The past couple of days have been busy and exciting. Saturday it was back to the trap lines to collect the frogs and lizards that had fallen in. Not only do frogs and lizards fall into the trap but many insects make their way in as well. It is necessary to take out certain insects that might sting such as scorpions and tarantulas. I took out two tarantuals (with long tweezers of course!) Ants are also found in the trap and they can do much damage to the other critters in there. If you look at the picture below, you will see a frog who was injured by ants. Look closely at his back to find the patch of skin that is missing. Sometimes the ants can actually kill small rodents like mice! We collected a huge amount of frogs so in the afternoon it was back to the lab to weigh and measure them.

Sunday we made our way to the river in search of otters. It rained all morning but it was a welcomed relief from the heat. Our goal was to search the oxbows of the river for otters. An oxbow is a flooded arm of a river and otters seem to love these areas because of the large concentration of fish. It was fantastic because we took canoes and canoed around the oxbows in pairs of two. It was so peaceful and tranquil! We had a scare when a cayman swam close to our boat. We were not sure what to do since the scientist was in another canoe so we stayed very still and quite (and shaky!!) After all that worry the sceintist told us that they will cause no harm. Part of our team saw an otter today but I am sorry to say that I did not! I was sitting quitely waiting for the cayman to pass when the others saw it swimming in the oxbow. Needless to say I was disappointed.

The second half of the day was amazing! We spent it wading in the selenas hunting for turtles. It was a bit awkward because we had to wear our socks and long work pants but once we got focused on the turtles it was hard to think of anything else! We had to stay very still and scan for turtles. I am happy to say that I caught one! After catching our turtles we went for a nice swim in the selena. Even though there were caymans all around us, we swam with confidence!

Today was our last day in the field with the scientists. Tommorow we will work on presentations in the morning and then the afternoon is free! We have planned horseback riding through the Pantanal. Talk to you all soon.