Happy New Year to all! As the weather is getting colder, it’s easy to daydream of warmer climates and think about future holidays or past trips. I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about a trip I did in 2016 to South America. Here I explored the Pantanal region of Brazil, searched for sloths in the Amazon (didn’t find any), and sunbathed on the beaches of Copacabana in Rio De Janeiro. Whilst I was as there I may have sunk far too many Caiprirnhas (a delicious cocktail of Brazil using rum, limes, and sugar cane syrup) as I ended up proposing to my wife under the stars on the banks of the Amazon River. So, Brazil will always be extra special place to me.

The array of wildlife we saw there in just a couple of weeks was just phenomenal. From waking up to a Tapir in the Pantanal to Common Marmosets running along the telegraph lines on the streets of Rio, to getting urinated on by Capuchins eating jackfruit above us in a national park to thousands upon thousands of different species of birds from Kingfishers to Hyacinth Macaws. It really is an amazing wildlife hotspot and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

The Pantanal

When I first expressed interest in exploring South America, a girl from Brazil who I had happened to meet on a trip to Tanzania the previous year told me about Brazil’s best kept secret, the Pantanal.

I had never heard of it before but she assured me it would be the best place for animal spotting and if I went at the right time of year, for seeing jaguars. She was right. Part national park, part UNESCO World Heritage site, the Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland, covering over 70,000 square miles—an area twice the size of Portugal—in the smack bang centre of South America.

Whilst Brazil can lay claim to most of the region, the Pantanal spills into neighbouring Paraguay and Bolivia too. And though it’s often overshadowed by the well-known Amazon rainforest to the north, the Pantanal quietly boasts the highest concentration of wildlife on the continent!

File:Pantanal 55.76W 15.40S.jpg – Wikimedia Commons

The Pantanal follows strict seasonal changes to create the most epic of ecosystems. When the rainy season comes, it fills the giant basin, completely flooding the landscape and giving the caiman plenty of hunting opportunities. When the rain eases, the water slowly drains into the Paraguay River leaving behind hundreds of fish and snails which attract large flocks of wading birds. Even the local cowboys known as Pantanerious are known to move their cattle herds in sync with the water.

Unlike the sheltered rainforests, the Pantanal is an open environment where you can see for miles amongst the mangroves. I travelled in July so the water levels were decreasing but still ample opportunities for boat rides and kayak trips to watch the sun rise although sadly not quite the right time of year for spotting the jaguars.

Credit: Filipefrazao File:Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brasil.jpg – Wikimedia Commons

We started our first adventure at a resort called Pousada Mutum. We arrived late at night after a very long, very bumpy taxi ride and went straight to bed to the sounds of crickets, frogs and unfamiliar noises.

Tapir

Awaking early the next morning with pure excitement, I pulled back the curtains to be greeted by a real-life wild tapir just metres from my room. I grabbed my camera and ran towards it. It was only after a few shots, I realised I was only half dressed and in full view of our neighbours who were sitting on their porch watching the tapir too! They were an older British couple so you can imagine the awkwardness, totally worth it though…

Giant Otter

One of the best ways to search for animals around the Pantanal is by boat, quietly moving and really able to get up close to the banks and trees. One of the best sightings we had was a group of 5 Giant Otters playing around on the water’s edge and swimming around our boat. Otters have always been one of my favourite animals so seeing these guys frolicking around was amazing. They can grow up to six foot long and weigh up to 35 kilos but are unfortunately classed as Endangered due to extensive hunting.

Capybara

We did numerous boat trips during our stay and were always greeted by swarms of the world’s biggest rodent, the Capybara, often sitting surprising calmly next to the Caiman. You can see how well camouflaged the Caiman in particular is here.

Night Monkey

The Pantanal also boasts home to the elusive Night Monkey. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any on our trip this time but I am lucky enough to see them every day at work now and I must say, they are probably one of the cutest primates ever.

Also known as Owl Monkeys, they are the world’s only true nocturnal primate and see primarily in black and white. They live in breeding pairs with their offspring which are carried by the father just a few days after birth, returning to mum to feed every few hours. They communicate through voice, sight, smell, and touch- they will scream and sway at a predator to startle it, urinate on their hands and rub it on different surfaces to show sexual attraction and then use social sniffing to assess potential mates.

A rejection bite is used as tactile communication between mother and baby after suckling or when contact is not welcome. If only the same worked on my three-year-old!

Birds

This area of Brazil really was a twitcher’s dream with the array of bird life we saw. The tiger heron being a particular favourite of mine- imagine your bog standard heron but with a gorgeous orange and black stripy plumage, unreal!

One of the best bird highlights for me though was undoubtedly, seeing the wild Hyacinth Macaws.

Our guide drove us to a nearby spot where they were known for nesting and after a short walk past 8-foot-high giant ant hills, we came to some trees omitting very loud squawks. These are the largest of all the flying parrots, measuring up to a meter from head to tail. They have brilliant blue plumage with distinctive bright yellow around the eye and beak.

They are now considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss and the pet trade. A highly destructive yet gentle bird that is often kept as a companion parrot can set the owner back around as much as $10,000US. Maybe you’ll be better off just enjoying visiting our own Jewel, Blue, Otis and Dee-Dee at WWP for now!

Manaus

After a few more days here spent horse riding, piranha fishing and finding wild guinea pigs, we travelled onto the Amazon Eco Park Jungle Lodge just outside of Manaus, Brazil.

A bumpy boat ride where I was praying our precariously stacked luggage did not fall overboard into the Amazon. This brought us to a private beach and our home for the next few nights. Semi wild scarlet macaws littered the trees around us and the sounds of nearby monkeys was constant.

There was a primate sanctuary very close by where we spent an afternoon observing woolly monkeys and red uakari monkeys. Woolly monkeys have very thick, dense brown or grey fur and a strong prehensile tail which they use for climbing much like you may see our Black Howler monkeys doing. They are found in groups of up to 45 and are sadly also classed as Endangered due to the illegal pet trade.

One of the weirdest looking primates I think I’ve ever encountered is the red uakari. With a shaggy brown long coat and a bald bright red head, uakaris are definitely on the ugly list for me.

The vibrant red skin of their faces indicates good health and the brighter the red, the more desirable to the opposite sex. Uakaris are extremely prone to malaria due to mosquitoes in the Amazon. Those that contract malaria have noticeably paler skin and are therefore less likely to be chosen as a mate as they do not have the desired natural immunity.

The Meeting of the Waters

After securing a fiancée, we took a long boat ride to an area known as ‘The Meeting of the Waters’, not that Ellie saw any of it as she spent the whole time cooing over her new diamond ring!

Here, the black water of the Rio Negro meets with the pale white water of the Amazon River and they run side by side for 6km without mixing. This phenomenon is due to the differences in speed, temperature, and the number of dissolved sediments in the waters of the two rivers. The Rio Negro flows around 1.2mph with a temperature of 28°C, while the Amazon flows faster at around 3mph and is a cooler 22°C.

As we drifted along these rivers, with our hands in the water the temperatures were clearly and noticeably different even right next to each other. The light-coloured water is rich with sediment from the Andes Mountains, whereas the black water, running from the Colombian hills and interior jungles, is nearly sediment-free and coloured by decayed leaf and plant matter.

After a spot of lunch at a local restaurant on stilts- all the houses and buildings in the villages that line the river are on stilts and the entire community moves on small rowing boats- we took a short walk into a forested area that was alive with squirrel monkeys and capuchins.

Squirrel Monkeys and Capuchins

The squirrel monkeys were obviously used to tourists passing through as they quickly came down to the walkway in search of food. Disappointingly, our guide tried to encourage us to feed them. However, not wanting to fuel this behaviour, we declined and went in search of the capuchins that were much higher up in the trees, feasting on jackfruit. And yes, this is where I got weed on whilst taking photos! A busman’s holiday some may say.

Fire Caterpillar

It was here I also encountered a meeting with one of Brazil’s invertebrates, the fire caterpillar. Whilst taking in the scenery, I placed my hand onto the handrail of a fence to experience one of the most painful burning sensations ever. I had unknowingly put my hand straight on the caterpillar, to which my ever-helpful guide exclaimed, “that is fire caterpillar, do not touch!”. After several hours of me moaning, the pain eventually subsided and I lived to fight another day.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

The last leg of our trip was spent in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. We poshed it up by staying in a hotel with an actual bed and a working shower powered by electricity not just rain water! We spent the days soaking up the rays on some of the best beaches in the world and the evenings cruising the cocktails bars surrounded by authentic Latino music and watching the street dancers.

One day when exploring the town of Lapa, we came across a famous landmark named the Selaron Stairs; the world’s most beautiful staircase!

It was started by a Chilian artist named Jorge Selarón in 1990 who lived at the top of the staircase. He started renovating the steps with tiles of the colours of the Brazilian flag. It soon became a tribute to the people of Brazil and for the national football team. The project began as a pass time for Selaron but he soon became addicted to continue. Each time he ran out of money, he would sell his paintings. As news of the staircase travelled, Selaron started to receive ceramic tiles as gifts from travellers that visited Brazil.

Visitors from all over the world started to bring tiles from their home countries to be added to the stairs, nowadays there are more than 2000 tiles from around 60 countries! Artists such as U2, Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams have all recorded music videos on the staircase. The project was finally over when Selaron’s body was found at the bottom of the staircase in 2013 covered in burn marks. It is still not known today what his cause of death was.

Common Marmosets

It was on these stairs that I saw loads of tiny monkeys running around. On closer inspection, I saw that they were common marmosets and were literally running along the telephone wires above people’s heads and along the resident’s washing lines!

These guys first came to Rio in 1929 where they are now classed as an invasive species. They raise concerns about cross breeding with other species such as the buff-tufted marmoset as well as raiding birds’ nests for eggs. Theses marmosets are most well-known for large white ear tufts. They feed primarily on gum and sap from trees as well as insects; they will hang on to the trees with their claws and chew a hole into the bark to release the sap. Common Marmosets are classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List meaning there are not many threats to the wild population, their ability to breed quickly helps them with this.

Within a group, there is usually only one breeding male and several breeding females who will continue to breed for most of their lives. Gestation is around 5 months and the females have the ability to become pregnant just 10 days after giving birth, often to twins. This means that they can produce four babies a year! We currently house five common marmosets upstairs in the chimp house at WWP; mum Sugar, dad Spice and their male offspring, Ginger, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

Now as I stare out of the window into the dark, dreary depths of an English Winter, I remember how fortunate I am to have travelled to Brazil and how much I am looking forward to another trip to a sunny far-off distant land just as soon as Covid allows! I think I might spend my next days off at the travel agents….

About George - Head of Primates