Today, Kleiton and I joined Alexine and Baiano
to work with the Peccaries. First, we drove north to check the traps.
The traps were empty as we proceeded. Each time we found a trap, we
checked the trigger and added fresh bait. The trigger is a simple set
of 5 sticks, one of which is attached to the rope which goes over a pulley
and holds up a door. When the trigger is knocked, the rope is released
and the door falls closed. There are large traps for trapping groups
and small traps for individuals. We also checked to see if the camera
traps had used up their film and brought the one which was empty back to
the lab. As we proceeded, we got a report that Sean (Alexine’s 11 year
old son) had found 6 collared peccaries in a trap south of the Fazenda when
he went for a horseback ride. I was excited to go see them, but we
had one more trap to check.
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Baino baits trap while Alexine looks at the trigger.
Photo by Tom Light
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Covering the cage with blankets.
Photo by Tom Light
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When we got to the last trap, there
were 2 peccaries, a mother and a baby. They were very upset as we approached
and threw themselves against the cage, so Alexine and Baiano put blankets
over the cage to keep it dark so they would settle down. We then headed
south to take care of the 6 peccaries. On the way we picked up Saulo
to help lasso the peccaries.
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Before taking care of
the six, we took a break for some mate terere. This is a type of cold
tea. Baiano poured the leaves into his cattle-horn cup, added water,
and put in the straw with a strainer. Each person would drink the tea,
Baiano added more water and passed it to the next person. This continues
until each person says obrigado (obragada if you are a woman) indicating
that they are done.
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Baino drinks terere in preparation for the work ahead.
Photo by Tom Light
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Alexine loads syringes with anesthetic.
Photo by Tom Light
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To start, Alexine loaded syringes
with anesthetic while Saulo and Baiano lassoed the peccaries. She put
the syringe into a long pole which was loaded with pressurized butane to
push the tranquilizer out of the syringe. Whe the peccaries got groggy,
we started to measure them. I recorded data as Alexine read off numbers.
We weighed each peccary by putting it in a large net and hanging it from
a spring scale. She then took many measurements.
As we were working, we noticed that a young peccary had been suffocated while
we were working. Perhaps its nose was burried in the dirt, or the weight
of the others which were on top of it. We were all sad, especially
Alexine who had never lost a peccary before in her research. She has
caught and “chipped” over a hundred in the Pantanal in the last few years.
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Saulo lassos a peccary.
Photo by Tom Light
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Measuring peccary head-to-toe.
Photo by Tom Light
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Alexine injecting a peccary.
Photo by Tom Light.
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We needed to scan them to see if
they had been caught before. The scan would find the microchip which
is hidden under their skin. (Every time Alexine catches a peccary,
she injects a microchip with a synringe which can be read by a magnetic scanner.)
Unfortunately, the scanner’s batteries are not working, so we injected a
new chip into each animal.
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We left the peccaries
in the trap while we went for a quick lunch. We borrowed a scanner
from another researcher and checked which animals had previous chips.This
involved lassoing the animals again. We then opened the cage door to
release them. It was surprising how slowly they found their way out
after we lifted the trap door, but once they found the door, they disappeared
quickly into the brush.
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White lipped peccary.
Photo by Tom Light
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We then headed north to the other
animals we found. We tranquilized them and then realized we had left
the spring scale and measuring tape behind. Saulo headed back to get
the scale while we waited. When he returned, we measured and scanned
the peccaries, and then returned them to the cage, covered the cage, and
left them to recover overnight.
A big learning today was that research doesn’t always go smoothly.
You may have problems with equipment, you may forget something, or you may
even get sick.
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Vocabulary
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