Here's a question ...

Below is a sampling of the questions that were asked during Team 6's expedition to the Pantanal. Thank you to everyone who emailed!

Hannah and Emily from York Middle School ask:
Was it hard to catch the wild boars? What was it like on the plane? Was it interesting to fly over Brazil? Where are you sleeping? I bet it is very beautiful in Brazil! We can't wait to connect live with you!! Mr.Wilford I hope this makes your day, Emily and Hannah have been working on the project EXTREMELY hard and have been using your information that you have provided. Good luck!
TEAM6 ANSWERS: Was it hard to catch the wild boars? Catching the peccaries is not hard because we set traps and the wander in over the night while they are foraging for food. Sometimes you can go a long time without catching any but we have been catching tons of them!
What was it like on the plane? Was it interesting to fly over Brazil? The plane ride was awesome. We flew over these amazing highlands (see photos in the gallery) but after clearing them we flew fairly close to the ground which allowed us to see the landscape very well. It is hard to describe how beautiful the area is. What is most interesting, however, is the contrast when you are on the ground. It is very harsh to live here. Many of the trees have thorns on them, there are all kinds of insects that bite us (mosquitos, ticks, ants, wasps, even a caterpiller that releases a poison that burns your skin!) We look like we just finished Survivor!
Where are you sleeping? We are sleeping in very comfortable rooms at a facility owned by the Brazilian University Uniderp. It is nice to be able to come back to the fazenda and take a shower since we sweat buckets when we are outside working on the different projects. It is so hot and humid it is like being in a tropical rainforest (only it has not rained since we got here!). We have to wash are close in the sink and it is hard to get them dry because of the humidity. Since we are working, eating or sleeping most of the time we have had little time to wash our cloths so we can get quite stinky!
The people here are also incredibly kind and friendly. We have made so many Brazilian friends it will be hard to leave them on Wednesday. We are like a big family here. They treat us so well. They love practicing their English on us and we love practicing our Portuguese on them.
Mr. Wilford says he is extremely happy that you are working as hard as the rest of us down here in the Pantanal!

Maddie from York Middle School asks:
What so far is probably one of the most interesting things you have seen in the Pantanal?
TEAM6 ANSWERS: Definitely Chris Marshall falling off his horse. Just kidding, one of the most interesting things we've seen in the Pantanal has been seeing how the peccaries react when we find them in the traps we set. You would expect them to be really scared and hide in corners, but instead they go crazy and run into the side of the cages trying to escape. Also, as a defense mechanism they make this clicking noise which is surprisingly loud. Michelle compared it to soda cans being crushed.

Jenna from Maine asks:
This question is for Abby B. from her cousin Jenna. How much do the wild boars weigh? What color are the babies? Did the Easter Bunny find you in Brazil?
ABBY ANSWERS: Yes! The Easter Bunny loves Brazil and my mom made sure he'd find me before I left! The peccaries (similar to wild boars) we've found here are about one hundred pounds. The smallest baby we've caught was 12 pounds. The babies are just a lighter shade of brown than their parents.

Janet H. and Suzie B. from NH ask:
How are you doing communicating with the natives? Did you get to meet any highschool students yet? What is the average temperature of the region you are in? It sounds so isolated and remote where you are, are you seeing more wildlife, and plants and animals or are you seeing people too? Thanks for the info and have an awesome time. TEAM6 ANSWERS: Many of us have taken Spanish so it is not impossible to communicate. When we have an issue we can usually find someone to translate. The temperature when the sun is out is in the 90's. We did not get to meet any high school students because we flew in on Good Friday and everything was closed. We did spend a day with fellow American students from Hudson High School in Massachusetts. Wildlife is so concentrated that we even have to be careful when we leave our rooms. Wild pigs, anteaters, armadillos and crab-eating foxes are the most common but Mr. Wilford had a close encounter last night on the runway with a mountain lion! He went out to look at the stars because it is so clear out here. The lion passed within 50 feet of him, let out a growl when he noticed him and ran off.

Janet H. from NH asks:
Has the Bird Flu arrived in Brazil yet?
TEAM6 ANSWERS: No, the bird flu has not arrived yet. It is of great concern though due to the number of migratory birds.

Shawnee from York Middle School asks:
How is everybody doing? Did you find anything interesting? Did you see any snakes...ewwww:
TEAM6 ANSWERS: Tawni, We have found many interesting things (and taken pictures!) be sure to check them out in the Team6 photo gallery . We have seen three snakes but they moved too fast or we did not have cameras to be able to take pictures. Hope things are great in Maine and we’ll see you soon!

Emily & Ashley from York High School ask:
Hey guys! We hope you are having fun! We liked looking at all of your pictures. We were wondering what the weather is like down there and if there is air conditioning where you are staying? We miss you!
TEAM6 ANSWERS: Emily and Ashley, It's 105 degrees with no air conditioning and we are working like slaves. Not really. It is very hot when the sun is out. The sun is very strong and it is probably in the 90's. There is air conditioning where we are staying but it goes down every once and a while. We miss you too!

Kye from York Middle School asks:
I read your logs and I saw your pictures! They are great! Mr.Wilford really wantedto see an andaconda, did he ever get to see one yet? And what experience have you guys enjoyed most?
TEAM6 ANSWERS: Have not seen an anaconda, but we did see three snakes so far. Aggressive but not poisonous. Many wild animals even within the compound we are staying at. Wildlife is so concentrated that we even have to be careful when we leave our rooms. Wild pigs, anteaters, armadillos and crab-eating foxes are the most common but Mr. Wilford had a close encounter last night on the runway with a mountain lion! He went out to look at the stars because it is so clear out here. The lion passed within 50 feet of him, let out a growl when he noticed him and ran off.
It is hard to pick just one but one of our best experiences was visiting the cattle camp of a Pantaneiro named Lau Diz Lau. They killed a feral pig for us and we had a barbecue followed by music and dancing. Very Cool! Thanks for your question Kye!