BIG CATS SAFARIS

Our big cat safaris are designed for you to have the best opportunities for viewing big cats in Africa and India. Certainly our short breaks to the Masai Mara and wildlife safaris in India concentrate on some of the best wildlife viewing and big cat opportunities on each continent. Both tigers throughout Asia and lions in Africa (and the sub-species in Asia) are threatened with extinction. Tiger critically so and tiger populations are estimated at around 2500 having declined 20% in the last 15 - 20 years and with no local population larger than 250 individuals. Lion numbers in sub-Saharan Africa have dropped around 30% in the last 20 years to an estimated population of 32,000 and few now live outside of protected areas.

Whilst still an abundant species, jaguar are notoriously difficult to find due to their living to a great extent in the rainforests of the Amazon basin and other areas. In fact they are dramatically reduced in number on the northern grasslands of countries such as Venezuela, Columbia and Guyana and no longer found on the grasslands of Argentina and Brazil and their range has contracted to less than 50% of their historical roaming area. However, several locations in Latin America provide opportunities for sightings of this big cat. A safari into the Pantanal of Brazil was one of the best options for seeing jaguars but more recently jaguar sightings in Manu National Park in Peru now make this one of the best locations for a wildlife holiday seeking out this big cat. Almost 70% of excursions in Manu during the dry season over the last few years have yielded sightings of jaguar. If you are keen to see this top predator and would also like to enjoy some of Peru's other wildlife highlights then do contact us for an itinerary.