2008 Animal Conservation and Field Study Program
Funded by the Duttenhaver Fund
Learning Adventure in Brazil
Dusty Johnson, Eco-Corps Student
This past summer, with the combined efforts of GLAZA and an extremely generous benefactor, I was able to travel to Brazil on the excursion of a lifetime. I was among six students and 4 adult mentors to study the Carnivores of the Grasslands under the Earthwatch Institute’s scientific umbrella.
Now that the formalities are out of the way, to put it simply, this was my life changing experience. Imagine throwing 6 teenagers together from all walks of life, and have only met a couple of times prior and all of us having to work together. The journey started when we met at the LAX and took over a day to travel to Brazil. Crammed together, we eventually all got to know a bit about each other. Everyone did their own bit of review on the animals and area we would be studying in. The wisest of us was Allison who studied the language during our flight instead of the animals. Upon landing, she quickly became a local favorite as she was able to bridge the communication gap; an absolute necessity in our tour group.
Early the next morning, the real adventure began. I can only describe it as an extended game of playing chicken with semi trucks. The driver of the shuttle who picked us up was a wonderfully spirited local who spoke almost no English, but nonetheless conversed with us for the entire trip. We traveled 8 hours in a comfortable shuttle with, thank goodness, great shocks on the pot-holed dirt roads.
Three hours before arrival at the camp, the roads turned to dirt and we got our first taste of the next two weeks – without even knowing that this was our first glimpse of Los Emas National Park. What we call off-roading, they call everyday driving. Arriving at the compound, we were immediately greeted by Dr. Leandro Silveira, Big Cat Specialist and the project leader, and the rest of his amazing team. That first day, everyone eagerly made declarations of our readiness to work. The researchers knowingly smiled and let us have our vision of overachieving. After unloading our bags in the guest compound we returned down to the main lodge for dinner. And of course my love of great-tasting food, was justly met with Dr. Leandro Silveira’s wife’s absolutely wonderful cooking, which always revived me with the energy I’d spent during the long work days. We even had white-lipped peccary at one meal!
Our typical day consisted of waking up to 40*F temperatures at 7am for a quick, on the go breakfast. We immediately loaded into a truck and set out for the Park. During the day we set and baited maned wolf traps. We made rounds checking the traps and feeding the bait (pigeons). While there, we caught and examined a total of 13 maned wolves, a dozen or so hoary and crab-eating foxes, and counted over 800 pompas deer. Many of the wolves were recaptures so we got to examine earlier dental evaluations in comparison of wear over time. We also had the fun task of tick removal, checking their sex, parental status, and measurements.
All and all, everyone on the trip came to understand field research in a different light than we had previously thought. Nothing came easy. Research is a combination or work and much patience in applying facts to fill in the unknowns of a project’s goal.
Casey Rackham, Magnet School Student
As I grab my jacket from my closet, I press my face against its sleeve and breathe in its distinct aroma. It smells of Brazil – Emas National Park, Brazil to be more exact. Memories of my expedition to Brazil’s grasslands flash before me as I hold one of the last pieces of clothing that still carries the scent of my trip. I close my eyes tight and try not to move so that I can pretend that I am once again in the country that changed me so drastically and that gave me the opportunity to experience life in a new culture.
Through that one sniff of my jacket I am able to relive over two weeks of memories that I hold dear to my heart. I remember the looks of anxiousness and pure excitement that was etched on to all of our faces before we took off to South America.
I remember the first day that we all loaded up onto the backs of trucks and made our way into the national park to set animal traps with our pigeon bait and our gloves at hand. I remember the very first animal that we caught and the exhilaration and fear that I felt as I put my hands into the cage to give water to the fox. I remember the first time that I got to touch one of the sedated animals and take hair samples. I remember the jaw-dropping sunset that I gazed at every evening and the birds that endlessly talked to each other.
I remember stopping for lunch under a shady tree and taking pictures of anything and everything. I remember cleaning the fragrant dog kennels and taking them on walks through bristly pathways. I remember stopping to examine paw prints on the ground and collecting scat. I remember the researchers and volunteers who I spent time with and who everyday kept me smiling from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. I remember spending hours learning how to say words in Portuguese like “stop, stop! two deer!” and “let’s go.”
I remember eating delicious meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner that were different than I had ever had before in my life. I remember canoeing for seven hours straight and then having the arm muscles and bug bites to show for it. I remember singing, telling jokes, and playing cards with everyone during our downtime each day. I remember helping build a fence and putting out fires that scorched my eyes with smoke. I remember learning a Brazilian dance on a sandbar in the middle of a serene river. But most importantly I remember thinking: “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life”.
As I put my jacket on, tears swell up in my eyes as I think about the day that it will lose its wonderful smell, but I know that no matter what, I will always have my memories of my days in perfect Brazil.
