Lizard found in trap

Hi all! I am happy to report that the frogs did not croak at all last night and I had a great night's sleep! Before we went to sleep we worked in the lab measuring and weighing animals that we found in the traps we worked on yesterday. To weigh the animals we used a spring scale. We found two lizards and one small snake. I was able to hold the snake while the scientist measured it! (Don't worry, it did not bite!) It is hard to measure a snake, so the best way to do it is to hold a string against its body and then measure the string. I tried my best to hold the lizard but it was much too quick for my hands. Apparently holding lizards is not my specialty, which is fine with me! Check out the "photo gallery" section of this site to see pictures of the different animals we've been seeing.

I had my first experience on the river this morning searching for otters. I also got to wear my stylish boots (which worked very well by the way!) What we do on the river is search for spots on the bank that might look like dens, or resting areas for otters. Once we find those areas we get out and explore. We look for things like footprints and spraints (otter waste). This morning we saw many footprints from the neotropical otter, not many from the giant otter. Do you remember from the video which one is considered endangered? We also saw a small den for the neotropical. While we were on the banks we had to be very quiet. For one thing, if we are too loud we might scare away animals and not get a chance to see some amazing wildlife. We also need to be quiet because of the bees. These bees are not like the ones you know at home. They are much more dangerous and if you startle them they will attack!! Don't worry about me-I kept VERY quiet!

Otter's Den

Unfortunately we did not see any otters. We learned that during the rainy season (which is now) they tend to go to higher ground so we have less of a chance of seeing them. Can you guess why they go to higher ground during the rainy season? It is not impossible, however, so I will keep high hopes. We got a taste of the rainy season on our way back to the farm when it began to pour. Since it is so hot here the rain was actually a nice relief. We were soaked, but we felt cool and refreshed. Out boat driver tried to play a joke on us by driving full speed into the riverbank and then turning at the last minute. We all screamed and ducked so we would not bang into hanging branches. Perhaps this is why we are not seeing any otters!

When we returned from our morning's ride on the river we got to see the animals that were captured through the traps we had set yesterday. There were mostly frogs but also some lizards. It was cool to see that so many animals were caught in one night from the work we had done. Apparently there was a tarantula in one of the traps and Ms. Chambers held it. I passed on that. I think I'll stick to frogs and lizards. We also talked to the scientists about some of the threats to the Pantanal and how those threats are affecting the animals here. Do you remember some of the threats? Cattle ranching is one of them and apparently not only does the cutting down of forests effect the animals but the cattle themselves change the landscape just by grazing. I also found out that cows can swim! (I never knew that.)

We eat lunch at 12:00 and then we get to rest until 3:00 before we return to work. Could you imagine having a three hour lunch every day? I think it will be hard to readjust to our 1/2 hour lunches when I return. There are hammocks here that we can lounge on and enjoy the beautiful scenery. It is completely quiet and peaceful. There is no TV or radio so I have no idea what is happening in the world right now! You are my only outside contact so please keep your questions and comments coming. If you look at the blog from Tuesday you will see the questions and comments that others have posted.

Tomorrow at 11:00 I will talk to some of you so try to think of some good questions to ask me! Talk to all of you soon.

Ms. Masella