Bonito to Campo Grande

Bonito was a particularly peaceful place. And this hotel was even more so, probably because we were the only people there.

Our last morning, before the drive back to Campo Grande, we took one last walk. There were the rapids on the local river:


A Red Crested Cardinal (though there were yellow billed cardinals there as well)


Then on the drive home there were more rheas


and the views on the drive were great. I don't believe these bluffs at the end of the Mata Grosso do Sul plateau are called "Tepuis" but they sure look like them.


And the vegetation was really running rampant. We were told that there was a late rain this year which caused everything on our trip to be very green. We were told more than once that this time of year the area was mostly brown.


We did get back to Campo Grande to spend more time in the Parque das Nações Indígenas, which is where we saw not only the Burrowing Owl, but countless capybaras.



as well as Southern Lapwings, Caiman, and other delightful creatures.


But the best part of Campo Grande was having dinner at the Cantina Romana with Arnaud Desbiez and Gabriel Massocato to talk about their work with the giant armadillos, giant anteaters, and other wildlife in The Pantanal. 

It was so much fun meeting these guys and listening to their stories about the animals, and the passion they have around working with them. From a very practical standpoint, they realize that all the animals in the Pantanal need to find a way to live with humans. Maybe it would be better to say we need to find a way to live with them. The cattle, the roads, and the bean, grain, and sugar cane crops are not going away. But there can be a solution that lets everyone survive, and maybe even thrive.

Arnaud founded the Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres, or ICAS to further these goals. Take a look at that website. They do good work. Give them a hand if you can.


But I feel that I would be remiss if I did not point out that a "Giant" armadillo is not the size of a Glyptodon - ie, the size of a Volkswagen Bug. As much as I would like that to be the case, it seems to be more the size of a really big alligator snapping turtle, for those of you who live where I do (Houston, or almost anywhere in the south east).

And there was more interesting things to come. Arnaud's spouse, Patricia Medici,  is working on a Tapir capture and monitoring project on our next stop, at the Fazenda  Baia das Pedras. I will write more about that later.

We were able to accompany real field biologists doing real field work. The team was very generous with their time, and allowing us to tag alone, where I am sure we were more trouble that we were useful.


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