Wildlife of the Pantanal Photo Tour 2024 – Dale Morris
The tabebuia trees of Piuval in the Northern Pantanal were in full floral display when I arrived for the first of my 2 Oryx Photo tours this year. I call them ‘the candy floss’ trees for obvious reasons.
Their pink flowers are a spectacular sight. The scenery of Piuval, which, being a tapestry of lakes, woodlands, and open grasslands, is always stunning no matter the time of year; but when these outlandishly coloured trees are flowering, it adds an extra layer of serene glory.
It looks as if a small child with crayons has been given free-range to colour things as she sees fit.
My group and I spent our first afternoon driving amongst these pink trees, and we paused here and there to take photos of the wildlife. We particularly enjoyed a session with a herd of capybaras (the world’s largest rodent) as they wallowed in a shallow lake, some of them wrestling playfully, as if they had not a care in the world.
But there is danger in this place. Especially for a capybara.
One had an injury on his back… Signs that the Pantanal’s apex predator- the Jaguar- was somewhere nearby… perhaps hiding behind a bush. Watching. Waiting. But for now, remaining hidden.
We observed and photographed rosette spoonbills who were equal in hue and brilliance to the pink trees under which they waded; swinging their spatula shaped bills from left to right in the shallows of a pool.
Birds were everywhere. They always are in this seasonally flooded environment, and I think we managed to count something like 60 unique species in just a few hours of exploring.
There were rheas (South America’s version of the ostrich) and there were long-legged jabirus stalking the margins of the woods in search of nesting material.
The skies were alive with raptors and vultures and noisy parrots, as they crisscrossed the cloud free expense up above.
We spent two full days in this wonderful location, photographing capuchin monkeys, caiman alligators, and beautiful birds by the bucketload.
But our ultimate target was the giant anteater.
These outlandish creatures with their bow shaped heads, and huge shaggy tails, are present throughout the Pantanal, but it is here in Piuval, amongst the cemetery like scenery of termite mounds, that we would have our best chance of encountering one.
And so, up long before the crack of dawn, we headed out in our open-air photo truck and scoured the darkness with our powerful torches.
These creatures are never a guarantee. Sometimes we find them, and sometimes we don’t.
But this year we got lucky.
At first light, as the sky turned pink and the tabebuias started to glow, I spotted some movement behind a towering termite tower.
We stopped the vehicle and waited, and before long, a strange and beguiling creature emerged and sauntered across the plains.
Quietly we followed on foot, taking care not to make a single sound, nor step on a twig, lest we alerted it to our presence. Thankfully, the breeze was in our favor.
Giant anteaters have appalling eyesight. They can barely see a thing. But their sense of hearing is acute, and as one might expect for a creature whose nose is almost as long as its body, they have an incredible sense of smell.
One whiff of a human, and our quarry would have bolted for the nearest patch of trees, and vanished.
But luck, and skill at animal tracking, were on our side.
My guests managed to get numerous photos of this unusual beast before the sun made a full appearance and it was time for the anteater to go to bed.
Sometimes on my annual Pantanal trips, we get lucky like this. This year however, was phenomenal. We encountered and had photographic opportunities with three of them.
During our night drives in Piuval, we found slinking ocelots (the smaller cousin to the mighty Jaguar) and we found potoos and foxes, and all manner of owls and other nocturnal birds.
And talking of Ocelots, our next location for two nights was a charming little lodge secluded in a forest setting where lady luck blessed us with an amazing encounter.
An Ocelot, accustomed to the noisy comings and goings of lodge staff, afforded us an out of this world photo session that was beyond our wildest expectations.
We all came away with beaming smiles and overtaxed camera cards.
As well as the Ocelot, we also got to photograph a charming and beautiful pair of Hyacinth Macaws (the world’s largest flying parrot) as they busied themselves at their nest hole in a tree right in front of our chalets.
They are noisy birds; squawking and bickering constantly, but the din was easily forgiven due to the fact that they were as photogenic and as fun to watch as a pair of costumed street performers.
Night drives produced an encounter with a Tapir (one of my all-time favorite animals) They look rather like a cross between a donkey, a hippo, and an elephant.
It was hard to take photos in the darkness, but the meeting was a memorable one.
After two additional days of forest photography, during which we snapped Marmosets, howler monkeys, Coatis, and of course, dozens upon dozens of bird species, we departed our forest hideaway and headed down the dusty Pantanal Road to Porto Jofre. It was then a half hour boat ride to where our beautiful house boat (our hotel for the next 5 nights) lay anchored against the bend of the Cuiaba River.
But before then, we ventured out onto the Rio claro; a stretch of river where a handful of hawks, herons, and kingfishers have formed a relationship with our boat driver. A fish or two, flung from the boat, gave us some incredible opportunities to photograph these predatory birds as they splashed dramatically into the water for a proffered reward.
Once we had settled into our cabins, and feasted on a buffet lunch, we went out onto the Pantanal River systems in our specially outfitted photo speed boat in search of the formally elusive Jaguars.
I say “formally” because once, not so many years ago, you would never reasonably expect to go on a photo trip and see one of these beautiful cats. But nowadays, because of the presence of photo groups plying the rivers on a regular basis, these magnificent apex predators have become accustomed to our presence.
It took under an hour to find our first big cat.
For the next magical five days, we ventured out in our speed boat, both during the mornings, and during the afternoons, and managed to see, if memory serves, 16 different jaguars, as they lazed next to the water, or went hunting for their favorite prey.
Their prey mostly consists of Caiman alligators, and on several occasions, we actually witnessed these big cats hunting successfully.
The highlight this year, at least as far as I was concerned, was when we found a jaguar swimming across the river. Jags often swim, and are most aquatic of all the big cats. But it wasn’t seeing her swimming that was the big thrill. It was the fact that when she came ashore, we discovered she was with her tiny little cub. She paused on the bank and watched us with quizzical eyes, no doubt wondering what the heck we were, all excitedly leaning to the one side of our boat, big lenses pointed towards her. I don’t think she had seen a human up to that point in her life.
I’ve been to the Pantanal on 18 separate occasions, and in that time, I, and my guests, have seen and photographed many amazing things. But this was the very first time I had seen a little cub.
Usually, they are ensconced and hidden, deep in the forests, away from the dangers of Jaguar males.
And talking of babies…
We found an otter den. A cave in the river bank where a pair of giant river otters gave us the treat of a lifetime.
We had followed this pair for many hours over the preceding five days as they hunted ravenously along the shallows of tributaries, massacring fish with alarming efficiency.
They gave us so many opportunities to capture their lives and behaviors with our cameras.
They would fish for hours and then return to their den to sleep, and so I made the call on our last day to drop anchor and simply wait to see what would happen.
A few hours passed, pleasant hours, as we all sat patiently, enjoying the ambiance of the Pantanal, and then, as I was hoping, the magic began.
First, the two adults came out of their cave and played awhile right next to our boat. And then, much to our delight, three little cubs emerged for a swimming lesson.
We had front row seats, as they rolled and splashed around in the river right next to where we had set up our floating photo studio, and for the next 45 minutes, we all became the Otter Paparazzi.
The Pantanal is, in my opinion, one of the greatest wildlife photo destinations in the world.
Not only will you photograph Jaguars, but the variety of other animals is mind blowing.
From primates to racoons, otters to ocelots, and from jaguars to the hundreds of bird species that live here, you would be crazy not to put this place on your bucket list.
Oryx and I look forward to hosting you here. So, do yourself a favor, and come along with me … Just remember to pack plenty of photo cards. You’ll need them.
