It was never going to be just another Jag walk for Sarah-Jane Ostle. Throughout her previous 9 weeks, Sarah was determined to increase her fitness levels to be able to tackle the 14.5 miles. She was thrilled to be chosen to take part in the final walk of the phase. On the days leading up to the event, Sarah and Katie Wiese, also a first time Jag walker, could be heard talking about what they were about to do, how many jaguars they were going to see and how lucky they were to get the opportunity to do this walk.


The following account is of Sarah’s experience from the walk: "The first 7 miles were ideal conditions, bar a little drizzle...The last 8 miles were exceedingly hot, but we still managed to complete the walk in under the average time. Dave, Katie, Jo and I couldn’t believe our luck when only 1 mile in, we saw jaguar tracks."



After mile 10, Dave and Jo suddenly crouched down…Before us, were two jaguars walking up the beach. The team edged towards the cover of the forest and continued their walk, hoping to gain a closer glimpse of the majestic cats. At mile 10.5, numerous fresh jag tracks proved our sighting. Dave suddenly ran forward, pointing as he saw a flash of beige disappear into the forest only a few meters ahead of him. His excitement was indescribable. We all felt elated at the sighting of these rare and beautiful creatures.


The direction of the two sets of tracks indicated that the jaguars were walking towards us. We can only wonder at how close they may have come if we had sat and waited in the cover of the vegetation for them. Being passionate about cats, it was my dream to see a jaguar and a day I shall treasure forever.