Memory of the day (March 28 2010)

Catching sight of a pair of wild jaguars in Manu National Park, Peru.

I spotted them accidentally from the river boat we'd been travelling on. I'd gotten lazy on the looking out for wildlife front after two days in what was little more than a big canoe surrounded by caimans, and as a result was only using one half of my binoculars to drag my eyes along the edge of the Madre de Dios.

Suddenly, the viewfinder filled with spots. No jaguar shape or body part in particular, just an eyeful of jaguar spots and an instinctive certainty of having seen a wild beast. I squealed "OHMYGODIJUSTSAWAJAGUAR!"

The guide killed the engine and we drifted in a little. Where was it?? I KNEW I'd seen it, but now there seemed to be nothing but the sandy coloured dust and collections of driftwood by the water. Our guide giggled, and said "There's two."

There they were! The exact colour of the rainforest earth, sitting on the shore like an old couple on their veranda, and staring at us with an unimpressed air. Seems we had interrupted their afternoon date. The little girl jaguar eventually rolled her eyes, stretched, and wandered away into the forest with her boyfriend close behind.

They flicked their tails at us as they went, like a pair of grumpy kitties.