Looking on the Bright Side

Lots of good news today! Cris was at R3 and came over to ask me how the project was going - I told her honestly that I didn't think it was doing so well and I was unsure if I could ever write a proper paper about it. I told her my concerns about their feeding schedule/content, I mentioned the ones that had died, we discussed the lethargic one that is on its own, and also the Vitamin A deficient turtles. And here is what we determined:

Feeding Schedule/Content: I told Cris that I had brought some carrot with me yesterday and today because I was worried about the turtles. She was very surprised at how much they loved it! I mentioned some other foods that are good for them and asked if there was any possibility of getting pellets for them. She told me that the problem with the pellets is that they are very expensive to get in Brazil and so unfortunately we don't really have the option at R3. She did ask for me to send her an e-mail with all the types of food that is good for them so that she could tell the other people and we could get the supplies in. She talked to some of the other people that work there and got the go-ahead for me to change their diet. I am also going to be the one who feeds them on Monday Wednesday and Friday so I can keep track of what they are getting and one of the volunteers on the weekend will have their food list to work off of. So much better!

Death/Lethargy: The vets at R3 now all know about how many turtles have died and the serious condition that some of the others are in. It's sad that it took this long for them to know, and bad on my part for not informing everyone, but now they are taking a closer look as to what they think is the issue. I think for the most part it's starvation but it will be interesting to hear what they think. The lethargic turtle that was taken out of the tub yesterday is looking better today but is still being monitored and kept seperate. I was told also that if I find any other turtles becoming weak the same way that one was that I should take it out for special attention as well!

Vitamin A: The shipment of Vitamin A injections is on its way! It won't get here until next Friday but it's really good knowing that it is coming. I kind of thought that everyone had forgotten about it so it was a nice surprise to hear that news today :)

When I was getting ready to feed them their carrots it was obvious that they all knew what was coming. It was adorable! Most of the turtles swam to the edge to get close to where I was sitting before they even saw the carrots. Once the container came out and some more clued in they started jumping off the ramp and splashing around! I got bitten a couple times today but for the most part they let go right when it happened. Only one guy hurt me but still didn't break the skin. Yesterday they would only eat the pieces if I wiggled them in the water to interest them but today I didn't have to do that! Most of them would poke their heads out of the water and open their mouths waiting for me to feed them just like baby birds haha. They are just too funny.

I can't remember if I wrote about the field trip that Tracy and I got to go on to PEST - Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro - so just in case I'll do a little recap before I post a couple pictures from it! PEST is the largest protected area in Santa Catarina State occupying over 87, 000 hectares totalled over the 9 counties that it is part of. The project aims to repopulate the park with animals that are no longer seen here or are only around in small numbers. Most of the animals are semi-captive allowing them to adapt to the local environment and preparing them for release back to the wild. In this time it also allows for the animals to continue natural reproduction in the park further encouraging their numbers! Since the park area is so huge I wasn't expecting to see many animals other than what we see day-to-day here. But I was so wrong! We got to see an Anta and her offspring, capybaras (the largest rodent in the world), and an emu (haha). I have to say that Anta's are probably the weirdest things ever; they look like they belong in a Star Wars movie and sound like something prehistoric - super cool!

ANTA!!! Or Tapir. Surprisingly their closest relatives are horses and rhinos... doesn't look like either to me personally! They can get up to 7ft long, 3 ft tall, and 700lbs! holy

This is the offspring. We saw the Mom cross the boardwalk first and then Tracy and I heard this really weird sound in the bushes but didn't think too much about it... not long after along came the baby!

Capybara! Biggest living rodent in the world related to (never guess who) chinchillas! Jubilee's Brazilian relative! It's common name was derived from the Guarani word meaning "master of the grasses" - which is fitting because all they did was eat the whole time. The top recorded weight was a whopping 232lbs! Can you imagine?

At one point there was a group of about 10 all together and another 4 or 5 in another group nearby! We were trying to get close enough for a decent picture but this idiot girl who would never shut up and was really annoying scared them all away. Usually when you're walking towards an animal and it turns away from you it means it's going to leave if you go closer. What is she even doing in this program if she doesn't know that?! :P

It was pretty rainy (I think this is the day I broke my camera :( sad faces) but Tracy and I were pretty stoked to see Capybaras in real life! If you look to the right of the picture you can kind of see the blobs that are them. Coolest rodent ever. Definitely wanted to take them all home haha.