WILDWINGS BRAZILIAN JAGUARS - 29^th August – 14^th September 2009

BRAZIL JAGUARS TOUR

 

29^th August – 14^th September 2009

 

Trip report by tour leader Mark Andrews.

 

Day 1: Sat 29^th Aug Evening flight from Heathrow to Sao Paulo.

 

Day 2: Sun 30^th Aug  - After arriving in Sao Paulo,  we then took a connecting flight to Belo Horizonte where we finally cleared immigration. After meeting Regina Ribeiro at the airport we loaded up and set off in a comfortable 24-seater coach for the six plus hour trip due east to Caratinga where we were to stay for the following two nights. This town is most certainly not on the usual tourist trail, and offers a relatively lively but warm welcome to our first night in Brazil. The Vind’s Hotel is right next to the rather ornate town square and being a weekend, the local bars were very busy.

 

Day 3: Mon 31^st Aug  - After an early breakfast, we set off for the Biological Station of Caratinga, a private reserve founded to protect the local flora and fauna of the Atlantic rainforest. Within an hour we had arrived at the now regular stop off point by the river on the border of the reserve to look for the first of todays endangered primates, the Buffy-headed Marmoset. Once again they did not disappoint with a group located quite quickly in the dense bamboo area bordering the river. Despite initial frustrations, we all managed to get some good close-up views of these rather endearing monkey’s. The focus was now to get into the reserve proper and hope to connect with our next target species, South America’s largest primate, the Muriqui or Woolly Spider Monkey. Once again we were not disappointed as a group were found close to the track in the morning allowing some surprisingly close views, especially a mother with a young infant. This close encounter also allowing us to study the fifth limb, in the form their prehensile tails, even to the point of being able to study the pad itself, a little bit of magic. On the first walk, we also managed to obtain views of both of Caratinga’s other two primates, Brown Howler and Black Capuchin. Add to this a plethora of birds including White-bearded Mannakin’s and a good session was had by all. Lunch involved a picnic at the reserve centre, occasionally interrupted by some dazzling bird outside. The afternoon, now with the pressure off, consisted of a leisurely walk revisiting various primates and adding to the slowly increasing list of birds.

 

Day 4: Tue 1^st Sept - Another long drive, returning back towards Belo Horizonte and into Caraca National Park. This is a 110 sq km transitional zone between the Atlantic rainforest and Cerrado .  We arrived in the afternoon and checked into the Hospedaria do Caraca, a working Monastery, the park’s centerpiece for a two night stay. The area is very rich in bird life and this was quite obvious as we had a quick look around before dinner. Of the mammals here, priority obviously goes to the magnificent Maned Wolf, South America’s largest wild canine with the appearance of a fox on stilts. Feeding the wolves is a nightly ritual at the monastery though when the wolf decides to appear can be a real hit and miss affair, some years not coming in until after midnight. We however were not disappointed, as shortly after dinner in the rather gothic old stone refectory, a wolf appeared out of the darkness and began gnawing on chicken bones within a few feet of an admiring audience. Always a great thrill, no matter how many times I see it, this year we were honoured with repeat visits by two individuals, though always rather typically alone. A Tawny-browed Owl calling in the distance set the pulses racing among the birders, but unfortunately, as it was calling from the main route followed by the wolf into the monastery feeding area, there wasn’t a lot we could do.

 

Day 5  Wed 2^nd Sept  - A full day in Caraca National Park. A pre-breakfast walk was followed by the always entertaining ‘you-have-to-cook-your-own’. Bewildered looks as the group are presented with wood fuelled hot plates, a basket of eggs and a few loaves. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it and some amazing breakfasts were soon fizzling away. After a nice dose of strong coffee, something you need on this trip, we were off for a productive morning session. We spent it, walking the Tanque Grande Trail searching out our two primate targets Masked Titi Monkey and what should have been Black-tufted Marmosets. Before we had even got to the start of the trail, the roadside produced a welcome surprise in the form of one of the regions special birds, the Swallow-tailed Cotinga. Usually a long way away, perched on top of a distant tree, this bird was both close and low, its scalloped black and yellow pattern glistening in the sunlight. Not only did it and then another perform well, we also discovered they were building a nest close-by, allowing anyone who wanted repeat views, plenty of opportunity. A flowering tree also provided the opportunity to study a nice variety of visiting hummingbird’s, the bird list was rapidly increasing. Onto the trail and once again it did not take long before we were onto our target species. Initially hearing some distant groups of Titi Monkey, we soon had our own group passing overhead, feeding, mutual grooming, staring at the photographers, teasing from behind trunks. The marmosets soon followed, though the first individual was actually a Geoffroy’s not the expected Black-tufted though an accompanying adult was. Some of this group appeared to be hybrids between the two subspecies but this was a bonus as we were unable to vist Situ Graciema due to a family illness. Back for a welcome lunch and some free time before continuing in the afternoon. Repeat visits to the monastery vegetable garden to track down Brazilian Guinea Pigs, which usually hang around there drew a complete blank this year, but there were plenty of very accommodating Guianan Squirrels to entertain around the car park. In the afternoon we walked the Waterfall trail, which is often less productive mammal wise but has provided a few surprises in recent visits. Today we were again lucky with Masked Titi Monkey as another small group were found on the way through and a few local specialities on the bird front were lured out with the aid of recordings. The waterfall area itself was rather quiet but this site offers stunning views of the surrounding area and in the late afternoon sun, it was a pleasure just to spend time there. Once again, after dinner, it was more of the same, with the wolves visiting the terrace time and again, allowing everyone to soak up this unique animal. Some of us tried at the back of the monastery area to lure out the owl, which drew a blank. Ironically, on returning to the terrace, we discovered the bird had actually landed in the palm tree right in front, and had been entertaining those that were waiting for the wolf!     

 

Day 6: Thu 3^rd Sept - After another productive early morning birding session we were back on the road again for the long drive west to Sao Roque de Minas our base whilst we explore the Cerrado habitat of the Serra da Canastra NP.  Stopping off for lunch at a roadside Churruscaria, we managed to find a group of Black-tufted Marmosets as they used the telegraph wires as transport to raid the kitchen area. We arrived early evening and checked in for three nights stay at the family run  Hotel Chapadao da Canastra.          

 

Day 7: Fri 4^th Sept - The insomniacs among the group were up at first light and enjoying a pre-breakfast birding session in the grounds of the Chapado. After breakfast, we boarded our bus and headed off, up a rather testing road to the park entrance high above us. Today we had three main targets, Giant Anteater, Pampas Deer and Maned Wolf though after Caraca, the often, distant radio-collared wolves were perhaps not quite as appealing as they once were. Anteaters are funny creatures. Rather like us, they don’t like cold starts and often will not move and are therefore not visible until the sun is relatively high, today was pretty warm, surely a good sign. The usual brief stop at the source of the Rio Sao Francisco to scan for wolves amongst the nearby rocky outcrops produced no wolves but the now seemingly resident White-vented Violetear doing it’s rather familiar ‘chiffchaff’ song, was as usual on the corner. We headed off to an area known as the ‘coral’. Scanning from the dry stone-walls of this abandoned building works where we found few birds but this did for some include the rather excellently named Firewood Gatherer and a plethora of rather drably marked seed-eaters. In the far distance a potential dark speck was quickly scoped and materialised into a Greater Rhea, a much wanted bird for one participant, feeding away on the hillside.

We continued our search for the ‘Canastra three’ eventually finding the first anteater , a typically distant animal moving along the hillside, occasionally disappearing from view, but obviously investigating termite mounds, a good sign. This was soon followed by more sightings and we eventually found one in just the right position and wind conditions to allow an approach. Anteaters have very poor eyesight but a highly pronounced sense of smell so the secret is to approach them into the wind. This was a successful mission and we managed to get remarkably close to this animal, allowing excellent views and numerous camera clicks. We continued on finding more distant anteaters and plenty of birds and despite this being an non birding group, some families quickly became honoury mammals. We spent some time photographing Southern Crested Caracara atop the rather fascinating termite mounds as well as enjoying views of the rather charismatic and endemic Cock-tailed Tyrant amongst other Cerrado specialities. “Onward and upward” as they say. Across the park, toward the top of Casca D’anta we diligently scanned for areas of new grass for the desired Pampas Deer and the ridges for a late hunting wolf. Lunch, a picnic, was consumed in the splendid surroundings of the river as it disappears over the edge, falling hundreds of feet into the valley below. This area has in the past produced the extremely rare Brazilian Merganser, but today although still relatively quiet in terms of visitors was just too noisy to be considered a possibility. There were some good birds of course, the group’s first Crested Black Tyrants, a trio of bathing Sharp-tailed Tyrant, a vivid Blue Dacnis, Cinnamon Tanager and several hummingbirds entertained those who wished to ‘eat on the hoof’. The afternoon was spent in similar fashion, driving, stopping, scanning an located another target in the form of a number of Pampas Deer. This species is now endangered in Minais Gerais, though numerous in other areas of Brazil, and in recent years has become quite difficult to find up on the plateau so once again we were fortunate. . We were also successful at finding more Giant Anteater and just after a period of some fairly heavy rain which confined us to the bus, we were on a walkabout when one crossed the road right in front of us, bedraggled but quite magnificent at the same time. We finished the day with a quite respectable total of 18 Giant Anteater and 5 Pampas Deer including three stags. We lingered in an area known to be good for wolves but again drew a blank. This year the area was incredibly dry and with a lack of signs of small mammals you wonder how this larger mammal survives. We made it back to the Chapado after dark, but with time to shower before before a welcome hot evening meal prepared by the resident chef

 

 

Day 8: Sat 5^th Sept - The morning was devoted to searching the Rio San Francisco for the very rare and highly endangered Brazilian Merganser and a visit to the lower park area and it’s spectacular waterfall and riverine forest. Both the waterfall and the plateau where we had spent the previous day were clearly visible in the distance as we slowly drove alongside the river, stopping off to search favoured areas. The mergansers are very shy and after an early ‘sketch’ involving a distant Muscovy Duck, we eventually found a pair sat on top of a boulder mid-river . We went near to the base of the waterfall, the top of which we had had lunch at the previous day on the plateau, to look for primates and birds seeing both Masked Titi Monkey and some very close Black-tufted Marmosets. After a picnic lunch we went back up onto the plateau to spend the afternoon searching for whatever we could find. Maned Wolf often hunt from the late afternoon onwards and although always an outside chance, if you are not in it, you cannot win it as they say.  There were some good birds including a catch up for those that missed the Firewood Gatherer yesterday and another five Giant Anteaters but sadly no wolf hunting this year.  Once again returned back to the Chapado after dark, ready for a stiff drink and a nice hot meal.

 

Day 9: Sun 6^th Sept  -  Today was a long travel day as we had to drive the two hundred and fifty odd miles  back to Belo Horizonte in order to catch our evening flight to Brasilia and then another flight onto Cuiaba.  The journey was largely uneventful, apart from taking a long time though we did manage to see some rather spectacular birds en route including the impressive Swallow-tailed Kite. We eventually arrived at our hotel, the Amazon Plaza for a brief overnight stay just after midnight.

 

Day 10            : Mon 7^th Sept  - Despite our long travel day yesterday, we still managed to be on the road not long after breakfast albeit a slightly later one. With hot temperatures predicted the air- conditioning system on our comfortable coach for this initial run to the Transpantaneira was more than welcome and after picking up a variety of fluids at a supermarket in Pocone we were soon heading south on the gravel and sand of the Transpantaneira reaching the entrance to the Pantanal in good time. From here on the richness of this huge ecosystem was clear for all to see. Further stops were made to view and photograph the wealth of water birds and birds of prey found alongside the road here especially as it appeared much drier than in recent years. Species seen included Jabiru, Maguari and Wood Storks, Great and Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Heron, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Snail Kite, Black-collared and Savannah Hawks.  Continuing south it was clear that there was a lot less water around than usual this year and because of this, there was a greater species concentration.  A little further and a brief stop at Araras Ecolodge’s Bar Araras  for a quick refreshment fix before continuing our way onto Pixaim. After encounters with our first Capybara, the world’s largest rodent , Marsh Deer (much easier than their Pampas cousins) and the obvious Paraguayan Caiman , we arrived at the Beira Rio, Pixaim just in time for a splendid buffet lunch. After lunch while some took the opportunity to rest, others chose to spend time watching and photographing the colourful array of birds and reptiles around the hotel itself. These included Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers, Yellow-billed Cardinal, Bay-winged, Shiny and Giant Cowbirds, Purplish Jay, the rather obvious Pantanal Caiman waiting for scraps and the odd Amazon Racerunner.

 

At around four we boarded our boat for the trip east and then back west along the adjacent Rio Pixaim. We were not to be disappointed. As we headed away from our hotel, a wealth of water birds alongside several Bare-faced Currasow and numerous Chaco Chacalaca’s vied for attention. Rounding a bend, the main reason for our trip suddenly appeared or rather the boats watching them did. A trio of habituated Giant Otter that has been using these stretches of river for a number of years were playing hide and seek in the riverside vegetation  Initially they came to investigate the boat and participants, sometimes too close to photograph but certainly not far enough away to disguise their very fishy breath! After thirty minutes or so of relatively close encounters we returned back along the river in time to see the emergence of the nightwatch, initially Band-tailed Nighthawks followed by the Fishing Bats. Post dinner and we were off again, this time on our newly-gained open back safari-style truck for a spotlighting session on the Transpantaneira north of Pixaim. It was initially difficult as the area was unusually dry but we did manage a couple of Crab-eating Fox, Marsh, Red and Grey Brocket Deer and some Common Potoo.

 

Day 11            Tue 8^th Sept - An early pre-breakfast boat trip heading west from the hotel was pretty atmospheric and produced only a few mammals, another sighting of  the three Giant Otters, was rather welcome. They were obviously on the hunt but delayed their progress to give us all good views, approaching the boat several times before continuing upstream. A small group of Black and Gold Howler Monkeys were calling but elusive in the high canopy. We returned to our hotel, our breakfast ready, and including copious amounts of strong Brazilian coffee for those that needed it. After breakfast we loaded up the luggage van and climbed aboard our ‘open’ truck for a long drive down to Porto Jofre. We stopped at various points on the way down to Jaguar Ecolodge, soaking up the atmosphere, seeing our first Hyacinth Macaws, perhaps the avian flagship symbol of the Pantanal, the fabulous Toco Toucan, so familiar to us from all those Guiness adverts. The traditional ‘bat bridge’ with a colony of Long-nosed Bats had once again been repaired and freshly creosoted and unsurprisingly all the usual inhabitants had left. In fact of the 128 wooden bridges that allow transfer between Pocone and Porto Jofre, only two this year looked like they really needed immediate work! Numerous encounters with small groups of the rather endearing Capybara, always set amongst the now ridiculously common Pantanal Caiman further indicated the rapidly drying waters in this part of the Pantanal.. After calling in briefly to the abandoned Ibama research station to find once again, the roosting Great Potoo and a group of roosting Seba’s Short-tailed Bat’s we went back  for lunch at the nearby Jaguar Ecological Reserve’s Pousada Jaguar and enjoyed a splendid buffet with at least two Hyacinth Macaws noisily flying about. This was slightly spoilt by the fact the fridge had broken down and there was no cold beer, it was incredibly hot but this was the Pantanal and you can’t have everything.

Early afternoon and the slow drive south to Porto Jofre was more about enjoying the wilderness than targeting anything in particular. Which was good really because it was generally rather quiet. In Campo Jofre we stopped to enjoy the numerous family parties of Capybara though surely there’s only so many images you can take despite the fact they are rather endearing. There were sadly no obvious Nacunda Nighthawk this year, a first for us and a species that proved very difficult indeed. We were of course now in Jaguar country proper, and eyes peeled, the anticipation was obvious, were we going to get lucky again, could there be one under that next group of trees?

We arrived at Porto Jofre with enough time to briefly explore the grounds on foot to which most people did independently whilst Regina and I organised the following days logistics. After a brief and comically disastrous fishing session with Keith on the jetty in which the local Pirhana won hands down, we returned for a splendid buffet dinner at the restaurant.  Afterwards we returned to the truck for an evening’s spotlighting session. Driving back north along the Transpantaneira but despite a few encounters with nightjars, the odd distant Marsh Deer and a few fishing bats zipping around, it generally felt quiet and we decided to turnaround.

           

 

Day 12            : Wed 9^th Sept – Today was an important day, the first day on the river with a very real chance of encountering the ultimate prize for this trip, and the nerves and awareness were visibly rising, We’ve always been lucky but nothing is guaranteed, was this going to be the first team to draw a blank? After an early breakfast we were off, all loaded into a boat capable of 30 knots (35mph) and with an awful lot of river to cover looking for a cat with exceptional camouflage..We had already covered some distance and had been moving for a couple of hours when we decided to try out one of our favourite haunts,  along the ‘three brothers’ system. All of a sudden there it was, curled up amongst the buttressed roots on the bank, a magnificent male Jaguar. It soon became apparent to Regina and myself, this was an ‘old’friend, a Jaguar we had encountered previously, named ‘Wilson’ by researchers due to the ‘w’ pattern on his forehead. We watched him, he watched us, a fairly placid cat, we were close, twenty five metres at one stage, cameras clicking away, cards rapidly filling up, it couldn’t get better. After forty five minutes or so, we would leave him to do what ever Jaguars do at this time of day, which as it happens, with ‘Wilson’ is not a lot! The pressure was off now and Regina and myself certainly felt that. We continued along the river with big smiles looking for other wildlife as well as potentially more Jaguars. Suddenly fish about eight inches long were jumping a few feet out of the water all around the boat. This is presumably a defence strategy to escape predators, which in this case was perceived to be our boat. One actually jumped in the boat. How ironic considering the failed attempt at catching fish the previous evening that now they were catching themselves. We slowed to photograph Black Skimmers and a variety of waterbirds resting up on the sandbanks eventually getting back to Porto Jofre at 1300 in time for lunch.

 

After lunch and with the guidance of Matteus, Keith once again went fishing and succeeded in catching an impressive number of Yellow-bellied Pirhana during a short space of time, well there was this evening’s starter sorted then!

 

In the afternoon we set off in the boat again looking for Jaguars and anything else we might encounter along the way. We set off in the same direction and thought we would just call in and see what was happening in the ‘three brothers’ area. Unbelievably

we found Wilson again, who was in a similar dozy state having moved about fifty metres. Jaguars hunt mainly at night sometimes covering very large distances, and just tend to laze around dozing during the day and the riverbanks in this area offer great vantage points for these relatively inquisitive cats.. Wilson was awake but fairly inactive, slowly yawning sticking his long tongue out,  exposing a pair of massive canines and once again Click, click, click went a dozen cameras. After fifteen minutes or so he slowly stirred and stood up, walked casually along the riverbank towards us, coming closer and closer before turning onto a bit of land jutting into the river facing our boat, ending up no more than ten metres away. He took a drink, looked around a little and then sauntered lazily back towards the forest, a fantastic encounter

Back on the river we watched a Black-striped Capuchin ripping into a termite mound attached high up to the trunk of a tree and continued to enjoy a variety of birds. Journeying back as day turned to night, our spotlights illuminated good numbers of  both fishing bats and the seemingly ever present Band-tailed Nightjars, the nightshift had begun. Another wonderful dinner was enhanced by a superb starter in the form of fresh Pirhana soup, courtesey of Keith’s midday foray, lovely. A very brief spotlighting session produced only a Red Brocket, but after today’s success, I don’t think anyone was particularly worried.

 

 

Day 13: Thu 10^th Sept            - Another early morning trip by boat was again successful despite the weather conditions being rather different from yesterday.  We once again found ‘Wilson’ and he had obviously been rather active overnight as he had moved some distance from the previous sightings. Jaguars are excellent swimmers and despite having several rather fast flowing areas to get to the position we now found him, he was still by the river and appeared to be surveying another potential crossing. We watched him, head up, sitting quite contentedly watching the admiring visitors watching him, quite a show-off this one. The surroundings were quite different from yesterday, allowing the photographers on board to get further, perhaps clearer shots. The weather progressively got colder and it started to rain quite hard and so we headed back to base at high speed much earlier than we would have normally done, most on board crouching low as the rain stung foreheads and reached ‘unmentionable’ parts. In the afternoon, after lunch, the weather finally improved and started to really brighten up. I had got word that there was a large Anaconda in the back yard as it were, having just been found trying to enter the restaurant area. This was a welcome bonus and much desired by quite a few. It was also easy to see as it made it’s way back across the short grass toward the large pools, allowing close approach providing you stayed out out striking distance. A further boat trip was relatively uneventful, though once again we managed to locate ‘Wilson’, who had crossed the river and was now asleep, mostly out of view on a high bank. During the two days, we had seven encounter’s with this amazing character, quite a record!

The spotlighting session once again drew a blank in terms of anything special, often quite slow here, the change in weather probably didn’t help.

 

 

Day 14:  Fri 11^th Sept - Today were heading north, back along the Transpantaneira to Pousada Araras. After a relatively leisurely breakfast, we checked out, loaded up our support vehicle with luggage and boarded our open truck for the final leg of our journey. The initial part of the run produced very little in the terms of new species just further confirmation of the magnificence of this wetland world. The truck disturbed huge numbers of water birds, particularly egrets from a feeding frenzy provided by the drying Pantanal.  Everywhere we looked, a visual feast, flowering Jacaranda and Y’pe trees, the Pantaneiros themselves, Capybara, Marsh Deer and water,though perhaps not as much as usual, reflecting the drier conditions to the north. We called in at Pousada Jaguar for a welcome toilet/coffee stop before continuing on to Pixaim for lunch and a midday break at the Beira Rio.    

From here we headed north once more and onto Araras Ecolodge, eyes peeled in search of any species that had so far eluded us. It was however very hot and therefore relatively quiet though we still saw plenty to keep us busy, despite the heat of the day, the best perhaps, close Marsh Deer feeding in wet areas alongside the road. Some rather nice Roseate Spoonbills drew our attention briefly but being rather skittish are often difficult to photograph and today was no exception.

We made it to Araras in good time to check in and for those that wanted to, a few hours exploration of the lodge. Capybaras have become acclimatised to the lodge and wander around the grounds with such confidence it still seems totally bizarre watching these massive rodents wandering past only a couple of feet away. The boardwalk provides access through the wetlands and into a small patch of forest with a canopy tower. Some went to the top where the views over the surrounding area are quite spectacular, others chose to check the adjacent marsh area seeing the ever present Sunbitterns stalking the edge. A group of Coati entertained, playing hide and seek in both the vegetation and then the trees, showing an incredible adaptability to an already inquisitive nature. From the top, a few Marsh Deer grazed lazily.

After our evening meal, another splendid one I might add, we boarded our truck for our first of potentially the best nights spotlighting on the Transpantaneira. Initially we had decided to drive part of Araras’s own private circuit opposite the main lodge before rejoining the road. Sadly tonight was relatively quiet though we did manage to see several Crab-eating Foxes which were certainly easier to see here compared with the longer grass around Pixaim. We also saw Red Brocket Deer but drew a blank with the hoped for Ocelot and Tapir. Back on the Transpantaneira , conditions were similar, with very little activity, tonight wasn’t going to be the night. I did notice that several passengers had fallen asleep despite it being an open backed truck, so perhaps tonight wasn’t the best night to pull-out a goodie anyway!

 

Day 15: Sat 12^th Sept - Breakfast at Pousada Araras is always a splendid affair. The reason is simple, we eat outside with a kaleidoscope of colour buzzing around the bird feeding stations and quite often, trying to steal your breakfast from the plate itself. Aracaris pop in and compete for position with parakeets, cardinals whilst cowbirds jostle. Throw in passing Hyacinth Macaws, titbit thieving Rufous Hornero’s or the sheer spectacle of wetland birds moving about, and its hard to drink your coffee in peace. This morning we took a walk up the boardwalk to the canopy tower. After a lot of searching and listening we eventually located two groups of ‘Pantanal’ Marmosets, and of the ten primate species perhaps the one we deserved better views of. These didn’t disappoint, often running up and down the banister of the boardwalk itself though perhaps not as photogenic as when they are in the trees. A good variety of birds also presented themselves including several specialities such as Matto Grosso and Band-tailed Antbirds, Great Rufous Woodcreeper and Red-billed Scythbill, Undulated Tinamou, and a brief Blue-crowned Trogon. A little further and some noisy leaf-litter alerted us to first Azara’s Agouti and then a large party of the rather cheeky South American Coati. Onto the tower and scans provided a nice group of Black and Gold Howler Monkey and surprisingly, one injured animal lying by the seats itself. A young male, he had evidently got into trouble with another member of the group and was clearly feeling sorry for himself. Thanks to one special encounter and a bit of bonding with Keith, this monkey, now renamed ‘Brookes’ eventually joined the rest of its group without any further trouble. Afterwards, a large group of Black-striped Capuchins sought the relative coolness of the forested boardwalk area allowing everyone who wanted, remarkably close views though you do have to keep an eye on your camera gear.

 

After lunch and some free time, we once again boarded the truck to drive around the ranch area of Araras, opposite the main gate. The nature trail here offers a variety of different habitats and the species that are attached to them. As we were driving through the tinder drive forest area, stopping occasionally to identify something, we heard some distant rustling in the leaf litter. Clearly a mammal, and moving towards us, we waited with baited breath. The sound didn’t seem right for an armadillo, which often frequent this area but we certainly were not expecting the beast that eventually came out. It was a Tayra, and a big one at that, which promptly stopped, looked over us and continued on its way, a real bonus, they are difficult here. Further on, a close group of Rheas finally allowed everyone to see them properly.

 

After another splendid dinner, mostly produce from the lodge itself, no air miles here, we boarded the truck for our final spotlighting session. Full of  hope that we would get at least one of the desired mammals that eluded us so far, I’m sure each had their own wish. As luck would have it, we pretty much cleaned up with the highly prized Ocelot first to fall under the gaze of the ‘green-lamp’. This was soon followed by a Southern Tamandua, the stunning black and gold mini anteater which seemingly unconcerned by the truck suddenly stopping as it walked the verge made its way into a tree to check a termite mound. The final highly desired mammal was the Brazilian Tapir. And we had two though only one was visible for any period of time. Regina’s perfect imitation of the whistle, making the animal curious, which extended the view that little bit longer. We also the best views yet, of  both Crab-eating Fox and Crab-eating Racoon. It was one of those nights, a fitting finale for our visit to this magical region

 

Day 16:  Sun 13^th Sept – After another open-air breakfast, a fairly leisurely morning was spent around the lodge itself. Most visited the boardwalk area, concentrating on birds and attempting to get better images of some of the local species and the surrounding area. The tower area was relatively quiet so we took a circular walk around the back of the forest, through the open ‘savannah’ back to the lodge. Plenty of birds but sadly no Armadillo to cap this year’s trip, one for next time perhaps. We had lunch at the lodge before loading up the air-conditioned coach for our journey back to Cuiaba and our flight back to Sao Paulo and onward to London.                        

 

Day 17: Mon 14^th Sept - Arrived Heathrow early PM

 

 

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