Brazil: A Tale of Two Trips, 2016 and 2018

[Alexander33]

Everyone has at least one species that has always vexed them, and for me, that is the tapir.  So, obviously, that was my main goal at Pouso Alegre, where they are spotted fairly regularly.  I also hoped to see the Southern tamandua (lesser anteater), which I also had never seen.

 

The giant anteater, for some reason, is more often found in the Southern Pantanal, and I felt confident that we would see them there.  Imagine my surprise then, when J., lagging behind Tito and me, loudly whispered back to us and pointed to movement in the high grass next to him.  A giant anteater! 

 

 

 

 

 

Even more unexpected was that she was perfectly comfortable around us; in fact, although she was wild, she had become so habituated that she was practically tame.  In fact, she got so close that we couldn’t take decent photos – our lenses were too long.

 

 

 

 

She took an interest in Tito, and then proceeded to walk straight up to the two of us to give us a good sniff.

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted desperately to lean down and feel its coarse fur, but I didn’t dare move a muscle, as I had read that, despite looking harmless, when threatened the giant anteater can rear up on its hind limbs and use its sharp front claws to disembowel its target.  No thanks, I’ll pass.

 

She soon lost interest in us and returned to the adjacent woodland.  Despite the lack of good photographs, it was nevertheless exhilarating to be so close to this unusual creature. 

 

We also saw a troop of brown capuchin monkeys, a first for me, as they made their way to a tree for their evening perches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the daylight waned, we made our way back to the lodge to get ready for dinner, which was served buffet-style at 6:30 PM.  This was earlier than at the other lodges where we stayed because night drives are a common feature at Pouso Alegre.  (These drives are all by private guide and vehicle, however.  The lodge itself does not provide any guiding services.)  Tito was all up for it, but by the time we were done with our meal, we were so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open, so we passed on it (a first for us), with the promise that we would be eager to go the next two nights.   

 

However, we had gotten a taste of what the drives might be like when Tito knocked on our door earlier that night, before dinner.

 

“Tamandua!  Come!”

 

We followed him around the backside of the property, and there, right in front of the building housing the dining room and kitchen, was the tamandua, intently rummaging around for ants and largely ignoring us.

 

 

 

 

Both giant anteater and lesser anteater in less than 2 hours.  We were off to a good start.

 

 

 

[xelas]

@Alexander33, how important, or better, how mandatory is to have a guide 24/7 when in Northern Pantanal? I have heard that one could drive itself the Transpantaneira between locations; but would there be an option to get a guide for a day at pousadas?

[Botswanadreams]

@Alexander33 Oh I know this guy, the Giant Anteater very well.

 

Yesterday I wrote on my homepage about our meeting with the same Anteater at Pouso Alegre: 

 

"A great story, there was the first night just before dinner. Julinho came to us as a giant anteater was directly behind the restaurant of the lodge. Lets go! There was such a splendid specimen, took no notice of our presence and ran a few steps back and forth, sniffing probably for a tasty snack. But there was nothing. Meanwhile, were all guests of the Lodge around him, but he remained unfazed. He came closer and closer to me. I held out my hand carefully against, but I was warned the same: "Do not touch him". Of course, I pulled my hand back. This anteater ignored it completely. He came closer and the next moment he nudged me briefly with his long snout on my arm. Incredible! Later explained Julinho that this anteater often comes to the lodge. His mother was probably when he was a baby, died in a fire killed. The owners of Pouso Alegre had helped the young animal to survive. Now he grows up, lives in the wilderness, but he remembers probably still liked his foster parents. An unforgettable experience."   

 

Sorry for the bad English. It's the Google Translation. 

[Alexander33]

@Botswanadreams

 

Thank you so much for providing this backstory. It says a lot about how tired we were that first day that I did not have the presence of mind to ask about this myself. It certainly was an unusual and very special experience, as every other anteater I’ve seen immediately took off at the first detection of any human scent. 

 

By the way, I believe this anteater is a female. Our guide told us that she previously had had a baby and that she had wandered through camp with it on her back. I would love to have seen that!

 

Thanks for following along. 

[kittykat23uk]

22 minutes ago, Alexander33 said:

@Botswanadreams

 

Thank you so much for providing this backstory. It says a lot about how tired we were that first day that I did not have the presence of mind to ask about this myself. It certainly was an unusual and very special experience, as every other anteater I’ve seen immediately took off at the first detection of any human scent. 

 

By the way, I believe this anteater is a female. Our guide told us that she previously had had a baby and that she had wandered through camp with it on her back. I would love to have seen that!

 

Thanks for following along. 

 

Yes I believe we were told that it was a female. By the way if anyone can't wait for a native English language version of our report you might as well read @Botswanadreams report as they were on our trip. Although there will obviously be differences where she and her husband didn't join some of the activities that Jane and I did, especially the night drives!

 

[Alexander33]

6 hours ago, xelas said:

@Alexander33, how important, or better, how mandatory is to have a guide 24/7 when in Northern Pantanal? I have heard that one could drive itself the Transpantaneira between locations; but would there be an option to get a guide for a day at pousadas?

 

@xelas

 

Let me say upfront that I’m not positive about this because we did not inquire about such an arrangement.  If any readers out there have more in-depth knowledge on this subject than I, do feel free to chime in. 

 

However, from what I sense, the lodges in the Northern Pantanal do not provide guides. Everyone that we encountered at Pouso Alegre had their own guide with them. 

 

These lodges are fairly simple, family-owned businesses, even the Hotel Pantanal Norte in Porto Jofre (which I thought was a town, but it’s not — it’s the Jofre family property where they simply have built cabins around their residence, and added some boat docks, a few gasoline pumps, and a grassy landing strip). 

 

As as far as just transportation is concerned, I don’t think it would be too complicated to rent an SUV at Cuiaba and to drive yourself down the Transpantaneira Highway. It’s pretty much a straight shot.  There are 122 bridges on it, almost all, if not all, wooden, and some may not be very structurally sound. Our driver avoided some bridges and instead took advantage of makeshift switchbacks at ground level, but this would be possible only if it had not rained in awhile. 

 

The situation in the Southern Pantanal (or at least where Barranco Alto is concerned) is the opposite. They do have guides on staff. However, self-driving really is not possible. There isn’t a main public road. Instead, you drive through an assortment of private properties (all fenced and with gates that you have to open and close behind you) on narrow dirt roads that are not well-marked (or marked at all). It would be very easy to get lost. 

 

Stefan, our guide at Barranco Alto, told us that a German couple had attempted to self-drive through the area, gotten lost, and had to spend the night out there. They wandered into camp the next afternoon without a reservation, and had to be turned away, as the lodge was booked solid. 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Alexander33

[xelas]

@Alexander33 thanks a lot for your detailed answer. That was also my impression (difference between Northern and Southern Pantanal) after reading trip reports on Safaritalk (and asking questions). 

Am I right assuming that hiring a guide with a vehicle would be about the cost of renting the vehicle only? 

[Botswanadreams]

@xelas This link provides you a lot of information for self drive in the North Pantanal. Unfortunately you have to struggle with Goggle translate. They haven't stayed in Porto Jofre.  

 

http://www.ingrids-welt.de/reise/bra/ausw.htm

 

 

[xelas]

3 hours ago, Botswanadreams said:

@xelas This link provides you a lot of information for self drive in the North Pantanal. Unfortunately you have to struggle with Goggle translate. They haven't stayed in Porto Jofre.  

 

http://www.ingrids-welt.de/reise/bra/ausw.htm

 

 

 

Thanks a lot. Between my German and Google, I will gather plenty of useful information. Already the story of ethanol and consumption is educative. BTW I have had also a quick peek into your TR on website.

[Alexander33]

8 hours ago, xelas said:

Am I right assuming that hiring a guide with a vehicle would be about the cost of renting the vehicle only? 

 

That I would not know. I would think it would be more, as the guides also have to be provided with room and board (although the cost is substantially discounted for them). 

[Atravelynn]

 Nice going on those first burrowing owls.  They are doing so much more interesting stunts than what we typically see of birds just sitting there.

 

I like your 2-fer approach and will be interested in the differences you have found in BA just a couple of months apart.

 

Now THAT was a habituated Giant Anteater at Pouso Alegre.  Your explanation helps explain the extreme congeniality.

Edited November 10, 2018 by Atravelynn

[Alexander33]

@Atravelynn

 

Thanks so much for your kind words.

[Alexander33]

For the next two days, our routine was the same: a morning hike beginning at 6:00 AM from the lodge; breakfast around 8:30 or 9:00, followed by another morning hike, this one to a more distant location to which we would drive; lunch at 1:00; siesta; an afternoon hike, again at a more distant location; dinner at 6:30, followed by a “night safari” at 7:15 or so.

 

The mornings that greeted us were glorious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had only one gripe, but it was a big one.  Coffee was not available until 7:30 AM.  I am like a zombie first thing in the morning, and starting off on those 6:00 AM hikes uncaffeinated was just pure hell. 

 

However, the abundance and variety of the birdlife quickly perked me up.

 

Chestnut-eared Aracari

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

 

 

 

Great Horned Owl

(These are different from our Great Horned Owls in North America.  Ours have yellow eyes, whereas these have orange.)

 

 

 

 

 

Green Kingfisher

 

 

 

Narrow-billed Woodcreeper

 

 

 

Red-billed Scythebill

 

 

 

Toco Toucan

 

 

 

Turquoise-fronted Amazon

 

 

 

Vermillion Flycatcher

 

 

 

[Alexander33]

My favorite encounter of these early morning walks turned out to be another tamandua, this one in the soft morning sunlight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alexander33]

At the lodge, cut fruit and birdseed was placed at a “set-up” on the grounds, where some people would spend the entire morning with heavy lenses supported with tripods photographing the birds that were attracted by the food.  I grabbed a few shots there, but I’m not a big fan of these set-ups.  If you stay there any length of time, the photos all end up with pretty much the same, with the same curlicue vine for a perch, and, to me, the experience is not nearly as satisfying as a hike and chance encounters with wildlife in uncontrolled situations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Atravelynn]

Red-billed Scythebill  x 2 with bills very visible!   You are in tamandua  territory for sure.

[Alexander33]

Our mid-morning and afternoon activities were spent at greater distances from the lodge, to a variety of ponds, marshes, and dry forest. 

 

Hiking through the dry forest with Tito in the lead

 

 

 

The diversity of habitat yielded a wide variety of wildlife.

 

We found both the black howler monkey and the minuscule black-tailed marmoset.  They were wary of us and stayed high in the trees.

 

The black howler monkey is sexually dimorphic.  The male indeed is black, but the female and juveniles are a light golden color.  

 

 

 

 

 

The tiny black-tailed marmosets were just impossible to photograph.  I hope I have another chance at them someday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some workers pointed out a great potoo perched for the day, expertly disguised by the bark of the tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also encountered the marsh deer, which is the largest deer in the Pantanal.

 

 

 

And the more diminutive red brocket deer.

 

 

 

In a marshy area not far from the lodge, we encountered this crab-eating fox trying to find any remaining morsels from a marsh deer carcass (really just a dried skin by now).  Tito said it was believed that the deer had been killed about a week prior by a puma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the forests, we encountered mixed flocks of birds feeding on swarming insects, but they were very difficult to photograph.  I concentrated on the rufous-tailed jacamars, as they tried to fish out insects from holes in the trees.

 

 

 

 

[Alexander33]

Probably my favorite family of birds is the trogon.  In the Northern Pantanal, the species most often found is the blue-crowned trogon. 

 

This particular species prefers the mid-level to upper canopy, and I set the bar high by challenging myself to get a decent photo of one.  In fact, as the trip unfolded, it would become a small obsession of mine.

 

For your viewing pleasure, a few crappy photos to demonstrate my mounting frustration!

 

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

Birds in their natural habitat are always more of a thrill to photograph ... but also more of the hard work! Between the feeders and the natural habitat, you have taken some fabulous shots.

[Atdahl]

Wow @Alexander33, not only did you have some great encounters but you got some fantastic pictures as well.  Your Chestnut-eared Aracari series is stunning as is your dual Red-billed Scythebill photo.  I had no luck with either in Brazil. Speaking of no luck, the only Howler Monkeys we saw either trip were blobs in far away trees and we never heard them (Did you?).  So, I am jealous of your sighting of the blond ones especially.

 

But, the daytime Tamandua takes the cake for me.  What a special encounter of this awesome looking creature.  It's obvious we didn't stay at Pouso Alegre long enough.  Although late morning coffee would drive me nuts too .

[Alexander33]

 

@Atdahl @xelas

 

Thanks for your generous comments!

 

6 hours ago, Atdahl said:

Speaking of no luck, the only Howler Monkeys we saw either trip were blobs in far away trees and we never heard them (Did you?).  So, I am jealous of your sighting of the blond ones especially.

 

Alan, it was kind of a mixed bag.  We did not hear them (or see any adult males) at Pouso Alegre, but we did hear two alpha males duking it out over territory at Barranco Alto on this last visit, both at sundowners one evening and then again the next morning.  However, they were far away, and we did not get close enough to see them.  We did see another small troop at Barranco Alto (near the big tree where the red-and-green macaw pair nest, if you know where that is), but I don't think my photos were much.  We'll see how it pans out when I get to that part.

 

[Alexander33]

I just noticed that I omitted mention of the black-and-white tegus that we encountered every afternoon at Pouso Alegre.  The hotter, the better for these guys.

 

 

 

[Alexander33]

We dedicated a lot of time on our afternoon activities at an open blind by a pond, where a tapir was known to visit late in the day for water.  Unfortunately, she failed to grace us with her presence on both the days we were there.

 

However, we did have a split-second sighting of a tayra.  (I was so happy that my focus was positioned on the sticks in front of it.  Doh!!)

 

 

 

However, we had much better luck with tapirs on our night drives.  Over the course of two nights (we were too exhausted from travel to go out on our first night), we saw 5 tapirs, including a mother and calf.  Finally!  The photos are terrible, but at least I readily overcame my previous bad luck and actually had some sightings. 

 

Our first tapir.

 

 

 

Mother and calf (and one of the neighborhood caimans).

 

 

 

Lone males.

 

 

 

 

 

Now I can start obsessing over my ability to get a good photo of one someday.

 

 

[Alexander33]

Probably the most memorable experience came on our first night drive.  Magnus had spotted a crab-eating raccoon feeding on an eel by a small marsh.  One of the great things about the Pantanal is that you can get out of the vehicle for closer looks, and I really wanted a photo of the raccoon, illuminated with just a touch of spotlight and no flash, to showcase its nocturnal habits.

 

 

 

 

 

With each photo, I’d inch a little closer to the raccoon, until I finally was close enough to manage this shot with my 70-200 f/2.8 lens, full-frame.

 

 

 

Right after I captured this image, the raccoon spooked and took off like a startled house cat.  It was amazing how fast it could move. 

 

I had just started to ask myself what could have caused that to happen when I heard the rustling of leaves and breaking of branches in the vegetation on the other side of the water – but still very close to where I was crouched. 

 

I wasn’t frightened at all, never mind that we had just seen the remnants of that puma kill that morning, and the vehicle (and everyone else) was high up on an embankment above me, at least 50 feet away.  For some reason, I felt certain that, whatever was causing this ruckus, it wasn’t a danger.

 

But the last thing I expected to see was the one thing that came crashing out of the bushes – a tapir!

 

 

 

I could hear the audible gasps of J., Tito and Magnus behind me.  I tried to get better photos of the tapir, but he was as startled by me as we were by him, and he quickly retreated back into the vegetation.  The whole thing only lasted a few seconds.

 

And, then, all was quiet again.  I turned around and looked at my companions, who all wore the same look of surprise as I did.  And then we all let out a collective sigh of relief.

 

“Watch out!  It’s a jaguar!” yelled Tito.

 

“Grrrr!  Grrrr!” yelled Magnus, before we all dissolved into laughter.

 

 

[Alexander33]

I had intended Pouso Alegre to be a buffer between our arrival in Brazil and what I considered to be our “real” adventure – the search for jaguars.  (When we travel, I always schedule a few days between our departure date and the start of our main undertaking for us to recover from jet lag and as insurance against any flight delays.)  But Pouso Alegre turned out to be a destination worthy of its own merit.  There are a number of other lodges in the Northern Pantanal where the focus is not on jaguars, and I would imagine that piecing together a visit here, perhaps in combination with the higher plateau and savanna region of the Cerrado to the east, could be a rewarding endeavor in and of itself.

 

However, for this trip, jaguars were our target.  As much as we had enjoyed Pouso Alegre, we felt our three nights there were sufficient, and it was time now to proceed on to the terminus of the Transpantaneira Highway – Porto Jofre, which for the next 6 nights would be our home base as we searched for jaguars along the Cuiabá and Piquiri Rivers in the Parque Estadual Encontro das Aguas (Meeting of the Two Waters).