Baia das Pedras
The next morning we started out at 6:15 to try and keep up with the Tapir Team. Both Doreen and I are naturally morning people (our nickname is Los Madrugadores, or maybe Os Madrugadores here in Brazil) so there was no real hardship involved. (Note to Patricia. I was born for this sort of work)
And we quickly caught up with the crew, one of whom was a volunteer from the Chester Zoo named Chris Grindle. (while he denies it, I claim that his surname is from the old English "Grendles" from Beowolf. And his great x25 grandmother was Grendles mōdor)
The other Brazilian scientists involved included Alexandra Cumerlato (veterinarian), Fernanda Jacoby (veterinarian), Samia Reis (biologist), and José de Aragão (field assistant) who were working through the season. (Not sure I need to say, but The Pantanal is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are reversed. It is winter down there now, but since it is in the tropics the swing of the daylight hours is not huge. The temperatures were mostly pleasant, but you could see how it gets hot)
As we were getting started, we had a good opportunity for a selfie with the crew:
We were just happy to be there.
So was Luiz, the best guide in the Pantanal!
A couple of the traps were empty, and unsprung.
Above, Patricia is explaining the mechanism of the traps to me.
Below, one of the poor unintended victims of the trap, a white lipped peccary. This is a mother with two little piglets that were in there with her. She was not happy, and clacked her jaw in a very menacing manner. VERY loud. And once the door was open, she had to be encouraged to leave. I think there was just too much action for her to be comfortable with.
After the peccaries left, the peccary poop had to be scooped out and the trap re-baited. Salt, (a cheap bait, for sure!) is used.
Above, I think that is Fernanda Jacoby cleaning the trap (oh, the glamorous life of a field biologist) with Patricia, and below, I think that is Alexandra Cumerlato helping reset the trigger.
To me, the morning was a success. I got to see how people really do these jobs. You have to be relentless, and dedicated. You can't just decide to not show up one day. You must be respectful of the animals at the expense of your own comfort. It was a good lesson.
And we are sort of dilettantes. We play at this to learn more about how the world works. And we have the afternoon and evening to go around the ranch and to see what we can see.
And we saw plenty. There were a pair of Jabiru Storks nesting just yards from the cattle:
It is hard to understate how pretty this part of the world is.
which makes for some interesting juxtapositions.
And those Pinkypay trees!
The fazenda had a couple of old Range Rovers that at the top removed, which made it easy to see everything around you. They were old, so they must have been reliable. But one night when the other guests were about to go on the Night Drive, I heard a noise I recognized from all my time with unreliable cars. Bad solenoid, or a bad starter. (clickclickclickclick). You can jump the solenoid with a screwdriver, a starter is a harder solution.
But it was fixed in the morning, and we had no problem when we went out at night.
Doreen likes my Big Head pictures, so here is one of those. I think this would look good on a t-shirt
Dusk, as we were starting our night drive.
This is a Common Potoo
And this is a crab eating fox.
It was a very good day.
I won't dwell on every day here like this - but we did ride horses, drive to see other animals (including giant anteaters) and trail the field biologists the morning we left.
Sadly (for us, not for them) they DID catch a couple of tapirs, one the day we left (but after we had to head back to the ranch) and one the next day:
The above is the female, the below is the male. Neither have been captured before
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