Caiman searching
Caiman searching takes two forms. By far the most common is the River Caiman – we go out along the Tambopata on the boat at night with the tourists and look for White Caiman. Sometimes, however, the RNs make an overnight trip to Lake Cocococha and look for the much larger black caiman.
White Caiman on River Tambopata
The River Caiman search has to be one of my favourite regular RN activities. Perhaps because it’s a chance to be cool in the near-incessant heat, or perhaps because of the chance to be on a boat... but I’m getting ahead of myself.
For the tourists, this starts with a 30 min talk about the caiman; how they differ from alligators and crocodiles; the types that are found here (White, Black, Smooth-fronted and Dwarf, but we never see the latter in this area); their mating habits (he buggers off after the act); babies (all the females look after them, helping them to get out of the nests and into the water for the first time, protecting them from enemies...well, for a couple of weeks, then they leave the little ones to it); what they eat (anything); current threats to them (being made into handbags, being made into oil as it’s cheaper than gasoline, being eaten by people – we’ve seen the bones by a fire on the edge of the river so this obviously still goes on); and their recovery in the protected areas (except, presumably for being eaten by people occasionally, but we don’t tell the tourists this bit). This talk is accompanied by savoury banana chips which are delicious (and not caiman-flavoured at all)!
Then they head to the boat, at about 7pm. The guide stands at the front with a bright and powerful light which is slowly moved along the river bank looking for the two red dots glowing in the night that are the caiman’s eyes. Rather than being rabid, they are red simply because the torchlight is reflected from some cells on the backs of the eyes of nocturnal animals (or blue-eyed people when you take a photo with a flash). When the guide spots this they signal to the boat driver by waving the torch light up and down on the place on the bank where they were seen. The boat driver then heads in this direction.
Quite often the cunning caiman put their heads under water as we approach. However, fairly frequently we do manage to see them. Mostly it’s their heads – the eyes and nostrils above water in that classic crocodilian pose. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to see the whole body as they are lying on the banks. We approach quietly and slowly. Well, the boat does, the tourists range from stunned silence to an utter disregard that is manifested as stopping their loud conversations long enough to take a couple of shots before turning back to chat again. This latter group, in my opinion (well, it is my blog) would be better off staying at home near the pub and going to the zoo. Fortunately, they are relatively rare.
So anyway, we approach the caiman, the tourists take photos, the RNs (usually me!) monitor the location of them (on the stretch of river, and whether they are in the water or on the river bank), what species they are (almost all the caiman on the river are white caiman), and how big they are. This latter is a challenge, particularly when you can only see the head or only the eyes and nostrils. The total length is about 6 times the size of the head, so a bit of maths is required (and more if you measure in inches and then try and convert to centimetres!). Sometimes we see huge adults over a metre and a half long. Recently, we’ve been seeing little babies about 40 cm in length. They are very cute. They are beautiful animals, especially if you’re lucky enough to see them on the river bank in all their splendor.
The best part of the caiman search, however, is not the caiman. Once we’ve traveled the allotted stretch of river the search is over and we just head back to the lodge. But first, the boat driver turns off the engine. We drift down the river in silence, listening to the sounds of the jungle. This is the tranquillity I love. And the stars! On clear nights (we never search caiman in the rain because they’re not stupid enough to be out in it), the stars from the river are utterly amazing. You can see Orion, the Pleiades, Cassiopea, and what I think is Pegasus. There’s also a little triangle that might be a smaller version of a constellation we can see in the UK (I’ve forgotten the name, as usual). Sometimes there are hints of the milky way, even though we shouldn’t really be able to see it.
Oh, but it’s just beautiful. The gentle splash of the water, the calls of animals, and millions of stars reflected in the river. Five minutes of coolness and quiet. Then the engine is turned back on and we return to port and for dinner.
The black caiman at Cocococha
Cocococha is the big lake just over 5 km from the lodge. It stretches from East to West and the hide is in the middle of the southern shore. The tourists normally visit in the morning, arriving about 9 – 10 am for an hour or two. The RNs have a different strategy. If we ask the kitchen nicely, we can get a boxed dinner and breakfast and spend the night there. I like to arrive in time to see the sunset over the lake. There are little metal canoe-boats you can take out and see the sun set over the water no matter where it is.
So, we watch the sunset, then head back to the hide while there’s still a bit of light to put up the hammocks (we keep 4 in the hide for the RNs along with blankets). Then we eat our boxed dinner (usually rice with lentils or some other slop, but tasty slop) and head out on the boat again to look for Caiman. We do a circuit of the right half of the lake. It really is a big lake, especially when you’re at the far side thinking about rowing all the way back!
We go round near the edge of the lake and it’s quite similar to the river search – using a bright light to look for eyeshine and then approaching quietly. The differences are that the boat doesn’t have an engine so we’re really quiet and really, really close. We make the same kinds of notes. Black caiman can grow bigger – maybe around 2 metres, but we often see babies too (they’re really cute!). When I can, I sneak long glances at the stars above us. Once again, it’s peaceful and stunningly beautiful. The view of the sky is amazing, even (or especially?) when there’s a full moon. Mmmm…. The gentle noise of an oar in the water, an occasional bird calling from the forest, the funny bamboo rat sound, the silhouette of the trees around the edge of the lake. The moonlight reflecting on the gently –rippling water – oh and the stars too! I can see the stars reflected in the lake!
By the time we get back to the hide it’s 10 or 11pm and we collapse into our hammocks. They’re surprisingly comfortable. For the first few hours anyway. I tend to wake up really early, but that’s ok because then we can go and see the sunrise. This is also best watched from the middle of the lake (but looking in the opposite direction, obviously). I’ve been lucky enough to see a couple of really good sunsets and sunrises (and a couple of mediocre ones).
I’ve also (finally) seen the Giant river otters a couple of times now. They seem to be active first thing in the morning. Both times they caught me completely by surprise – The first time I was with Geertje watching the sunrise in one direction when she heard a noise in the other and we turned round to find them behind us swimming towards the boat. They stopped and watched us, making inquisitive noises and lifting their heads right out of the water to get a good view. They are really big and have huge teeth. They don’t look that much like the cure European otters.
At the moment, it’s also possible to go up to the other end of the lake and see the Agami herons. They have come here to breed and there are hundreds of them nesting in the trees. They, like the hoatzin, are weird, weird birds. It’s pretty cool to watch them in such huge numbers. Vikki and I spend quite some time there a few weeks ago (I really ought to go back again soon!).
By this time, we need to head back to the lodge to get a shower before lunch. Man it’s a long way back with all our stuff! But well worth the effort :-)
I Will try and add some photos to this as soon as I next am on the internet, I've some nice ones of black caiman!
Look forward to hearing from you
:-)
Nao xxx
White Caiman on River Tambopata
The River Caiman search has to be one of my favourite regular RN activities. Perhaps because it’s a chance to be cool in the near-incessant heat, or perhaps because of the chance to be on a boat... but I’m getting ahead of myself.
For the tourists, this starts with a 30 min talk about the caiman; how they differ from alligators and crocodiles; the types that are found here (White, Black, Smooth-fronted and Dwarf, but we never see the latter in this area); their mating habits (he buggers off after the act); babies (all the females look after them, helping them to get out of the nests and into the water for the first time, protecting them from enemies...well, for a couple of weeks, then they leave the little ones to it); what they eat (anything); current threats to them (being made into handbags, being made into oil as it’s cheaper than gasoline, being eaten by people – we’ve seen the bones by a fire on the edge of the river so this obviously still goes on); and their recovery in the protected areas (except, presumably for being eaten by people occasionally, but we don’t tell the tourists this bit). This talk is accompanied by savoury banana chips which are delicious (and not caiman-flavoured at all)!
Then they head to the boat, at about 7pm. The guide stands at the front with a bright and powerful light which is slowly moved along the river bank looking for the two red dots glowing in the night that are the caiman’s eyes. Rather than being rabid, they are red simply because the torchlight is reflected from some cells on the backs of the eyes of nocturnal animals (or blue-eyed people when you take a photo with a flash). When the guide spots this they signal to the boat driver by waving the torch light up and down on the place on the bank where they were seen. The boat driver then heads in this direction.
Quite often the cunning caiman put their heads under water as we approach. However, fairly frequently we do manage to see them. Mostly it’s their heads – the eyes and nostrils above water in that classic crocodilian pose. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to see the whole body as they are lying on the banks. We approach quietly and slowly. Well, the boat does, the tourists range from stunned silence to an utter disregard that is manifested as stopping their loud conversations long enough to take a couple of shots before turning back to chat again. This latter group, in my opinion (well, it is my blog) would be better off staying at home near the pub and going to the zoo. Fortunately, they are relatively rare.
So anyway, we approach the caiman, the tourists take photos, the RNs (usually me!) monitor the location of them (on the stretch of river, and whether they are in the water or on the river bank), what species they are (almost all the caiman on the river are white caiman), and how big they are. This latter is a challenge, particularly when you can only see the head or only the eyes and nostrils. The total length is about 6 times the size of the head, so a bit of maths is required (and more if you measure in inches and then try and convert to centimetres!). Sometimes we see huge adults over a metre and a half long. Recently, we’ve been seeing little babies about 40 cm in length. They are very cute. They are beautiful animals, especially if you’re lucky enough to see them on the river bank in all their splendor.
The best part of the caiman search, however, is not the caiman. Once we’ve traveled the allotted stretch of river the search is over and we just head back to the lodge. But first, the boat driver turns off the engine. We drift down the river in silence, listening to the sounds of the jungle. This is the tranquillity I love. And the stars! On clear nights (we never search caiman in the rain because they’re not stupid enough to be out in it), the stars from the river are utterly amazing. You can see Orion, the Pleiades, Cassiopea, and what I think is Pegasus. There’s also a little triangle that might be a smaller version of a constellation we can see in the UK (I’ve forgotten the name, as usual). Sometimes there are hints of the milky way, even though we shouldn’t really be able to see it.
Oh, but it’s just beautiful. The gentle splash of the water, the calls of animals, and millions of stars reflected in the river. Five minutes of coolness and quiet. Then the engine is turned back on and we return to port and for dinner.
The black caiman at Cocococha
Cocococha is the big lake just over 5 km from the lodge. It stretches from East to West and the hide is in the middle of the southern shore. The tourists normally visit in the morning, arriving about 9 – 10 am for an hour or two. The RNs have a different strategy. If we ask the kitchen nicely, we can get a boxed dinner and breakfast and spend the night there. I like to arrive in time to see the sunset over the lake. There are little metal canoe-boats you can take out and see the sun set over the water no matter where it is.
So, we watch the sunset, then head back to the hide while there’s still a bit of light to put up the hammocks (we keep 4 in the hide for the RNs along with blankets). Then we eat our boxed dinner (usually rice with lentils or some other slop, but tasty slop) and head out on the boat again to look for Caiman. We do a circuit of the right half of the lake. It really is a big lake, especially when you’re at the far side thinking about rowing all the way back!
We go round near the edge of the lake and it’s quite similar to the river search – using a bright light to look for eyeshine and then approaching quietly. The differences are that the boat doesn’t have an engine so we’re really quiet and really, really close. We make the same kinds of notes. Black caiman can grow bigger – maybe around 2 metres, but we often see babies too (they’re really cute!). When I can, I sneak long glances at the stars above us. Once again, it’s peaceful and stunningly beautiful. The view of the sky is amazing, even (or especially?) when there’s a full moon. Mmmm…. The gentle noise of an oar in the water, an occasional bird calling from the forest, the funny bamboo rat sound, the silhouette of the trees around the edge of the lake. The moonlight reflecting on the gently –rippling water – oh and the stars too! I can see the stars reflected in the lake!
By the time we get back to the hide it’s 10 or 11pm and we collapse into our hammocks. They’re surprisingly comfortable. For the first few hours anyway. I tend to wake up really early, but that’s ok because then we can go and see the sunrise. This is also best watched from the middle of the lake (but looking in the opposite direction, obviously). I’ve been lucky enough to see a couple of really good sunsets and sunrises (and a couple of mediocre ones).
I’ve also (finally) seen the Giant river otters a couple of times now. They seem to be active first thing in the morning. Both times they caught me completely by surprise – The first time I was with Geertje watching the sunrise in one direction when she heard a noise in the other and we turned round to find them behind us swimming towards the boat. They stopped and watched us, making inquisitive noises and lifting their heads right out of the water to get a good view. They are really big and have huge teeth. They don’t look that much like the cure European otters.
At the moment, it’s also possible to go up to the other end of the lake and see the Agami herons. They have come here to breed and there are hundreds of them nesting in the trees. They, like the hoatzin, are weird, weird birds. It’s pretty cool to watch them in such huge numbers. Vikki and I spend quite some time there a few weeks ago (I really ought to go back again soon!).
By this time, we need to head back to the lodge to get a shower before lunch. Man it’s a long way back with all our stuff! But well worth the effort :-)
I Will try and add some photos to this as soon as I next am on the internet, I've some nice ones of black caiman!
Look forward to hearing from you
:-)
Nao xxx
posted by Naomi | 1:19 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Naomi,
Sounds like you are having a really cool time. I am one of your old dissertation students and wanted to ask a favour from you.
Please could you email me at: lauren_parryuk@yahoo.com.au
Cheers
Lauren
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