Anaconda Diving Trip Report 2026

Bonito, Brazil
August 29 - September 4, 2026

WILDLIFE WE ENCOUNTERED this season…

• Three green anacondas.

• Dwarf caimans.

• Yacare caiman.

• Tapirs.

• Giant anteaters, including a mother and baby.

• Red and Green Macaws.

• Burrowing Owls.

• Piranhas.

• Freshwater stingrays.

• river otter

• Southern tamandua.

• Capuchin monkeys.

• hairy armadillo

• howler monkey

August 29, 2026. Arrival Day

We made it to Bonito.

Sadly, our friend Antonio’s bag, with his entire camera kit, has not. It got lost somewhere in transit. Thankfully, he has an AirTag in the bag and can see that it’s sitting in São Paulo, but so far, that’s as far as it has gotten.

I really hope his bag makes it. He came all this way to experience and photograph these animals, and I want him to be able to document it.

Once we arrived in Bonito, we made our way to Juca’s office, our host operator, and sat down to fill out forms.

You know the forms.

The ones that remind you that what you are about to do is not necessarily safe. That we all knowingly agreed to jump into the water with an apex predator, and that if something happens to us, they are not responsible.

Those forms.

I can’t tell you how many of these I have signed over the years…

Countless.

After the briefing, we headed to the dive shop to pick up our dive gear, wetsuits, and fins.

Man, I love this part.

Knowing we are about to head off on an adventure!

It gets the juices flowing.

Once we got all the gear squared away, we headed to the hotel to start charging batteries and prepping everything we brought with us.

Batteries charging. Camera gear coming out. Memory cards ready. Everything getting organized for tomorrow.

And, of course, I got Gloria all dolled up and ready to dance.

Tomorrow morning, she goes back into the water.

I am using lights on this trip because snakes like to hide in the shadows and tuck up tight along the river edges, often beneath trees and rock ledges.

Natural light doesn’t always reach them, so for this trip, the lights come with us.

At 8AM, the real adventure begins!

August 30, 2026. Day One

8AM. LET’S GOOO!!!

We woke up to a warm, sunny sky.

That’s what we need. A hot, hot sun so the snakes will come out of their hiding spots and sun themselves.

It’s mating season and the dry season, which means the giant females are hanging out near the rivers, sunning themselves and releasing pheromones to attract males into the area.

This is what helps us find the snakes.

During the wet season, the snakes have so many places they can go and so much habitat to search for prey. But during the dry season, life has no choice but to come to the rivers to drink and cool off.

The predators know this.

This is why there are so many jaguars along the rivers in the northern Pantanal. And here in the south, there are green anacondas.

This is the reason we are here…

Our adventure officially begins.

We stopped by the dive shop to pick up our gear and the boats and headed over to the river.

This is all done on private land. Access to these rivers is through private property, which our host has permits to use.

Which means…

The rivers we visit have no real infrastructure. No ramps. No boat docks. Just small dirt paths leading down to the water.

These rivers are truly wild.

We have to carry our metal boats down by hand and lower them into the water. It’s not easy, but it is so worth it.

We got the boats in the water, loaded them with our gear, and off we went.

Man, I love this place!

We motored slowly down the river, searching the banks and looking through the tall grasses growing alongside them.

After about an hour, we decided to check a spot where we had seen a snake before.

Lucky for us…

She was home.

We moved away from her, geared up quickly, and dropped into the water.

She was tucked underneath some bushes along the riverbank. She was a little exposed, which these snakes don’t seem to like, so she left the spot and began swimming across the river.

Our topside eyes started yelling,

“She is coming out of the grass!”

I was in the water scanning the area for her, but I couldn’t see her.

Then they yelled at me to turn around.

When I did, I admit…

I jumped.

She was already halfway across the river, and I had absolutely no idea that this giant snake had just swum out, inches away, and right behind me.

I laughed at myself, snapped a few shots, and swam over toward where her head was.

She is a huge snake.

Thick and at least 5½ meters long.

Just massive.

She continued swimming out in the open along the river bottom.

Which is exactly what we were hoping for.

We snapped some fun images of her as she moved through the open water before eventually reaching the other side of the river.

Once there, she began looking for one of her familiar hiding spots.

We were hoping she wouldn’t find it.

But she did.

She tucked her head and more than half of her body deep underneath an overhang covered in grasses, dead tree branches, and plant roots, trying her best to disappear from us.

There was just one problem.

She was way too big for her hiding spot.

Her entire back half was still sticking out.

We hung around waiting for her to come up to breathe, which she eventually did, and we managed to get a few more shots of her.

After that, she tucked herself back in tight and clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

So we left her alone and went to have lunch on a pier next to the river.

There was a small lagoon right beside our lunch spot, and the boat crew told us there was a dwarf caiman in there with some babies.

We ate lunch quickly.

Because, of course, we had to go look.

We jumped in and found the caiman, and once we were in the water, we spotted a few of the babies.

Super cute little things.

Cuvier’s dwarf caimans have such beautiful color patterns on them. They are super elusive and very hard to find.

The water in the lagoon was incredibly shallow, which made it very difficult to move around without silting everything up.

It took us some time, but eventually we figured out the best way to approach and photograph this beautiful little caiman.

I tried to snap a few images of the babies, but they were way too fast and knew exactly how to hide themselves.

Momma was also not happy that we were there, so after we all got a few proof of life shots we left her alone.

Antonio managed to get a few video clips of the babies, with the GoPro I let him use.

And speaking of Antonio, we got some good news.

His missing camera bag was found by the airport and is supposedly en route to our hotel this evening via an airport courier.

Fingers crossed, everything is all still there.

After our time with the caiman, we went back to check on the anaconda.

She was still there, but now her head and about five feet of her neck was sticking out from her hiding place.

We got back in with her and photographed our beauty for a little while longer.

She tolerated us for a little while longer before slowly disappearing back inside her home.

We happily left her alone.

Day One was a huge success.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

August 31, 2026. Day Two

7AM. And the day is HOT!!!

We are going to feel the sun today for sure.

We are headed to the bridge, a spot along the Formoso River. The area is surrounded by grasslands with very few trees.

Which means…

The sun is going to cook us in our wetsuits.

But there is a reason we are going.

This river system has a healthy population of resident snakes. We have seen a record four green anacondas here in a single day, and this is also where we recorded a few videos that went viral and eventually racked up over 100 million views on social media.

Our van picked us up at 8:30AM.

No need to start crazy early. The snakes come out when the sun gets scorching hot.

While en route, we encountered a tapir crossing the road.

We stopped, jumped out, and started photographing it.

The tapir stopped walking and looked at us, giving us a few nice opportunities to capture some proof-of-life portraits.

It eventually continued walking, and we followed slowly from a distance.

There was a small forest ahead that we thought it might disappear into to get away from us, and the sun, but instead it walked over to a small island of trees and stayed there.

So we left it alone and continued toward the river.

The bridge is a famous spot. There are countless stills and videos of anacondas from this stretch of river.

And for some weird reason, I made a prediction this morning.

We are going to see three snakes today.

Very unlike me to do that.

But I was in good spirits and having fun with our day.

After an hour of searching, we have seen exactly zero snakes.

Nature continues to remind us that she is completely in control.

There are never any guarantees.

The search continues…

11:20AM. Still nothing.

We decided to break for lunch early and then make another trip up the river and have another go.

3PM

We are officially admitting defeat.

No snakes today.

We did, however, find another Cuvier’s dwarf caiman, which was a really nice surprise.

When we first spotted the caiman, it was lying motionless along the river’s edge, surrounded by weeds and grasses, doing its best to disappear.

We moved away and put on our scuba gear because the water was a lot deeper where we found it.

Plus, there was a lot of current.

As soon as we got into the water, the caiman dropped from the bank and disappeared.

The visibility in this section of river wasn't great, so I knew finding it again was going to be a challenge.

I dropped down and started searching near where we had last seen it.

And I got super lucky.

I love being lucky.

Within a minute, I found it.

The caiman was lying in a great spot, so I dropped down and started shooting.

Then I looked around.

Where are the boys?

I was alone.

They had jumped into the water with me, but we'd lost each other in the murk.

I wanted to go find them, but I knew that if I left, there was a pretty good chance I would lose the caiman again.

So I stayed put.

Not long afterward, Antonio appeared with his 360 camera.

Which means…

YES! His camera bag arrived last night with everything still inside.

Thumbs up for LATAM on this one.

Once Antonio arrived, I got him into position to shoot and keep eyes on the caiman while I went back to the surface to find everyone else and guide them to where we were.

We ended up having a really fun session with the caiman.

Then it was back to looking for snakes.

Sadly, they were a no show today.

So we left the river.

It was time to look for giant anteaters.

While driving, we encountered another tapir lying down in a field.

We slowly walked closer.

The tapir didn't move.

At this point, we started getting concerned. For a moment, we wondered if the animal might be close to death.

Eventually, it looked up at us sleepily.

Then it finally got to its feet and walked away.

That's when we saw how badly the tapir’s health was.

There were scars across its body. At first, we thought maybe it had been struck by a car.

But when I was able to look more closely at my photographs, I could see what appeared to be scratch marks along its side, puncture wounds, and some severe injuries around its hindquarters.

We wondered if perhaps this animal had survived an attack by a jaguar.

There is no way for us to know for certain what happened.

But whatever this tapir had been through, it had clearly been through something serious.

And it was still here.

We continued on.

Along the way, we had a few quick encounters with a greater rhea, a hairy armadillo, and a burrowing owl before heading toward a giant anteater hotspot that Juca knew about.

When we arrived, it didn't take long.

Giant anteater!

It was wandering through a cow pasture, searching for termites and ants.

Unfortunately, by the time we found it, the light was fading fast, so all we really managed were a few proof-of-life images.

But I didn't care.

It felt really good just seeing this wild, prehistoric-looking animal walking through the landscape.

Giant anteaters have relatively poor eyesight, but an excellent sense of smell and good hearing. If you move slowly, stay quiet, and pay attention to the wind, sometimes you can get really close without disturbing them.

We managed to get decently close.

And when we left, it was still wandering through the pasture, foraging for food.

Overall, it was a really good Day Two here in the Pantanal.

No snakes today.

But that's okay. A skunking today makes us appreciate the encounter we had yesterday that much more.

Nothing out here is guaranteed.

Tomorrow…Tomorrow is our day!!!

September 1, 2026. Day Three

We woke up to a wet, chilly morning.

It rained all night, and the sun isn't supposed to make an appearance until sometime this afternoon.

We did get a few glimpses of it while we were grabbing our gear at the dive shop this morning, but we really need these clouds to burn off before we have a real shot at finding snakes.

The anacondas aren't going to come out and sun themselves if it's cold.

But the caimans might be out.

So we decided to spend the morning scouting for them while we waited for our beloved sun to finally make an appearance.

So we can find some snakes!

We returned to the river we visited on Day One and went straight to the spot where we had encountered our big girl.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

So we kept searching.

No snakes.

No caimans.

Eventually, we stopped for lunch on a pier next to the small lagoon where our momma dwarf caiman has her babies.

There is also a small school of spotted piranhas living in the river, so we decided to jump in and try to photograph them.

They are very shy and weren't exactly interested in posing for our cameras.

But it was fun trying.

We searched the river for a while longer before finally calling it.

Despite the day warming up…

No snakes.

Our snake day was officially a bust.

So we changed the mission.

Yesterday, we had found a giant anteater late in the day. By the time we encountered it, the clouds had rolled in and killed what little sunlight we had left.

All we managed were a few proof-of-life photos.

Today, we decided to leave the river earlier and go back to the same area to try again.

We hit the jackpot!

We found a mother giant anteater with a tiny baby riding on her back.

Finding giant anteaters is always a privilege and a thrill. They can be difficult animals to find, and getting close enough to photograph one without disturbing it isn't easy.

BUT…

Finding a mom with a baby is the ultimate.

I've been coming to Bonito in search of anacondas and giant anteaters since 2018.

In all those years of searching, I have encountered a mother carrying a baby only twice.

Once a few years ago.

And today.

It took me a few years of trial and error to figure out how to approach anteaters quietly and photograph them without stressing them.

Our stealthy approach worked and we got respectfully close to them, and they never knew we were there.

The baby was so small, clinging tightly to its mother's back as she moved through the grass.

Such a precious scene.

And somehow, our timing couldn't have been better.

We arrived right at golden hour.

The light was just popping.

After struggling with clouds and bad light for most of the past two days, suddenly everything came together.

The photos came out really nice.

I was very happy.

We spent about half an hour photographing them. The mother never appeared to notice our presence, and eventually, we quietly left them exactly as we had found them.

From there, we headed over to the sinkhole where the red-and-green macaws gather.

It's always nice visiting this place.

There is something special about seeing these iconic birds living exactly as they are supposed to live.

Wild and free.

Not sitting in a cage with their wings clipped so they can't fly away.

The light was terrible for photography.

But we tried anyway.

Sometimes getting the photograph isn't really the point.

Spending time there, watching the macaws flying freely overhead, was a pretty great way to finish our day.

Day Three is in the books.

September 2, 2026. Day Four

We woke to sunshine and a beautiful blue sky.

The day begins with magic.

On the drive down to the river, we encountered a red-and-green macaw at her nest.

She was sticking her head out of a hole in a dead palm tree, so we stopped to snap a few shots of her.

Beautiful birds.

And a great way to start the day.

Today, we are heading to what I call the long river.

By long, I mean that once we are in it, we won't exit until late in the day.

The river runs deep through the canyons, and there isn't really a good way out until we eventually reach an exit point farther downstream.

But this is a great river.

And I was pretty sure we were going to find some giant snakes.

We arrived at the river, geared up, launched the boat…

And boom.

We found our first snake.

It was a snake we encountered last year.

Same giant female.

She is beautiful, and thick.

She was tucked into one of her favorite resting spots, but when she saw us, she spooked and took off.

We managed to get a few shots before she disappeared down a small waterfall.

And just like that…

She was gone.

Damn, she is a beautiful girl.

The search continues.

As we made our way down the river, we encountered a few freshwater stingrays and our first yacare caiman of the trip.

This was a big guy.

Sadly, he was also super shy and didn't stay put for very long.

After our first encounter, we lost him.

I searched around for a while and eventually found him again, hiding in a dark corner of the river, lying across a dead tree.

I managed to snap a couple of photos.

Then the caiman exploded out of there and disappeared into another dark section of the river.

That was that.

We climbed back into the boats and continued our search for snakes.

We searched.

And searched.

But we never found another one.

Just the giant female we encountered at the beginning of the river.

One is all you need.

But damn, it would have been nice to spend a little more time with her.

The encounter was way too short.

They are always way too short.

We eventually left the river and decided to spend what was left of the day searching for animals on land.

One more search for giant anteaters.

Sadly, we didn't find any.

But we did find a burrowing owl sitting in a beautiful little tree.

And the light was amazing.

The owl eventually flew from the tree and landed on a nearby boulder.

It stood there looking at us.

This evening, the light was just popping.

Hanging out with an owl was a nice way to finish Day Four.

Tomorrow is our final day…

And after everything this place has already given us, there is only one thing left to do.

Find more giant snakes!

September 3, 2026.  Day Five

Final day on the river.

We started by visiting the same spot as yesterday to see if the big female we found so close to port was home.

The boys went out there on kayaks to check and see if she was home.

If she wasn't there, the plan was simple.

Jump back in the truck and start checking rivers.

Today, it is just Marcelo and me.

The boys, Antonio and Ernesto, decided to check out one of the local cenotes and go diving to see a little piece of history.

There are fossil remains of a prehistoric giant ground sloth down there as well, so that should be pretty cool.

For us, the plan is three different rivers for one more chance to find an anaconda.

Fingers crossed we get one more day with them.

Our big female wasn't home. So we moved on.

Next stop…The bridge.

We visited this river on Day Two and only managed to find a dwarf caiman.

Hopefully today would be different.

We searched.

Sadly… No snakes.

So we stopped for a quick lunch, packed everything up again, and headed to River #3.

This stretch has no rapids. It's a beautiful river, and we've had success here in the past.

One last chance to find a snake and finish our day, and our week, with an anaconda.

But honestly, it has already been an epic week.

Anything we find today is a bonus.

1PM. We found a snake!

A small male green anaconda.

We managed to get into the water with him and snap a few photos.

The problem with the males is that they are much smaller than the giant females and can easily crawl up into the undergrowth and disappear.

So our encounter was really good… But brief.

The light was also a challenge.

The sun was incredibly strong, while the trees created deep, dark shadows everywhere. Every time the snake moved from the shadows into bright sunlight, the exposure changed dramatically.

I'm pretty sure I blew out a few shots.

But I think I still managed to get some good images of him.

And damn, these little males are cute compared to the giant females.

This guy had also just shed his skin. We actually found the shed lying on the riverbank.

His new skin was bright, shiny, and absolutely beautiful.

A pretty cool little snake to finish our final day on the river.

Along the way, we also encountered a southern tamandua, the giant anteater's much smaller, tree-climbing cousin.

I've had pretty good luck finding them on previous expeditions here, so it was nice to see one again this season.

We continued cruising the rest of the river.

But that was it.

No more snakes.

Just our little male.

And with him, we finished the expedition with three green anaconda encounters this season.

Of course we wanted more.

You always want more.

But this is what nature decided to give us.

And that's enough.

Before calling it a trip, we decided to make one last stop at one of Juca's water parks to see if the resident yacare caiman, was hanging around.

A wild caiman has made the river running through the park his home. We got to swim with him last season and thought it would be pretty cool to finish this year's adventure with another quick encounter.

We looked… No caiman.

Apparently nature had officially closed the wildlife request department for the week. 

So instead, we entertained ourselves photographing the resident capuchin monkeys hanging around the park. They are always looking for opportunities to rob guests of their snacks.

They can be quite mischievous.

And a lot of fun to photograph.

After our session with the monkeys, we finally called it.

A day.

And a trip.

It was a great week.

• Three green anacondas.

• Dwarf caimans.

• A yacare caiman.

• Tapirs.

• Giant anteaters, including a mother and baby.

• Macaws.

• Burrowing Owls.

• Piranhas.

• Freshwater stingrays.

• A tamandua.

• Capuchin monkeys.

I want to say a huge Thank You to my friends who joined us on this adventure.

To Juca and his crew for busting their asses for us all week.

And to the incredible wildlife of southern Brazil…

Absolutely LOVE YOU!!!

Until next time.

To Learn More about next season’s anaconda diving expedition… click here.