BLOG TWO

The Pantanal of Brazil is very much a wild frontier similar to what our old west was and it is inhabited predominantly by a tough breed of Brazilian cowboy known as Pantanieros. Our first full day in the Pantanal was spent making a day long journey to visit an eccentric but extremely hospitable Pantaneiro named Lau Dis Lau at his Fazenda. The trip was not easy and involved a two hour journey by boat and by tractor through an area inhabited by caiman, piranha and more birds than most people see in a lifetime. Lau is somewhat of a celebrity in the Pantanal as he was featured prominently in an article in the August 2005 edition on National Geographic Magazine.
When we arrived at Lau's Fazenda it was more than what we expected. It truly was a rustic camp and a place you would expect to see in the wilds of Brazil. The smell of wood fires permeated the air as several dogs came to greet us. The camp was ringed by a wooden fence and contained several makeshift buildings including a kitchen, sleeping quarters, latrine and several storage areas. A rack next to his tied up horse housed saddles and tack and behind that we met Lau and another Pantaniero skinning and cleaning what was to be our lunch, a wild pig. Many might have been repulsed by this but we all found it oddly fascinating. We could not help but think that we were catching an accurate glimpse of what life was really like in this remote region of South America.
After a great feast including the best coffee most of us had ever tasted, two Brazilians with a guitar and an accordion, began to play some traditional music of the Pantanal. As three of my students chased wild pigs the girls were taught to dance a Brazilian style folk dance. I was astonished at how quickly they picked it up. And yes, the boys did catch that pig! After posing for a final picture with the men we were on our way to our boats and carrying with us a day full of memories that will last us a lifetime.
The days ahead of us will have us working closely we Alexine who is working to gather data on the Pantanal's wild pig population, a favorite food source of the jaguar. My student's will move, set and bait traps, attach radio collars to wild pigs, track them using radio telemetry, take fruit census counts and work on population counts of caiman. More than that, they will work with real scientist using real scientific methods and hopefully gain a greater understanding of the world in which they live.

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