Day 7 Brazil:

Hey all,

I have been working quite a bit lately and really have had a great time. Two nights ago we went out to see the bats. We caught 16 in the nets, after which we put them in bags (to collect their feces) and then recorded their forearm length, their species, and their sexual maturity. We also collected any ectoparasites they had and looked at them in the microscopes the next day. Really an interesting experience although it was very buggy for most of the evening... That and we worked from 5 PM until about 1 AM! The next day though at least we got a bit of a break.

The "break" was an afternoon hike of about 3 miles... We were looking for mammals in an area and only found a deer and a couple igudis (small rodents). Not nearly as fruitful a voyage as today, when we went on the pecarry trip. We saw 3 species of deer, a family of capibaras (imagine a cross between a big pig and a guinea pig), and TONS of caymans (small alligator-like reptiles). Really a cool trip and the best part was the river boat ride we went on, which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. At the end of the morning tour we saw two packs of peccaries, which we mapped with GPS signals and identified with radio collars. The afternoon I went on a 4 hour fruit census, searching randomly sampled areas where the peccaries were for fruit. Not nearly as fun, but i have to earn my keep here.

Enough science. Some other stories...

The British guy i mentioned earlier has turned out to be very cool. On the bat trip he wore a fancy button-down shirt and we made fun of him for the rest of the night, calling him "Gentleman Jim." He was a good sport about it. Previous statements about his uptightness are hereby retracted.

On the hike we found a couple of skeletons picked clean, with skulls about the size of a pig head. Gene picked them up for photos and then grabbed a small bone to bring home. Then I told him how he probably wouldnt get it through customs because bones carry diseases pretty easily and he very quickly threw it out of his hands.

On the fruit census we were guided by a 14 year old brazilian boy from another farm who slashed through the forest with a machete to clear a path for us. He knew EVERYTHING about the area, which was amazing because it was so huge. I had no idea where we were the whole time but he knew everything. Very humbling. Also funny to have someone hack a path through the forest with a machete for you. I suggest trying it sometime.

It seems to be somewhat of a custom to dump this wheat grass looking substance into a cup, pour water into it, then suck the water up through a straw with attached filter. The bat assistant offered me some and I made her drink some in front of me first before having any. Then i tried some and it comes out tasting very tea-like. Not bad, actually.

Unlucky bat 13 had to be killed because the scientist couldn't identify him. Thats what you get for being rare! He was the cutest one too.

They caught 2 vampire bats last night, which are supposed to be rare because they are top-level consumers. Apparently, they dont suck blood but actually just cut you and then lick up the blood. They prey on cows a lot because the cows have no way of getting them off their backs. And in the biggest story of insult to injury, they pee on their victims while they are lapping up the blood.

The library on this farm/research station consists of about 150-200 science books in portuguese, about 10 science books in english, 2 time magazines from last year, and last but not least "The Justice Riders" by Chuck Norris!

It is dinner time so I will leave you on that note. Until next time...