The Ama­zo­nia sub­pop­u­la­tion of jaguar comes to an esti­mat­ed 57,000, accord­ing to the IUCN – near­ly 90% of the over­all total. That said, spot­ting any kind of mam­mal in the rain­for­est is a tall order, let alone one as elu­sive as the jaguar.

For the best (albeit slim) chance of an encounter, head to one of the Peru­vian reserves deep in the Ama­zon near Puer­to Mal­don­a­do. Manú Nation­al Park, a 17,000 km² bios­phere reserve, is a hot spot – vis­it a clay lick at dawn to watch macaws and tapir, and cross your fin­gers that a jaguar emerges from the jun­gle.

Tam­bopa­ta Nation­al Reserve, around 200km east, is anoth­er good place for macaw licks, and also hosts jaguars. It’s con­tigu­ous with Madi­di Nation­al Park in neigh­bour­ing Bolivia.