From the group’s first introduction to Pantanal, it was clear this would be a special trip. This is a wetland extraordinaire where myriad birds and other wildlife, including jaguars, still thrive in great numbers. It was also clear from the start that this would be the photo trip that would provide us with some of the best close-up photography of these birds and wildlife that are particularly difficult to approach in many other areas.
Our first stop on our way to the central area of the Pantanal would put us in an incredible spot for a great bird photo fix. With boat access, we photographed hawks, kingfishers, and wading birds like the majestic cocoi heron in action at close range. When not out on the area’s oxbow sloughs, many of the area’s avian life could be photographed around the lodge grounds. Nanday parakeets, chaco chachalaca, and crested caracara were always close at hand, while many other tropical bird species could be found with just a little patience around the lodge’s feeders.
While our boat excursions provided many bird-photography opportunities, we consistently photographed giant river otters, capybaras, and caimans at close range. While here, we were treated to an exceptional photo session with a local troop of Azara’s capuchin monkeys that came to the lodge to see what treats they might find at the property’s bird feeders.
Let’s talk about Jaguars. With our photo introduction behind us, our next location would take us deep into the Pantanal. Here, the focus would shift to finding more elusive subjects to photograph. With our sights set on finding jaguars, our five days were spent working the river shores and side channels from the comfort of small, maneuverable speedboats. The most important aspect of our days on the water was the skill of our masterful river guides. Through radio communication with other boats, all three of our boat guides demonstrated outstanding boat-handling skills, putting us into position for at least five good Jaguar photographic sightings each of our five days on the river system. Each day’s sightings included multiple cats in different settings, from poised overhead in stately riverside trees to stretched out on riverine sandbars, along with swimming jaguars. From our very first of ten boat excursions, this was one of those photo trips where each day seemed like it could not get better, but each day did and, in fact, complemented the past day’s photography experience.
When not engaged in a photo encounter with one of the area’s large cats, there was always a tropical bird, monkey, caiman, or capybara to train our cameras on. We even had three more encounters with giant river otters, including one in which a particularly adventurous adult otter approached a swimming jaguar and took a bite of the aquatic cat’s foot, prompting the jaguar to exit the river immediately.
The grounds surrounding our Jaguar lodge provided plenty of additional photography opportunities when not out on a boat excursion. There was no shortage of the beautiful hyacinth macaws that call the area home to photograph. Toco toucans, wattled jacanas, and ibises of several varieties were easily observed and photographed around the property. Azaras’s capuchin monkeys and the ever-present capybaras were also in the mix for a photographic good time.
It seemed important to the flow of this photo adventure that we not leave the Pantanal cold turkey and head straight to Cuiaba, so one more stop on the way back to the city was in order. Our final lodge on the outskirts of the Pantanal would ease us out of the trip with one more opportunity for birds and wildlife. Here we photographed sunbitterns up close, as well as a particularly approachable jabiru. This lodge’s feeders added a few new tropical songbirds to our list, but the real highlight was an amazing encounter with an otherwise shy Brazilian tapir as it emerged from the forest and moved alongside our boats, wading through beams of evening sunlight.
Brazil’s biologically rich Pantanal is one of the natural photo locations that continues to improve over time and, for now, offers an incredible immersion into the world of tropical wildlife photography that is difficult to match. There is always some wildlife to photograph. From sunrise to sunset here in the Pantanal, all three of our chosen locations provided plenty of the highest-quality photography opportunities, all well managed by expert boat drivers and guides, for one of the most fulfilling nature photography experiences focused on one of the world’s most charismatic wild cats. I can’t think of a Van Os Photo Safari that has disappointed me or any of my fellow photographers, and this photo experience ranks high on the list of favorites.
