Spectacular Jaguar. We spotted this wonderful Jaguar in the Southern Pananal at Caiman Lodge. The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest native cat species of the New World and the third largest in the world. It resembles the leopard, but is usually larger and sturdier. It ranges across a variety of forested and open terrains, but its preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest, swamps and wooded regions. The jaguar enjoys swimming and is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush predator at the top of the food chain. As a keystone species it plays an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating prey populations.
At Caiman Lodge there is a wonderful project underway. The Oncafari Project (https://oncafari.org/en/) is a conservation initiative that aims to promote ecotourism, especially wildlife watching, in the Pantanal (Brazil) by habituating Jaguars in order for people to witness the behavior of these animals. It is a project well worth supporting.