Once despised, jaguars become a symbol of eco-tourism in Brazil’s Pantanal

Stretching across the western portion of Brazil and into Bolivia and Paraguay, the Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland and is home to a wealth of biodiversity — including the jaguar, the largest cat in the Americas. While jaguars exist throughout Latin America, with the occasional sighting even being reported as far north as Arizona, actually encountering one in the wild is incredibly rare. These apex predators, like most wild cats, tend to be highly elusive.

But the Pantanal is one of the only places on Earth in which jaguar sightings are relatively common. Unlike dense rainforest which conceals its wildlife among a patchwork of foliage, the Pantanal wetland has a much more open landscape. Visibility of most animals is less obstructed, and visitors can often catch a good look at jaguars, tapirs, giant anteaters, capybaras, anacondas, and giant river otters.

During the summer months, when precipitation declines and water levels fall, the wildlife of the Pantanal often congregate along river banks in search of food and water. Clusters of capybaras, caimans, otters, and other creatures can be seen crowding the winding, muddy slopes of the river’s edge — and it is this abundance of prey that draws jaguars out from the undergrowth.

Photographers and wildlife enthusiasts from across the globe continue to flock to the Pantanal year after year to experience this natural gem located right in the center of South America. And wild jaguars are usually first on their must-see lists. 

Cattle ranchers turned wildlife preservationists

In relative terms, international tourism to the world’s largest wetland is a new phenomenon, but humans have been living in the Pantanal for millennia. Brazil’s surrounding Center-West region is also now a hotbed for cattle ranching, another easy prey for jaguars.

“There has been much conflict between ranchers and jaguars, especially for those who have small-scale farms,” explains Christine Wilkinson, conservation biologist and wildlife ecologist at the University of California Berkeley. “If your animal is killed and you rely on a small amount of livestock for your livelihood, that’s not great....