NEW WILDIFE WATCHING EXPEDITION IN THE HEART OF BENI BOLIVIA
Spectacular scenery and amazing encounter with a Jaguar , Pink Dolphins and a monster Black Caiman.
On the 17th of Feb, we departed to explore a new area for potential tourism , this project aims to follow in the footsteps of our successful pilot Jaguar conservation project San Miguelito Jaguar Reserve where through tourism we aim to compensate Ranchers who encourage tourism and in turn stops the killing of Jaguars and other wildlife on the properties. With the help and support of the director of Conservation Loros Bolivia( Jose Antiono Diaz )and the friendly and very professional property owner Fenelon we departed Trinidad on this conservation based adventure.
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| Amazing Queen Victoria WaterLillys along the drive to the Ranch |
To reach the Ranch is an adventure in itself, it involves a 5 hour drive with stunning scenery, along the way we observed many Macaws, Capybara and even a dead Anaconda, the owner told us once he had seen a 5 metre Anaconda on the road as well as several Pumas.
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| Sad remains of a Green Anaconda, killed by a Car on the dirt road towards the Ranch. |
After a few hours we finally entered the town of San Ramon, here we crossed a plontoon as there are no bridges to cross the river as yet, we had lunch in the towns Plaza before setting the boat up for the 4 hour long river trip ahead.
To reach the ranch , we nagivated through many different rivers, sadly the first part of the trip was soured by the sight of 4 recently killed endangered Black Caiman which were just shot and left floating in the river. We pushed deeper into the Jungle and the large rivers made way for smaller pristine waterways, here Pink Dolphins, Macaws, Hoatzins and Capybara were frequent and the best sighting we had was of a giant 4 metre plus Black Caiman which was seen close to the Ranch itself. The owner was also suprised at the size of this ancient beast and said later that it was one of the biggest he had ever seen.
By evening we arrived to the Ranch, had a delicious freshly cooked meal and partook in an evening night spotlighting boat trip, here we saw a Cooks Tree Boa, many Spectacled and Black Caiman and some small marsupials. We tried calling for the Jaguar, however they remained elusive.
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| Horse riding through the pristine Beni Savannahs in search of Maned Wolves and Giant Anteaters. |
Day two involved a very early start, here we took horses though the savannahs and we kept an eye out for the resident Giant Anteater or Maned Wolves, sadly they remained elusive. Our mission was to explore a forested island which the owner and rancheros said was teeming with wildlife. They were correct and almost immedietly we saw huge groups of curious squirrel and Capichun Monkeys and literally the whole forest was alive.
In addition to the Monkeys, the forest was alive with bird life with macaws, trogons, Sun bitterns , Hoatizns and more being seen. Other animals we saw included a Tayra hunting monkeys, Coatis, tracks of Tapirs and huge troops of white lipped Peccaries which are the main food item of the Jaguar.
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| A family of Capybara basking in the sun, |
The evening boat trip provided the most action , we departed towards a different river, one where the Rancheros had seen a Jaguar just a few days before.
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| Not the Jaguar we saw, but was of similar size, sadly all of our group was too slow to take any footage of the Jaguar, something we will have to change for our next trip. |
As we navigated deeper down the seculded river i noticed in the distance something swimming across the river, however all of us incuding the owner assumed it was a Capybara, as we inched closer we saw that the animal swimming was indeed the very animal we were looking for , the magnificent Jaguar. All of us were memorised at the sight of this giant feline bounding out of the water literally metres from the boat and it was something i know i will never personally forget!
With the mission completed we returned to the Ranch to enjoy what was an amazing day in the Beni Jungle.
The last day we visited another savannah and forested island, hoping for a sighting of the Pampas Deer or Giant Anteater, however as there had been heavy rain the night before and the weather had turned bad the animals were playing hide and seek.
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| Jaguar recorded on our camera trap in the San Carlos Ranch |
We said good bye to the local workers and made the long way back to Trinidad with everlasting
memories and the seed for a new and exciting Jaguar conservation based tourist destination in the heart of the second biggest Wetland in the world.
The aim is to showcase to the world the incredible Department of Beni and work with Cattle Ranchers to develop sustainable tourism and help preserve the incredible biodiversity this largely unknow region has. If we prove that tourism can compensate Ranchers from Jaguar predation then we hope that this will convince many other ranchers to put down their guns, stop killing big cats and be supportive to Eco Tourism in Bolivia.
If you are interested in learning more about this Jaguar/Wildife Conservation Project in the heart of the Beni Wetlands then CONTACT US TODAY for more information.
