No jaguars...but so many other wildlife! By Rachael Bohnen
The sound of the alarm clock wakes me at 4.15 am. It is Sunday morning and the jaguar team prepares for the 15 mile walk on the beach. Because the turtles have not come yet, the survey primarily focuses on the sightings of jaguar tracks and their entry and exit points. My first jaguar walk proved that seeing anything other than tracks was very unlikely, but nevertheless I kept my hopes high and departed with the team.
The moonlit boat ride to Tortuguero allowed for me to have a beautiful respect for being awake at 4.45 in the morning. The bright stars were free to shine and luminous moon lit the canal as we drove. This ride, unfortunately, is only 20-30 minutes long and then the reality of a seven to eight hour walk on the beach sets in.
When we arrive at Tortuguero, there is a brief wait at mile three and a half because the sun has not risen yet. Once the beach becomes more visible, we set off. It is not long before we have to stop and record the beach width, precipitation, sand condition, time, and cloud cover. This information is recorded at miles four, eight, twelve, and sixteen. After we departed from mile four, we stumbled upon a few jag prints and two entry and exit points. Little did I know that this jag walk would prove to be especially exciting and would encompass more than just jag tracks.
At mile six we came upon a flock of vultures, followed by a putrid smell. As we approached, the remains of a decomposed red brocket deer were visible. Our team had the notion that the cause of death was due to a jaguar, but this was just wishful thinking. The walk continued with no sight of a jaguar or their tracks from mile eight and a half to 11. My spirits were stifled by this disappointment, and I anticipated the next seven miles as being rather boring.
Finally, at mile 11.5 we sighted jag tracks and followed them into the vegetation to find an exit point. For every entry and exit point the team, usually, comes together to concur upon the tracks. This time, however, a fellow EM and I decided to stand a few meters back and allow for the others to record the data.
As they were taking the GPS coordinates I thought I spotted slight movements in the vegetation a few meters from the EMs. I have been known to be boisterous and overly ecstatic when it comes to mammals. At this moment, I proved all preconceptions about myself true. I stated in a loud whisper, “Coati, Coati, look it’s a coati.” To say the least, the mammal did not remain in the bush very long. The EMs did not have time turn around before it bolted off. There was a brief apology for my actions, a quick dialog over the coati, and then we were off.
Mile 12 and 13 came and went as the sky remained cloudless. By mile 13.5 I had started to walk the middle beach between the vegetation and the high tide line. With the Gypsy Kings playing in my headphones and the thoughts of earlier events, I became distracted and forgot to turn around and check on the other EMs. About 50 meters had gone between me and the other EMs before I noticed. I saw what looked like a turtle carapace and decided to stay put.
Cody, the leader, had quickly taken off his pack and bent down towards the object. By this point, I had changed my mind and hastily ran back to the EMs. As I grew closer to the supposed “carapace” I soon realized it was an actual turtle. The likelihood of seeing a turtle during this time of season was very unlikely and the thought of it did not even cross my mind. Once I reached the small turtle my excitement quickly vanished as I observed the condition it was in. The turtle was not moving, barely breathing, and had a crack on two of its left coastal scutes. The fate of this turtle seemed inevitable but we phoned based nevertheless. Dave, the field coordinator, identified that it was a juvenile green turtle and reassured us that there was not much we could do. It seemed Mother Nature would have to take her toll and all we could do is release it back to sea. This encounter left me disappointed in our powerless state and dismayed that survival was improbable. At this point, I attempted to put it out of my mind and get through the last five and a half miles.
By mile 15 it had started to pour. We had seen so much for one jag walk and I expected to find a few more jaguar tracks and nothing more. I, however, was mistaken because at mile 15.5 we had an unforeseen sighting. Cody, leading, had stopped and pointed out a black creature 20 meters off. As the mammal sensed our presence, it popped its head up in curiosity and ran towards us. We identified the curious creature as a tayra. It came close enough that we saw it clearly but bounded off before we were able to take a picture. The tayra was the perfect specimen to top off an exciting jag walk. We finished at mile 18 seven and a half hours after setting off. All in all, the dead red brocket deer, timid coati, injured green turtle, and curious tayra allowed for a rewarding 15 mile walk, and one of my best days in the field.
0 comments:
Post a Comment