Jaguar On The Port Bow

By Jon Isaacs

Getting into a vehicle like a land cruiser is almost second nature when I’m preparing to set off on a game drive. Most of the vehicles used on safari are similar, and it only takes a couple of attempts at remembering how to climb up to the high seats before the routine is re-established. Once into my seat the normal organization takes place. Water bottle and lens cap in the canvas pocket in front of me and camera bag wedged safely on the floor so that it doesn’t fly off the seat if we hit bumps. (And we always hit bumps!) Then it’s a case of sitting in from the vehicle’s side, particularly in Africa, as the acacia trees with their couple of inch thorns can lacerate an arm or face in seconds if they make contact as you travel through the bush.

That’s how many of my trips looking for animals to photograph happen. That’s why it came as a bit of a culture shock when I arrived in the Pantanal, Brazil to try and photograph jaguar. A distinct lack of roads in that jungle but an awful lot of water. We were going to try and photograph jaguars by boat!

Jaguar sun bathing. Photo Copyright Jon Isaacs 2025

Our base was a flotel on the Cuiaba river, right in the heart of prime jaguar territory. The floating hotel was fascinating.  It was tied up to the river bank and from our rooms or decks we could see wildlife like Giant river otters going about their daily business. One of the rooms was a lecture theatre where we learnt in more detail about the wildlife. There was also a resident scientist who studied the jaguars and had a data base of all known jaguars in the region. If we found a new one and photographed it, we could name it. What an incentive!

The flotel’s boats were long, narrow and catered for ten people. They were also incredibly powerful and, with their water jet system, we could literally take off. I’m a poor swimmer and don’t like water but I had to concede this was going to be interesting!

Twice a day we clambered down to our boat, put on life jackets and wriggled into the narrow seats. Camera bags were wedged beside us as we soon discovered that the floor of the boat could become awash. Cameras were protected in plastic bags so that if we really had to speed up the spray wouldn’t get into the works. Then we were ready to explore the waterways.

For four days we followed the same routine twice daily. Leaving the flotel, we gently traveled down the Cuiaba until we met the waters that fed it. We turned into that feeder river and gradually moved on into smaller and shallower tributaries. All the time we scanned the banks and foliage which frequently came right down to the water’s edge. The jaguars regularly left the dark and gloomy forest to hunt the thousands of caiman which frequented the reeds or sandbanks.

During our time there we found five different jaguars. Mick Jaguar, a huge old male was spotted catching a caiman in the reeds whilst Salima peered at us apprehensively from deep cover. Strider, a young male, was spotted padding along a sandy river edge before turning back into the forest and Bianca, a two year old female, seemed as interested in looking at us as we were at looking at her as she stood high on a bank above us.

Jaguar peered at us from deep cover. Photo Copyright Jon Isaacs 2025

But the best sighting was of Adriano, a superb male in prime condition. We’d had a radio message telling us that he was sun bathing on a sandy ledge about a mile down river. We engaged full power and hurtled around the meanders. The boat leaned over as we cut through the water with spray rising like mist all around us. I initially wondered what would happen if we hit a log or the shallows. At the speed we were going it was probably best not to think about the consequences! Within minutes we throttled back and came across Adriano. He stared at us disdainfully and slowly lashed his tail a couple of times, sending a fine spray of sand over his flanks. We stared at each other with curiosity and, from our position, with admiration and respect

As the sun started to dip towards the horizon we left him and returned to the flotel. We all agreed that the encounter had been magical, the photo opportunities amazing and that we were incredibly lucky to have shared such an experience in one of the wildest parts of Brazil and seen a glimpse of the lives of the secretive jaguar.

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'Mayan Monarch' Young Jaguar by David Dancey-Wood