Steer a boat down Peru’s mighty Madre De Dios River or its tributaries in the western Amazon basin and you may notice the river banks are flecked with bright reds and blues: this is prime real estate for macaws.
Along with other bird species, the rainbow-hued parrots flock to these slopes to sample the sodium-rich soil. It’s a colourful spectacle that attracts droves of tourists – and one group of bird-watching visitors was treated to an extra-special sighting early last year.
While marvelling at the iridescent plumage of a red-and-green macaw (Ara chloropterus) from a concealed hide during a trip to the Banquillo clay lick, the group watched as an ocelot pounced on the parrot and hauled the flailing bird up the clay bank and into the dense jungle beyond.
Darwin Moscoso, a tour guide from Tambo Blanquillo Lodge on the outskirts of the region’s famed Manu National Park, was lucky enough to capture footage of the encounter. Ocelots are widely distributed from northern Argentina and Uruguay to South Texas, but the cats are famously elusive, and catching sight of one on the hunt is a rare treat.
The Banquillo clay lick, though, is a good place to look. Ocelot and jaguar sightings have been on the rise in the area over the last few years, as conservation efforts to reduce deforestation and poaching have taken flight.
Earlier this year, tourists reported seeing a jaguar hunting macaws at the clay lick, and just a day later, a different group of visitors spotted an ocelot with a similar penchant for parrot.