The Jaguar Research Centre is located in the heart of the 270,000 acre Meeting-of-the-Waters State Park in the Pantanal, the world's largest freshwater wetland. This is an area rich in wildlife. As well as jaguar, guests can expect to see caimans, capybaras, tapirs, ant-eaters, giant otters and numerous waterbirds. The Jaguar Research Centre is run by the same two biologists who run the Pantanal Wildlife Centre.
Accommodation is in spacious walk-in tents, equipped with electric light and fan, wooden floors, separate shower room and veranda. The tents also have an electric socket for recharging cameras or laptops. The communal areas of the centre are located on the air conditioned houseboat and include the dining room and an open-sided observation deck. There are also two cabins on board, each with private bathroom.
The centre operates jaguar spotting boat trips in small, 6 seater motorised boats with English-Portuguese speaking naturalist guides. These boats are perfect for viewing activity on the riverbanks. These trips can last up to 8 hours. Non-motorised boat trips are also offered. From October to May wildlife viewing is done mainly from the houseboat, which moves to best viewing locations on the high ground along the flooded Pantanal. Whilst daily sightings of jaguars cannot be guaranteed, as these can vary with weather and water conditions, the JRC has the best jaguar sightings record in the world.
