Jaguar encounter: Right place & Right time

You won't see this everyday; a Jaguar walking right in front of you.

This happened a couple of months ago. I was driving on the airstrip of Kabalebo when suddenly I saw some movement up ahead. I knew it was a large animal but wasn't sure what kind. At first I thought of a Lowland tapir, because of the size and height, but when I saw a long tail 'waving' in the air I knew I was wrong. It was a Jaguar.

Usually when you search the internet looking for Jaguar photos, you will always see picture perfect ones. Where the wild cat is posing in front of the camera or a perfect leap or resting near the river or in a tree. When I took these pictures, this Jaguar was actually walking away from me into the bushes.

When taking pictures of wildlife, you won't always get the perfect picture. They have a mind of their own and also a free will. Which is something I very much admire too. 

When people think of the Amazon they will always associate it with the Jaguar. A large wild cat admired by so many. But sadly I have also read that these magnificent creature is also a vulnerable one too. Recent reports that they are being killed for an individual profit. 

When I took these pictures I was a bit hesitant to publish them here. Even though they are large and powerful predators in the rainforest, they are still vulnerable when meeting mankind. 

I decided to end 2018 with this post. Those who have followed my site also noticed that this year I did not publish a lot of articles compared with the previous years. Reason no. 1 is that I wanted to observe the animal a bit longer or needed some more information (think about the ocelots or a certain behavior). Reason no. 2 it takes time to screen a lot of trail cam photos and videos before selecting a subject. Reason no. 3 after a birdwatching trip it also takes time to select the photos. And finally reason no. 4: sometimes there are no perfect pictures to publish. (but in this case I made an exception) 
See you all in 2019 and who knows what we'll encounter.
You may also like the following post:

jaguar 50/50 chance