far away from the river, and when it's raining, cats are inside the thicket.

And bugs are voracious and difficult to handle. In Santa Rosa hotel, where we stayed, we couldn't even go out of the room or the restaurant. There were thousands of mosquitoes

What’s your opinion on the Santa Rosa Hotel?

 

I think it just shouldn’t exist there and it was one of the worst managed hotels I ever stayed at.

[jeremie]

2 hours ago, pedro maia said:

What’s your opinion on the Santa Rosa Hotel?

 

I think it just shouldn’t exist there and it was one of the worst managed hotels I ever stayed at.

True, we spoke a lot about it with Leen & Andre.

 

The point is that It’s a fishermen hotel, and the owners are not present in the lodge as it is the case in the great Hotel Pantanal Norte. Unfortunately his owner close during the rainy season