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Team leader, Barry Chernoff, and Jensen Montambault multi-task
in the river. Photo Credit: Philip Willink |
I chased an army of leaf-cutter ants this morning while we were waiting for the rest of the group to pack their equipment in the cuiaras.
It's one thing to see them on nature shows; it's another to see them marching half a tree down a nine-inch wide, perfectly straight swath.
I learned to seine with the fish team today. A seine is an 8-foot long net, which you hold vertically in the water by looping one corner over your sneakers and holding the other end in your hand. Your partner does the same and a third person crawls along the rocks, scraping the algae and silt to chase any bottom suckers and rock-clingers into the net. We caught cool fish (according to the experts): a head-stander, armored catfish, and South American darter with a greenish tint.
PEOPLE: Meet Célio Magalhães, freshwater crab specialist.
TOOLS: Clippers are not just for gardening.
SPECIES: Home sweet home! This crab is endemic to the Caura.
As I made my field notes from the boat, I watched a spider the size of a tea saucer sit patiently as a deer fly buzzed around its head. Suddenly it encompassed the fly with its body and rolled around, legs curled up. The fly got away, and silence returned to the forest.
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Our Ye'kwana boat team poses for the camera:
(Back, L to R) Justino Castro, Lucas Gonzalez, Rogilio Perez, Jose Saramiento, Carmelo Castro, Bonifacio Castro.
(Front, L to R) Luis Florez, Wilfredo Flores.
Photo Credit: Jensen Montambault |
— Reported by Jensen Montambault
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