Jaguar Exploratory Expedition Trip Report July 2025

Northern Pantanal, Brazil
July 19 - 23, 2025

July 19, 2025 – Arrival Day
We’re back in the Northern Pantanal, heading toward the Jaguar Eco-Lodge. 

After wrapping up our time in Manaus with pink dolphins and our last group, we caught a flight to Cuiabá and started the long journey south.

This is our first time visiting during the wet season. Normally, we run our Pantanal trips in September when the waters recede and wildlife gathers along the riverbanks. 

This trip is a chance to evaluate the experience in July, see what the differences are, and determine if future expeditions might shift to this time of year.

The Transpantaneira dirt road never disappoints. 

Wildlife was everywhere: capybaras, rheas, caiman, and more bird species than we could count. It’s one of the richest ecosystems I’ve ever seen, so full of life. 

Every bend in the road is like stepping deeper into a dream.

During the evening we had an amazing surprise… there was not a cloud in the sky and the stars were out and the night’s sky was just exploding with life!

The Milky way Galaxy was so strong, and so beautiful.

It was magical.

I was kicking myself for forgetting my tripod to try and photograph it with my wide angle lens.

I was able to snap a few shots with my Iphone that surprisingly came out okay.

Mari shot an incredible one with her phone.

Mental note… bring a tripod for our upcoming August trip.

 July 20, 2025. Day One on the River

Congrats to David, our son’s first appearance on Shark Week airs tonight. Proud moment for the family.

We kicked off our time on the river this morning, departing from Hotel Pantanal Norte in Porto Jofre. 

One of the first things we noticed: July is significantly cooler than our usual September trips. It makes for really comfortable mornings on the water.

Our first jaguar sighting came quickly. 

Inka, a six-year-old male, was feeding on a dead cow on the riverbank. He had a fresh scar on the right side of his face. No idea how the cow got there, this is far from any ranch land that we could see.

Next, we spotted Guaraci, a female we’ve observed for the past four years. 

Two other cats were seen in passing by other boats, but since we didn’t lay eyes on them ourselves, we won’t count them.

Then we encountered Patricia, a familiar female with a fresh mating scar. She was actively hunting.

Our fourth cat was Medrosa, resting in the shade after a successful caiman kill yesterday. She looked content and well-fed.

After lunch, we found a fifth jaguar, hunting along the riverbank. At first, it disappeared into thick brush, and the guides thought it might be preparing to cross the river.

The other two boats backed off to give it space, and they were right. The cat emerged again and crossed in almost the exact spot we first saw him. 

He’s a five-year-old male named Bagua.

Later in the afternoon, we found Medrosa again. She was hiding from the heat under a tree.

Another sighting came near the end of the day, a floating caiman carcass. 

Later we found out that Patricia swam into the river and dragged it back to shore to feed. So bummed we missed that.

By 4:00 p.m., the cats had mostly settled in to rest, hiding from the heat… it got hot.

We called it a day and headed back to port to see if we could stream David’s Shark Week segment from the lodge.

July 21, 2025 – Day Two

The first sighting of the day: Patricia and her cub, Makala. 

They were feeding on the same dead caiman from yesterday. 

It was special to see Makala again, I photographed her last season when she was just a tiny baby.

Around 10:30 a.m., we found a young female jaguar. 

She seemed like she wanted to cross the river, but instead, she began hunting. We followed her for over an hour as she stalked and startled a few caiman, but made no kills.

We later identified her as Guaraci. 

She hunted hard for over three hours. At one point, she launched herself into the river, claws out, aiming for a caiman. 

She missed. I didn’t. 

The camera was up, focused, and I got the shot. We’ll see how sharp it is when I get back to the room, but I know I captured the moment.

No successful hunts yet, but there’s still time. 

After three hours, we ended the sighting and cruised to another area, hoping for tapirs.

It turns out the wet season is a bit tougher for tapirs.

That said, we did have a highlight: two giant river otters enjoying a dust bath and basking in the sun. Beautiful animals, full of personality, and the images were totally worth the detour.

On our way out of the Piquiri River, our sister boat radioed in, another jaguar on the river’s edge. 

We caught up in time to see Akoli, a two-year-old. 

That brought our cat total to four for the day.

As we neared port, we spotted a small boat stopped ahead. 

Turns out, they were watching yet another jaguar. 

This was a big male, relaxed, unscarred, and just a few feet from a couple of fishermen. 

The jaguar was completely unfazed. 

Like lions near safari trucks, these Pantanal cats are used to boats. 

This one’s name is Tango, a three-year-old. The evening light was perfect and we captured some beautiful images to close out the day.

July 22, 2025. Final Day on the River

We left the lodge at 6:00 a.m. 

Our first sighting was Marcela, resting in the shade. 

We stayed with her briefly before continuing… today the goal is a hunting jaguar.

We ran into some giant river otters eating breakfast and rolling around wrestling and playing, like otters do. 

Next up: Patricia, again. She’s one of the most famous cats in the Pantanal, and for good reason. When we arrived, there were a lot of boats surrounding her. 

While in that area, we searched for the boat-billed heron, a bird that reminds me of the shoebill in Uganda. 

We found a group of six or seven in a tree. Not perfectly positioned, but I captured proof-of-life images. 

A nearby yellow-billed cardinal was bathing in the river… another bonus.

Around midday, we found Jaju, a nine-year-old female. She holds a special place in our SDM family, she was sponsored by our guests back in 2019. 

She was hunting, but the area quickly filled with a lot of boats. We lost her in the trees.

At one point, we had two jaguars on opposite sides of the river. The boats split up, following different cats. 

After losing visual contact, we took a quick stop on a sandbar, because nature called. 

And of course, jaguar prints were in the sand. A reminder that even when you can’t see them, they’re always nearby.

Patricia reappeared later, still hunting. The heat had picked up, and most of the boats dropped their canopies to give the guides better visibility.

Later, we found Medrosa again. She was hunting, but the crowd of boats became overwhelming for me.

I asked our captain to move on to find our own cat.

 I know we’re all here for the same reason, but open radio calls meant the moment was quickly overrun. 

It’s the double-edged sword of ecotourism, and this time, it felt like we were on the wrong side of the blade.

We switched rivers to search for tapirs, and the moment we entered, we saw another jaguar. 

A three-year-old female named Kyyavera. She was perched on a ledge, then dropped down and settled into a nap. 

What was wild to me was she could of chosen a private place to sleep, instead she chose an open ledge with boats looking at her. 

A calm and beautiful moment to end our journey.

The Pantanal still holds its magic.

 Its rivers are alive, its forests whisper stories, and its jaguars continue to leave us speechless.

We’ll be back.