It was said that it couldn\u2019t be done: the terrain was too dangerous; the floods would wipe out the cameras; the system was too unpredictable. But the truth is, no-one had really tried Andi Cross tells Melissa Hobson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We were headed to Porto Jofre, known for its wild\u00a0jaguars<\/a>, to help the\u00a0Jaguar Identification Project\u00a0<\/a>(JIP) complete a 41-site camera trap grid \u2013 one of the largest ever installed in South America\u2019s\u00a0Pantanal<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 to measure jaguar density inside the park using non-invasive methods.<\/p>\n JIP \u2013 a non-profit that studies how these cats are responding to a rapidly shifting ecosystem \u2013 has documented over 478 individual jaguars, building the world\u2019s largest wild jaguar database.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0Edges of Earth<\/a>\u00a0team was joining JIP\u2019s founder\u00a0Abbie Martin<\/a>,\u00a0Brazilian biologist Jo\u00e3o Rodrigues, and Cigano Silas \u2013 a local Pantaneiro born and raised in this unforgiving terrain. <\/p>\n Current estimates put the local jaguar population at over 1,600 individuals but no-one has directly measured the park\u2019s jaguar population. Soon, thanks to this new grid, the team will finally have a number rooted in concrete, long-term fieldwork.<\/p>\n Every day for a week, we made our way up and down the rivers searching for the cats, waiting for the loud bark of a capybara<\/a>, signalling danger to the others. Out here, everything respects the jaguar.<\/p>\n Jaguars<\/a> will take down just about anything. Think guinea pigs, iguanas, birds, even giant river otters <\/a>(a new behaviour in the region).\u00a0<\/p>\n Each cat has its own hunting method. Some walk the banks. Others lurk in trees, diving down from five to eight metres above.\u00a0<\/p>\n We saw two jaguars pushing those limits. A jaguar named Ousado was spotted diving under the water, stealth-hunting caiman from below \u2013 a technique never seen before.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then another called Medrosa launched herself from the treetops to dive down to catch prey. These cats are unlocking new levels of predation and adapting in real-time to a dynamic ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a highly flexible\u00a0apex predator<\/a>, the jaguar has learned to exploit aquatic environments in ways few other big cats do.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jaguars are built for this. Massive heads, thick necks, and paws like sledgehammers. They have the strongest bite force of any\u00a0big cat<\/a>, which is an evolutionary adaptation to crush through turtle shells and reptilian prey. And they\u2019re extremely powerful swimmers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Helena Aimee, a veterinarian at\u00a0JIP told us\u00a0that, in this river-dominated ecosystem, jaguars regularly hunt aquatic prey such as caiman and capybara, but individuals like Ousado and Medrosa take this further by diving underwater or from trees \u2013 learning from experience and refining their aquatic hunting techniques.\u00a0<\/p>\n River systems are critical refuges: they provide food during extreme events like droughts and fires and shape unique hunting strategies that allow jaguars like Ousado and Medrosa to thrive.<\/p>\n Life for these cats isn\u2019t without risks. Some break their canines taking down armoured prey like caiman. Others die from territorial fights, old age, or the sheer brutality of the wild. Jaguars typically live between 12 and 15 years in the wild, but some survive well past 17.\u00a0<\/p>\n Within this\u00a0wetland<\/a>\u00a0wilderness, jaguars are not currently endangered. But that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re safe, especially as human pressures continue to grow. Andi Cross is an expedition leader, impact strategist, and\u00a0SSI-certified technical diver<\/a>. Through\u00a0Edges of Earth<\/a>, she works alongside scientists, Indigenous leaders, and coastal communities worldwide to document climate resilience and uncover solutions already working on the frontlines of conservation.<\/p>\n
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