Never get out of the boat! by Koen Hoekemeijer

About "Never get out of the boat!"

by Koen Hoekemeijer

About the artwork

The Pantanal is a so-called "wetland" in Brazil with a huge diversity of wildlife. Besides dozens of bird species, capybaras, anacondas, monkeys and millions of caimans, you will also find the mighty jaguar here.

The tiger may be a more beautiful and famous cat, but the jaguar is definitely the strongest and the most opportunistic. When the jaguar sees an opportunity for 'food' this cat doesn't hesitate for a moment and goes on the attack. Famous are the attacks on caimans, but they also eat fish, capybaras and anacondas for example. Jaguars have the greatest biting power of all felines and when attacking a caiman they try to bite directly through the skull or cervical vertebrae, which paralyzes the caiman and makes it unable to defend itself.

In the Pantanal you travel via narrow aluminum boats and search the banks of the river for the jaguar. But never leave the boat, it's like in the movie "Apocalypse Now" where Martin Sheen leaves his patrol boat and goes into the Vietnamese jungle in search of mangoes. Within no time, he and another soldier are face to face with a tiger and startled. In the Pantanal the same advice applies, never leave the boat! Jaguars are excellently camouflaged and can take you completely by surprise.

This is a female jaguar named Jaju. We spotted her on several days and when I took this photo we followed her as she scoured the riverbanks looking for prey.

There is a jaguar ID program in the Pantanal so we knew which individual this was. Wonderful animals!

The Pantanal is a beautiful place and has a lot to offer in terms of nature and wildlife. Absolutely worth a visit.