wanderlust.co.uk April 2020 67“MinuteslaterMariogotthecallaboutthe
jaguars,andwethenenjoyedthreeorfour
hoursofthemostextraordinarywildlife
watchingI’veeverexperienced...”Sowrote
WanderlustEditor-in-ChiefLynHughesofher
irstafternoonatCaimanEcologicalRefuge
inBrazil’ssouthernPantanal.Indeed,last
year98%ofguestsstayingheresawjaguar.
ButCaimanismorethanaspectacular
safarispot.It’salsodoingincredible
worktoconservethewildlifeofthe
region,andhopestoinspireotherranchesin
theareatodothesame.
Operatingwithintherefuge,Onçafariis
anon-proitjaguar(onça)habituation
project–theirstofitskindinSouth
America–thataimstodevelopwaysof
stoppingconlictbetweenjaguarsand
farmersbyshowingthatajaguarisworth
morealivethandead;thatitcanhavea
positivesocio-economicimpact
ontheregionthroughtourism.It’sExotic experiences
An incredible 98% of
guests at Caiman
Ecological Refuge see
jaguar; (left) Selective
Asia added India to its
portfolio in 2019 to allow
visitors to see places
such as Varanasi⊳
CONSERVATION HEROES
Caiman Ecological Refuge/Onçafari
great for visitors too, who – with luck – get
incredibly close encounters with big cats.
In autumn 2019 a devastating ire raced
through the Pantanal, scorching 60% of
the Caiman Ecological Refuge’s grounds.
But incredibly, most of the wildlife in the
area survived. With green shoots already
growing from the burnt earth, nature is
rebounding – with a little help from
this award-winning team.
caiman.com.br/en; oncafari.org