Our last day and a bit at the Caiman Ecological Reserve focused on experiencing the different biomes (replanted forest, dry forest, savanna forest, cordillero forest, wetlands and savanna) present in the reserve. The landscape changes frequently, as do the species present. The reserve is 130,000 acres, some of which is used for tourism and cattle ranching (with pantaneiros on horseback to herd them; never call them gauchos!) but much of the reserve is entirely pristine.
We continue to be very lucky, particularly with regards to seeing tapirs. It is deemed rare to see a tapir in the Pantanal, but at least some of our group have now seen 9, three of them in broad daylight! On Tuesday's drive we saw a large group of collared peccaries (javelinos) as well as the final species of deer.
Last night we went to a barbecue hosted at the horse stable, with local music provided by a guitarist and an accordion player. Afterwards on a short night drive we saw a large male jaguar as he darted across the road. This morning we saw his footprints in the dust along the side of the road. Our trip leader estimates that the jaguar weighed at least 135 pounds from the prints. Altogether we have had 8 jaguar sightings of 7 individuals.
Wednesday afternoon will be spent driving back to civilization and a Thursday morning flight to Sao Paolo. This will mark the end of our Pantanal trip, but we will go on an extension to see the Iguazu Falls before returning home.
Pictured: Collared Peccary, Pantaneiros, Red Brocket Deer, Jaguar at night
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