Porto Jofre Afternoon Safari Day One

After a buffet lunch and a quick nap, we leave again at 14:00. David feels well enough to join us now, which is great. I am so sad he missed the excitement this morning, and hope we get to see another jaguar this afternoon.

Before we even reach the dock, we see a couple of large birds.

Southern Caracara

Jabiru

We head straight back to where we saw the cats this morning, and thankfully they are still there. This time there are four big cats, however, with both the sub-adult cubs in the tree, along with dad.

The cubs

With dad on the left

Meanwhile, mum is on the ground below, calling for her babies.

They reply, shifting restlessly on the tree, moving around, trying to get past dad.

Dad is having none of it! He thinks the cubs are old enough to become independent now and is trying to separate them from their mother as he will not be able to mate with her again until they do. Typical male, putting sex before the family!

Prompted by seeing mum swim across the river, and realising that they are fighting a losing battle as far as dad moving to let them pass, the cubs make their way in the opposite direction, to the edge of the tree.

Mum on the opposite bank

With one last look at us, as if to say “wish me luck”, the cubs jump off the tree and into the water, one after the other, landing with a huge splash!

Geronimo!

The fist cub starts to swim immediately, occasionally checking that his brother is following behind, before making his way to the opposite bank of the river.

The other one follows.

A hungry caiman looks on with interest.

While the cubs go off together looking for mum, we return to see what dad is up to.

Mum

The cubs

He continues to look grumpy.

Still in his favourite tree (we are looking at him from the other side now), the jaguar fidgets a bit, moving up and down the branch.

He is obviously still feeling frustrated!

We leave him be and go off to see what else nature has to offer us today.

Roseate Spoonbill

Caiman

Rufescent Tiger Heron

Green Iguana

Female howler monkey – the males are black while the females are brown.

Black Shouldered Hawk
I am not sure quite what this hawk is doing, it looks like she is fighting with a stick! She puts on quite a display, jumping up and down, spreading her wings, jumping on the stick, and eventually picking it up.

I do wonder if she thinks it is a snake? Perhaps she is short-sighted?

Yellow Billed Cardinals
As we make our way back to the lodge, we see a small flock of cardinals frolicking on the beach.

We return to the hotel for a shower, buffet dinner, and then bed.

Goodnight from Porto Jofre. Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip.