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On day ten of the trek the four of us hit a large sandy bank/beach of Rio Hondo. I immediately noticed dozens of tracks in the mud and sand. Silverio, who heard a jaguar in the distance the previous night, pointed out fresh tracks in the mud less than a night old. He also directed me to smaller prints belonging to an ocelot.
Though I did not see any jaguars during the trek there were plenty of tracks throughout to indicate their presence. I was cautioned by Silverio to not wander too far away from camp by myself because jaguars will patiently watch and attack individuals. But, like bears in Canada, they will think twice about attacking a group of people. In the community where we started and ended the tour all members had seen jaguars at one time or another, even the children ages four and five. Silverio stated the community is probably the best place to see a jaguar as it is like a super-market for them: wandering poultry, pigs, dogs, kitty cats, fish, kids. Three days previous to my return one fellow walked out of his bungalow to stare at one of the cats. One day an elderly woman says she went to a stream for some water, looked over and saw a jaguar drinking. One night a fellow, hearing noises that woke him from sleep, turned on a flashlight to stare into the face of a jaguar in his house!
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