Project Buddy

UPDATE 2.0: Sooo due to my leaving this until almost the proverbial last minute and the ever reliable Murphys Law, this blog is later again than I planned…again. The main generator died two days ago, so yesterday the backup generator was fixed and installed. It died during last night. Today (13th), of course was a completely overcast day which meant that the battery in the office couldn’t be turned on. This is because without the sun to hit the solar panels and charge/top up the battery as it’s running it would go flat in no time. Finally at about 230pm the sun appeared and I started updating this again and loading a few pictures. It is now 355pm and I’m typing this on word because the power has gone off again…dunno why…will have to investigate when I finish typing this.

UPDATE: I then held of posting this blog after I wrote it because I wanted to write and post other blogs with other stories first. As a result I didn't post any for a few weeks and am now running late haha woops! So some of it is going to be out of date now but I'll leave it all there and update again at the end.

June 2nd
I have held off writing a blog update about this subject because for quite a while it was not a guarantee and I didn't want to say anything when it wasn't common knowledge. Some of you already know this, some don't.

Buddy is going to be transferred from his home here in Karanambu to Jacksonville Zoo in Florida. It became obvious here that with his blindness he would not survive in the wild on his own and thus nor would he contribute to the population here by breeding. In JZoo he will hopefully bond and mate with a female (mail order arranged marriage haha) that is coming from Philadelphia Zoo and will provide important new genetics to the captive breeding population of Giant Otters.

The entire process has been going on for a number of months now (as in it was beginning to be discussed not long after I arrived here!) but things are really starting to come together now. It looks as if Buddy will be transferred in about a months time - early July. One really exciting piece of news is that all parties have agreed for me to travel with Bud all the way to JZoo and to help him acclimatise there!! I am so stoked, it is an amazing opportunity for me, and something rare to be a part of!

You might be asking how did I manage that? Well I saw an amazing opportunity for me to be involved especially since when it was finally confirmed that yes Buddy was going to JZoo I was the only volunteer here. I knew that if I wanted to be a part of the whole project I needed to be proactive. So I talked to Diane about wanting to be involved and she agreed it was a good idea, then I talked to Dr Lucy, she also agreed. Then we had to convince the zoo! Thankfully/luckily they were accepting of the idea as well, it is normal in zoo transfers for there to be an overlap of old and new keepers to help settle the animals into their new environments. Basically I just kept talking about it to the write people, being involved however I could, sending emails and introducing myself, I just kept myself out there!

At the moment all the challenging logistics are being sorted out, such as flights -
commercial or chartered, linking domestic and international flights, possible housing for an overnight stay in Gtown en route, bringing enough frozen fish with me for the trip....the list goes on!

Over a month ago one of JZoo's transport crates was shipped from a nearby research station to here at Kbu to give Buddy a chance to get used to it. I was away in Gtown at the time but I found out later that he got used to it very very quickly and it didn't take him long to start sleeping in there.

Looks pretty comfortable to me!

What an easy otter he is, I imagine some zoo animals probably take weeks if not longer to get used to their crates. I think part of it may've been that he couldn't see it, so the sight of a big scary silver box was not an issue. Also he had previously been sleeping in a big wooden rectangular box, so this was just a bigger, slightly different version.

Whilst Buddy is comfortable enough with the crate to sleep in it does not mean he is going to be easy when it comes time to actually shut him in there and for a long period of time. As such I felt it was very important to start crate training with him to make being in the crate a positive experience and hopefully eventually even make being shut in the crate for periods of time an ok if not good event. Again I saw an opportunity to do something and so after talking about what I wanted to do with Diane, I went ahead and did it!

Thus my first ever attempt to crate train an animal came about. Now I have never owned a cat or a dog (Andrew would pick on me during behavioural lectures for that haha!) so when I say first ever attempt to crate train...it's really first ever attempt to train anything, ever! Behaviour and training is something that has always been of great interest to me, so for me to have this opportunity is amazing. A very rare opportunity at that! How many people who are new to the industry of captive wildlife, training and conservation would get the chance to have complete and sole free reign and responsibility to crate train a blind giant otter?? I take this responsibility and challenge seriously and with great joy.

Thankfully I have a lot great people such as some of the staff at JZoo like Nick and Sheryl and also Dr Lucy, an old friend of Diane's, who have been more than willing to offer their experience, advice and support to me during this process.

I started formulating the first step in my mind and began to work from there. After a few days a couple of more steps formed so I kept going with what seemed like a natural progression of steps...
One has to keep in mind that Buddy does not have the luxury of visual cues, instead we'd have to work with vocal cues (and his nose to find the actual pieces). I knew that minimal speaking and a very simple command was the best way to go, to help prevent confusing things. It didn't take much thought to decide on the simplest command possible really = "crate Buddy" said in a very clear voice.

These are the rough steps I have created along the way.


Step 1: put fish inside crate, tap crate and call Buddy to get him to come to the crate, tap inside of crate to tell him he needs to go inside to find fish

Step 2: when Buddy starts going into crate of his own volition, give him fish once he's inside

Step 3: as Buddy goes into the crate again of his own volition, give command "crate Buddy" and fish at the same time

Step 4: now fish is only found in the crate After the command "crate Buddy" is given. Also tap and bang crate at random and regular intervals including when Buddy goes into the crate without the command to teach that banging noises coming from the crate does Not mean fish is inside (thus undoing the tapping that was done in step 1).

Step 5: continue step 4, introduce the sliding door - open and close it a lot to introduce and desensitise Buddy to the new banging and crashing noises, show they are nothing to be fussed about.

Step 6: after the command is given and Buddy is inside the crate, shut the door for a short period of time and then open again.

Step 7: continue step 6, slowly increase the amount of time the door is shut.

....etc

I am currently up to Step 4 and it is going really really well. Today, my birthday he gave me a great present by going straight for the crate at a run as soon as I gave the command, 9 out of 10 times!! He also seems to be learning quickly that banging noises from the crate are no cause to rush in and look for fish because there never is any. I took a video this afternoon during the training session of giving the command and Buddy's excellent and speedy response!


Huzzah Bud!! :D

Thankfully I have at least 3-4weeks to continue the training, and I think with at least 1 session every day we are going to make some great progress.


July 12-13
This is the original date for Buddys transfer, obviously now this is no longer the case. It was only about a week or so ago that the pick up date and charter flight was finally arranged and booked! The two JZoo staff - Dr Nick (the vet) and Sheryl (curator of mammals and involved with JZoos giant otters (if I remember correctly)) have arrived in Gtown today to finalise all the paperwork and make sure everything is organised.

So on thursday the 15th Nick and Sheryl will be arriving on the chartered plane, landing at the airstrip here thus negating the need to put Buddy (who is in the crate by this stage of course) in the landrover, drive him down to the landing, put him in the boat, drive about 20min through the flooded forest, unloaded him from the boat and reload into the 2nd landrover and then drive about another 20min to the commercial airstrip! Thankgod that's not the case!

I will have Buddy all crated up and ready to go, we will load up and ship out, landing at Guyanas international airport. There we will wait for the rest of the day until our flight for Miami, which leaves at midnight. We will arrive in Miami on friday morning. Then load ourselves and Bud onto the JZoo truck and drive 6ish hrs (I think) up the coast to Jacksonville and the zoo, hopefully all according to plan arriving at JZoo in the early afternoon! Phew it's gonna be a long one.

I have underestimated Buddy multiple times over the last month and a half or so since I started the crate training. Like when someone with the best of intentions took over my crate training (this was early on) one afternoon whilst I was napping and it was utter chaos. I was worried it would undo all the hard work we'd done, Buddy at that stage was just starting to consistently run straight to the crate as soon as the command was given. The next day I went to train with with "baited breath" to find that it was as if the day before had never happened and everything went as smooth as butter! Then again when I went to Gtown for my passport and a break and we missed about 5 afternoons of crate training. I got back and did crate training and it was as if I had never been away! I am continually learning that he is an intelligent animal that can tell the difference between voices and the energies of people.

The crate training with him has gone further than I ever imagined it would. It got to the stage where he would run straight into the crate for fish as soon as I gave the command and I was able to then lock the door down on him before he got out (most of the time!). After a while of that he then started, on occasion, to choose to stay in the crate to eat his piece of fish! I realised I had to reward that quick smart because having the animal choose to go into the crate and then choose to stay in the crate to eat is great!

So from the first time I saw Buddy staying in the crate to eat I tried to make sure I had a few extra bits of fish - nothing huge just small heads and tidbits that would make a treat. Thus the next step became call Buddy to the crate with the command, then IF he stays in to eat, wait until he's finished and then immediately give him the treat. Once I started doing this every time, naturally it didn't take him long to figure out that if he stays in to eat he gets another piece of fish straight away. As a result he began to stay in more and more often and then he began waiting for the next piece instead of rushing out!

Thus, again I stepped up the training to the next level by adding a second command of "Stay". I would say it when Buddy had finished his first piece (assuming of course he has stayed in his crate to eat) and would pause waiting for the treat. So really I guess it was just extra reinforcement of if you stay in there and wait when I say "stay", you get extra fish. Sometimes I would do it 3 or 4 times in a row keeping him in the crate for as long as possible.

I then thought what the hell why don't I try and get the crate door down and lock him in whilst he's inside and already settled down eating. Again I underestimated Buddy and the training we had done figuring that as soon as he heard the door rattling and coming down he would've left the crate and gone to the pool to finish eating. Lo and behold he did not! I was able to call Buddy to the crate, he stayed in eating and I was able to open and close the door on him as much as I wanted and he didn't pay any mind what so ever. I think it was at least partially due to the "noise work" I did with the crate and door - all the random and regular banging, tapping and crashing desensitised him to the noise so he no longer pays attention to it because he knows it doesn't mean anything of consequence. So basically the crate training got to a point where the race to call Buddy in and shut the door before he got out was completely taken out of the picture. It managed to become even less stressful.

I was going to load a good ol’ home video of the latest crate training but since I’ve left it to rather the last minute and the internet isn’t letting me load the video I’ll just explain how it goes and hopefully load the vid at a later date.
1) “Crate Buddy” -> Buddy enters crate and stays in to eat
2) Shut the door…
Ta da!!
Haha sorry that is a pretty lame explanation but that’s basically how it rolls now and it is fantastic! Like I said I never imagined the crate training and Buddy and I would all come this far and end up being this smooth and “easy”. Makes me pretty stoked!

I have been attempting to organise volunteering at JZoo for after I have spent a few days settling Buddy in. I was contemplating the idea when dad (always totally awesome to know that my family continually supports my passion and future career!!!) made the same suggestion, we both figure that I might as well make the most of the whole experience! I think I’m set to do some but I don’t know how much. My hope is to volunteer for a month as that is a good solid period of time to settle in, learn the routine and pick up some cool skills. It’s also substantial enough to put on the resume – always important!

This morning I was organizing my gear, deciding what to pack and what to leave here. I want to take as little as possible so I have as much room as possible in my backpack for bring back essential supplies like powerade powder :P. It amazes me how a few undies, pants, bras and shirts takes up so much room! I’m trying to figure out what I can leave behind but I’m not seeing anything! Suggestions? The shoes seem to make my backpack heavy…damn shoes are overrated…I have now been wearing thongs constantly for 24 weeks (5.5/6ish months!) and it’s great! I also have a very stylish and wholesome thong tan haha. Just you watch, I’ll make it all the rage in Florida!

Roughly 40hrs from now the charter plane will be landing on the small strip here on the edge of the compound and Buddy and I will Transform and Roll Out ;) heading for the states!




:D

Fishing Achievement of the Year

As you all know already Bud is quite the accomplished stingray catcher despite his blindness. I was going to say "one day about 2 months ago", then I looked at the calendar and realised it was exactly 2 months ago to this day...strange? Buddy went far above and beyond stingray catcher and made fishing achievement of the year. He also succeeded in dumbfounding every single person at Karanambu.

What did he do?

He caught and dragged up onto the sandbank an Arapaima!


biiiig!

Now for those of you who do not know what an Arapaima is, it is one of the largest fresh water fish in the world, it is a prehistoric fish. In Guyana it is protected and illegal to hunt without a licence (even then there are strict limits). For more details on it's massive length and weight check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arapaima
Just to save you all the trouble of googling it, paste that address into your browser ;)

I was not down at the river with Buddy when he caught it (god I wish I had been there!), instead Girly came running up breathless telling us what had happened. I asked her to repeat what he'd caught about 3 times because I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Cameras were grabbed and everyone did a mad dash down to the river to see if the news was true...surely not!

Lo and behold it was indeed true. Buddy was there on the sandbank next to this huge fish making his possessive giant otter noises. Buddy very rarely makes that noise but in this case I think it was well justified!

Quick little vid of Buddy and the Arapaima...I'm not sure why I only took a few seconds worth? Shame on me it should've been longer!

Girly and Guy who were watching Buddy down at the river when he caught the Arapaima said that he caught it out in the lagoon and at first they thought all the thrashing and splashing was because he had run into a caiman. Thankfully that was not the case! Buddy had managed to grab a hold of the Arapaimas tail, catching and dragging it onto land, There were a few small puncture marks and rips right at the end of it's tail where Buddy had bitten it.


A good size comparison photo. Looking at it again I realise at this point in time he was actually eating out the eyeball . . .



Trying to find a purchase somewhere with his teeth so he can start eating. The Arapaima is seriously smooth and slick!



He finally found a place to hook his teeth into - under the gills...


The next trick was to get the Arapaima up to the compound...it took Guy and I to pick it up and carry it. As I mentioned, they are seriously slippery suckers, (no I didn't do 3 s' in a row on purpose!) Guy took the front and I took the back. Unforunately for me this ended up being really awkward because I am much taller than Guy so I had to walk in a half crouch because I knew if I stood up the fish would slip over the front of both our shoulders. I also picked up and carried the fish in the crook of my left arm because it was only 2 days after Philip ripped up my right hand. Cue making it even more awkward because my dominant and stronger arm is my right one! Good exercise haha

Once we had huffed and puffed and carried this fish up a slight slope for a few hundred metres, we put it down on the lawn so it could be weighed and measured. Everyone wanted to know how heavy and how long this beast of a fish was.

Any guesses...?


No?


Ok then spoil sports. The Arapaima weighed in at 38kg (80 pounds) and 5ft 2inches!!! That makes the fish as tall as Kait....ha ha! As good ol' wikipedia will tell you the fish can get up to twice that size but it's still huge. Especially when it was caught by an animal smaller than it. We think Buddy weighs 20-25kg and is probably similar length to the fish I guess, but don't forget a large section of that is his tail!

What a champion giant otter! Some of the staff contest that the fish was sick or the fish was caught in a net when he caught it. We'll never know, but I for one, am certainly not going to underestimate his strength and hunting ability!

Challenge a la Philip

Oh yeh Warning: pictures of bites with some blood and stuff are in this entry...

UPDATE: Sooo this was gonna be a combined blog on all sorts of things that have happened in the last few months...turns out this first section has gotten so big that I'm now making it one blog and will carry on with other things in the next!

I meant to have this update before the Afternoon with Buddy but I published by mistake and couldn't find how to unpublish it...oh well...

Here is were I meant to write excuses about being busy working 7 days a week, then going to Gtown to get my passport stamped (I am now allowed to stay until Jan 2011!!) and have a break, then coming back and getting super uber food poisoning and being ill for a few days, then back to 7 day a week work and then when I finally got time off a few days ago all I wanted to do was absolutely nothing...and that's why I haven't updated my blog? Weak I know....so I'll just get on with the stories and pics already!


Without a doubt the biggest and most common challenges I have here at Karanambu come from Philip. He was always a nipper from the day I arrived. At first we put it down to the fact that he was teething through his back molars and that prior to our (Ana, Stefi and myself) arrival there hadn't really been any serious consequences for his biting. Quite quickly he seemed to learn that nipping meant a flick on the nose and "NO". That was that right? Not really....it sorted him out for the most part aside from the occasional bite here and there when he decided to retest the boundaries or when he was in a hunger frenzy - before the fish and after it was all gone.

I should explain that Philip is what I would call a desperate eater. 4 meals a day, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month, so far for 5 months (can only speak for since I've been here) he eats like someone is about to steal his fish or it is about to disappear or like he hasn't been fed in a week. Regular, individual, generally large meals have done nothing to change that...some animals are just like that I guess.

After I got back from the Kaieteur Falls trip and time in Gtown I sort of had to re-establish myself with Bel and Philip. They knew who I was, they were just a little wary. I had, after all been away for about 2.5 weeks, and they were also at the age that they started becoming more aware of their surroundings and a little more wary of many things.

I don't remember when exactly it started but Philip changed from occasional nipping to aggressive biting with me. He started lunging at my feet whenever I let him out of the pen, especially on the walk down to the river. He started lunging at my feet when the fish was all gone and he figured he hadn't had enough. He started biting without warning, without provocation, without fish being involved. So it was easy enough to explain some of the biting as being caused by food issues, other bites I feel were/are caused by a dominance issue. By that I think Philip sees me as a dominance threat on some level. He doesn't behave the same way towards Diane, who I think he sees as more of a litter mate. Other bites I cannot explain other that he is a wild animal and it is a hazard of the job. One which I respect, understand and accept.

The first really big bite from him was when I had a towel and was drying him a little. I thought it was going pretty good and that we were making headway because previously we were pretty wary of each other. Well...perhaps I invaded his space for too long, rubbed too close to his head..who knows...but for whatever reason he suddenly grabbed onto my hand, bit hard and then proceeded to pull backwards. I heard my skin pop when he bit, then rip as he pulled...I was in so much shock that I was barely able to stutter out something like "no...stop...let go". He did let go eventually, whereby I then immediately left the pen and came back to the main house to do first aid.


I look at this picture and see how little the bite looks, how shallow it looks. However the two outer most punctures on the far right and far left were actually pretty bloody deep and took a long time before the skin would seal up.

I thank the universe that on that particular day when actually ice in the freezer (a very rare occurrence out here) so I immediately got the ladies to give me some ice, wrapped it in a few tissues (all that was available that I knew was clean) and put it on my hand. Even with ice and nurofen my hand was still super swollen and bruised the next day. Having no ice would have made it much worse and generally made the whole situation suckier! By that stage was hurting and bleeding like all buggery. Once all the ice had melted I poured on some betadine, which proceeded to get washed out by more blood...oh well, piled on some gauze for absorption and padding and then wrapped my hand in vet wrap. Vet Wrap is one of the greatest inventions ever, it stretches, wraps and and sticks to itself, negating the need for bulking crepe bandages that get smelly and require a clip to hold the bandage that always falls off, like I said - great stuff!


Can you say showering, dressing, eating and functioning with one hand?

Three days later and things were starting to look a little pussy...oh greattt!

I then spent over an hour that morning soaking my hand in hot water to open and soften the wound and then pick and scrub out the puss and bad skin...it was not fun to say the least and made my already swollen hand ache like hell! But, better than getting an infection!!

In the end it took at least two weeks for the two deep punctures to actually seal up and start healing...that is a long time!


The third scar can't be seen in this picture, it's too the left, on the side of my hand. Since it was deep and wide there is still quite a bump and it's rather purple looking. 2 months later and I am now left with 3 neat little scars that are fading more with every day

After that I decided/realised that everyone treats, trains and reacts towards animals of all kinds in different ways. I needed to find a way to coexist with Philip that was best for the both of us. For me that involved and still does - giving him more space, whilst he is more than free to come to me if he wants to.


What to do to minimise the biting? Stop the biting? That'd be great. But how?
I tried negative reinforcement - a smack and a loud "NO". I tried to feed him big meals to keep him full (not always possible and very difficult once the water started rising).

I called on my uni lecturer and supervisor Dr Andrew Tribe for help who then enlisted another great vet who specialises in dog behaviour - Dr Cam Day begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting. They both went above and beyond what I could've hoped for, going out of their way to try and find a solution that would help me out. The idea was to reward periods of non-aggression so that he would eventually realise that that was the desired behaviour that would yeild food treats. Unfortunately Philip is just too food and hunger orientated and the sight of chunks of fish as treats would send him into a screaming rage - literally. With the kids, if you take too long getting them a piece of fish from the bowl they will stand up and brace themselves on your leg. With Philip if you continue to take too long he will then bite you on said leg. Unforunately that is exactly what happened...

There goes that idea! Again I am struck by how insignificant this bite looks but it sure as hell hurt a lot. He was hungry and he was mad, he bit HARD! The only reason I didn't get huge canine puncture marks in my leg was because I had sturdy long pants on. As it was he still put some nice punctures in and left a huge bruise about half the size of my hand on my leg.

All healed now but I can still feel the scar tissue lumps in my leg... *sigh* yet again this scar looks so tiny

Another choice I made was to wear shoes at all feedings. One reason was so that I could go about my duties without having to always watch Philip with one eye and watch my feet with the other (not so easy for me haha). This way I could do what I needed to do in a more relaxed and confident manner, thus hopefully allowing Philip the opportunity to relax too. He and I were always watching each other, wary of each other. So I wanted to take my feet out of the equation. Shoes did this. In some ways (not all of course) things became much easier...especially the walk down to the river. Philip still lunged at my feet when I let him out of the gate but having shoes on allowed me to give no reaction so he seemed to learn that it wasn't really worth it because "nothing" happened when he did it.


You can see the bottom of the scar is still quite red, that's because that was the start of the bite and it went deep. The last bite I've had from Philip was on my birthday...yes I know, great birthday present huh! It was down at the river, Philip was hungry, all the fish was gone and so he went into one of his screaming rages and firstly attacked my feet (thankgod for the shoes), he then ran around behind me and slashed the back of my leg quite nicely.

So over the last few months, especially through May and June I think, Philip and I definitely had some...confrontations? episodes? challenges....
One thing helped - at one stage the river dropped just a little bit, but it was enough so that for some unknown reason the fish really started biting. So I was able to start giving him a lot of fish so that helped take the food tantrums out of the equation..for the most part.
The other thing that seemed to be quite effective was the No Reaction system. Philip really seemed to lose interest in my shoes and going after them when I let him out/food was gone etc

Basically things seemed to be going really well....spoke too soon it seems. Philip suddenly returned to attacking my shoes when the fish was finished....and then he started stalking them when I was in the enclosure. By that I mean he took to lying less than a meter from my feet with that look in his eye that I know all too well (seriously I can tell when he's gonna go at it) and then he would suddenly lunge at my feet, bite my shoes and back off again. This suddenly for some reason is where the No Reaction started to fail...he didn't let go anymore...he started chewing...he has now put 2 holes through the rubber on the toe of one of my shoes, the other isn't far behind. When I'd had enough of him doing this for over 5 minutes I took the kids on a huge walk to hopefully tire them out...it worked I think...or rather it distracted Philip and got him doing something else.

So at the moment I feel like I'm back at the "What to do" square. His unpredictability worries me a great deal, especially as he is getting bigger and bigger, at an ever increasing pace. All I can do at the moment is deal with it as it comes and hope that nothing happens while I'm away!

~End of the Philip Challenge~ (well not really as it's obviously still going, but end of it on this blog at least!)

An Afternoon with Buddy

This one is for my New Zealand cuzzies Anna, George, Ella and Will - not that any of my other updates aren't! I just thought of them espcially when I wrote this.

I hope you guys learn some cool new things reading this, I miss you all and pester (it means nag/annoy/beg constantly) your parents to get them to help you send me an email, and I want pictures!! :)



Sneaking out of Buddys pen is not easy to do when he falls asleep under your legs holding onto your foot! It is however, amazingly cute and reminds me just how absurdly cool my experience here is!



I was sitting with bent legs and moved my legs to straighten them. As you can see Buddy woke up from his nap as soon as I moved from his touch, and only lay down to sleep again after he found my leg. At about 8 seconds you can see how he touches his nose to my leg to locate it and then puts his hand on me. He does the touch often when we are chilling out together and he is lying near/next to/on me, kind of like he's just checking to make sure I'm still there! He'll just flick his head out until his nose touches me and then lie back down. He's gotta be in a deep sleep before you can sneak off!!



Buddys fur, as you can see is very thick and has two layers. The top one is chocolate brown (that glows a golden tawny colour in the sunlight) and the even thicker under coat which is a creamy colour with a tinge of orange. When all three of our otters are swimming and the top coat of fur starts to get slick, shiny and wet the pale fur on their throat can look the most amazing shade of creamy orange!

The dense and doubled layered fur is very important for giant otters. It keeps them constantly dry even when they are in and out of the river all day. When I say constantly I really mean most of the time! For example very young otters, whos fur isn't at it's full thickness yet will get wet to the skin if they swim long enough - Bel and Philip were like that when I first arrived. That's one of the reasons why grooming is essential. For the young pups it helps dries them off and for the older otters it keeps the fur clean and that means air is more easily trapped in the top layer - the air bubbles that are trapped in the fur repel the water.



As you can see a giant otters ears are comparatively small compared to their huge body! This is Buddys ear against my thumb, it's really not much bigger than say an Australian 10c piece. Don't think for a second though that this means their hearing is no good, it is absolutely amazing! In the photo Buddys ear is kind of stick out - it's away from his head. However when the giant otters swim they have the ability to flatten their ears to their head and close them off so no water gets in - cool huh! When they are being aggressive or are scared their ears will also often flatten to their skull - like a dog or cat or horse does in the same situation. As such their ears will also prick forward, again like a cat, dog or horse when they are focusing intensely to pick a new, interesting or familiar sound.



This is one of Buddys forepaws. Giant otters have 5 toes, all with multiple joints, like the knuckles on our fingers - this gives them quite amazing flexibity to grip slippery fish tightly to stop them getting away while they eat it! The skin between each finger is surprisingly soft and very stretchy. Going from the bottom up, you can see between fingers two and three he is a small cut which is healing. He would've picked it up whilst out fishing and swimming in the river.



The indentations visible in this photo are healing puncture wounds from another wild otter. The bite occurred whilst I was away in Gtown a few months ago, apparently the single wild otter spotted on various occassions had actually gone up to Buddy. The story goes that they were interacting peacefully until the wild otter suddenly bit Buddy on the base of the tail. Perhaps he smelt something (humans?) that he didn't like or suddenly felt that Buddy was a threat...who knows. Even though the wounds were quite deep they required no treatment. Giant otters heal very quickly and sure enough Buds wounds had healed in no time, however because the bite was quite deep you can still see and feel the dip if you know what to look for.



On this day I think I spent at least an hour and a half in the pen with Buddy just chilling out...I lay down on the pavement and he came to lie beside me and be in physical contact with me. This is the way I prefer to do it with the otters, as wild animals. I love them, they are amazing creatures and as special as Buddy is he is still wild. So when I am interacting with any of the otters and Bandit the raccoon for that matter, I put myself in a position where I can observe without intruding and let them choose to come to me rather than forcing myself into their personal space - I believe that's asking for trouble in a lot of cases. The fact that Buddy also then lets me stroke him and handle his hands is beyond amazing. I always keep it in mind that to a degree he's probably just putting up with me - like when I handle his hands - and to handle/touch him very carefully and gently and above all, not too much, not to smother him or intrude upon his personal space. I also always pay close attention to his body posture etc so that if he gives me signs that he's had enough, I see them as soon as possible. I am just bloody lucky in that these animals often choose to come and interact with me and I adore and cherish every single moment!




What A Day!

What's Been Happening ...

Upon my return from Gtown and being away for nearly 2.5wks I had to wait out at Point Ranch (where I was dropped by the bus) for Karanambu's Land Rover to come and pick me up....Ended up sitting on the side of the dirt road, covered in a healthy layer of dirt myself with multiple bags and boxes of supplies for around 6hrs...
Up at the ranch itself they had what we think is an Ocelot skin...was small and very soft...

What a waste...


The vaqueros (the local name for cowboys) were drinking what they said was a Brazilian "wine"...tasted pretty feral but the label made me laugh and laugh and laugh. So here you are boys

Enjoy ;)


By the time I got back the two new volunteers had been here for a week. Dominique (Dom) and Josh from New Orleans. Josh is a landscaper and Dom works at a zoo in N.O with North American River Otters. Her duties also involve work with the aquarium section, alligators and small monkeys! Pretty freaking cool...

I was gobsmacked when I saw the kids after being away for so long - they had grown so much and looked freaking huge! Especially Philip, he had not only gained some length but had really filled out and was looking quite muscly! Bel was looking rather big for her usual self haha...she was probably about the size Philip was when I arrived.
Here is a rather sweet 'sibling moment' :)

They stayed lying like that for quite a while


Before leaving Gtown I picked up a few treats for myself to have while being out at Kbu. Including granola bars (the american version of muesli bars), Wethers lollies and the most important of all! Behold

Makes me think of home :) God how I miss fresh milk for all that I wasn't drinking much of it by the time I left. All I've seen in Guyana in powdered...even in all the supermarkets...talk about depressing...


One morning Josh had taken Buddy down to the river whilst I finished up at the otter house. When I went down to join him he asked me to look at something to see if I could confirm his suspcicions...he showed me animal tracks...My jaw hit the ground and my eyes bulged out of my head! They weren't just any fresh animal tracks but Jaguar tracks!!!! They were super fresh too considering it'd been raining all morning until about 5-6am and they weren't washed away yet...We were down there at about 830-9am. Not only that but it's not like the tracks just showed the cat going along the river bank to the rivers edge for a drink and then going back...this cat had wandered ALL over the bank...it's tracks were literally everywhere...So Exciting! I was bouncing off the walls just about haha


Laying something next to tracks gives it scale for later reference/as proof.


We also found Capybara tracks right in one corner of the sandbank between the scrub and water

Perhaps the Jaguar was stalking it?


Showing part of the track it walked...


Another size comparison, this time with my hand just for fun


I made many discoveries on my return to Karanambu, one of which was that I had a Jigger or Chigoe Flea that had burrowed its way into my heel and was swollen with eggs. Girly, one of the staff here expertly removed it, in one piece. Pretty gross but kind of cool. No pain what so ever.
At first I just thought I had an extra deep crack in my heel as it was tender to press on but after I got back to Kbu and all the dead skin sloughed off I was left with this!


The flea leaves the hole open after it burrows in so it can breathe...

I took the needle from a 3mL syringe - we have plenty in the vet supplies. Was sterile and unused of course.

The first step is to pick back all the dead skin from around the flea - very carefully so as not to puncture it!

Next came cutting off all the dead skin

with a razor blade

Behold the pretzel position I was forced into to get it removed

Only because I wanted to watch while she did it haha!

Here is the flea all exposed

Pretty huge and pretty gross...

Careful, careful again

Gotta lift, pry, squeeze it out without bursting it!

The resulting hole after the Jigger was removed

Even grosser and bigger than the flea itself? Almost? It's now about a month later and the hole is still growing out...

The flea itself....the few white things you can see coming out the top are the eggs...

Pat said it was one of the biggest she'd ever seen and she was surprised it hadn't burst already...I think I'd had it in there for a while...woops
Over the next few days I also managed to pick up a few ticks...after removing them I find the spot always gets itchy...I still have marks from all 3 ticks I've had here so far :/
A week or two later I think it was I also ended up with conjunctivitis! I'd never had it before...it is very uncomfortable, especially when it was in my good eye! Blergh. Thankfully they had the right drops here to treat it.


One afternoon Buddy caught a turtle! Poor fella was making such frustrated sounds because he couldn't get at it haha. Girly then stole it off him, he certainly wasn't very impressed when it "disappeared". When Dom and Josh later inquired about the fate of the turtle, she said it got away but we are pretty certain she brought it back up to the staff kitchen and they cooked and ate it...

Come out turtle turtle


Just before Dom and Josh went back to the states we spent a morning at Caiman House, I got to see the pup that I have mentioned in a previous blog. It had been about a month after the first photo and she is looking much more like a pup, with fur and everything!

Her name is Mira. It was quite the challenge to take a good photo as every time I took a step back to line up the shot she would take a step forward so she could get another pat!


Bandit catching a big frog in the main house

he rolled it around on the ground first (he seems to do it to most of his food)


and then proceeded to eat it under the drinks table in front of all the guests...ever the charmer that he is...


For half the time Dom and Josh were here we only had 1-3 guests, they were here for around 2wks which was cool. They were great people and it was really nice to get to know them instead of the usual 1-2nights stay where often I don't even get a chance to learn their names. Here is a big group shot

In the back row from left to right is: Diane, Sandy (a close friend of D's from Dadenowa - a place down south), Shirley Ellis (a well known painter from England), Gerry, Derek Ellis (a keen birder and also a great sketcher), Polly (another close, old friend of D's and also an avid birder), Josh and Dom. The front row from left to right: Duane (from Dadenowa with Sandy, or should I say Sandy is with Duane haha, he's the Guyanese one) and yours truly.


Hanging in Gtown for a few days wit Dom and Josh before their return home - the month passed so quickly! Amongst other places we checked out the big wooden church which was lovely and cool inside. There was a steel drum band practicing and both Josh and I agreed that if more churches had steel drum bands the attendance ratings might increase :P


Inside of the church


Cool halo of light shot


Front of the church


I also walked Dom and Josh around Gtowns 'infamous' Starbroek Market, land marked by the giant clock (that I don't think works...)

....has anything and everything from underwear to fresh produce - veg, meat, fish to ripped dvds to shoes! Cool market to experience and wander around in though, never felt threatened or at risk in any way, even when I would walk around it alone.
However I was sensible about where I went, what I did and the vibe I gave off (confident and strong) and would walk everywhere as if I knew exactly where I was going (even when I didn't).

Needless to say it was a bummer to see everyone go - the guests Shirley, Derek and Polly and the volies Dom and Josh...they are all fantastic people that I hope to stay in contact with. I have been assured that anytime I visit London or the states that I have a couch to crash on which is the coolest :D

That's about it for this update....coming next - otter news!

Kaieteur Falls

I think part of the reason I've been so slack with my blog is the fact that I couldn't be bothered typing up the 'adventure' of Kaieteur Falls. However, exciting stuff is happening and coming on the horizon so I better get it updated so I can write about new stuff!

The morning before hiking up to K.F we were a few hours boat ride downriver at our previous nights camp. Our "guide" (useless) led us around and over some rapids...was pretty cool...I gathered serious man points by crossing them barefooted with my thongs clutched between my teeth :D


This was what I walked across (above the rapids, not below haha)


and this is me doing it!


The hike up was damn steep and pretty tough. A few kahjigahs were involved in the proccess but it was a cool trail through the jungle. At one point it was blocked by a maaassive tree that had fallen across the path so we had to bush bash our way up and around. I made the decision not to bring my columbia sneakers and instead put my faith in my KSO FiveFingers. I am so so glad that I did, they performed beautifully! Before that hike I hadn't worn them very much at all, maybe a few hours max. I hiked a steep, forest track that took about 3.5hrs with No Complaints what so ever = Freaking Awesome! Sooo comfy.


Hi5 for Vibrams KSO (Keep Stuff Out) FiveFingers

The humidity combined with the physical exertion made it look like Ana and I had been standing under a shower instead of hiking haha. However the crazy Italian Stefi just looked like she'd been for a jog around the park! Apparently Italians don't sweat like normal people . . .


...somewhat of a height difference, not helped that I was on the top of a slight slope...but still Stefi is short haha ;)

The falls themselves are absolutely awesome! That first night we arrived at the top of K.F we all bathed in the river under the near full moon less than 50m from falls themselves = wicked experience.


Kaieteur Falls



When looking outwards from the falls, this picture was taken looking to the left. Different lookouts were situated along the stretch of cliff. I love the giant moss covered rocks below

The next day after cruising around the different lookouts and taking lots of pictures we decided to do our feral laundry in the river. Was classic to see the looks on visitors (that fly in for a quick look) faces when they saw these 3 chicks calmly doing their laundry under the trees near the drop of Kaieteur Falls hahaha!

We got to see lots of cool stuff (aside from the breath taking view, that no matter how many times I looked at it, was always beautiful) like the Golden Frog which lives in bromiliads (a type of giant palm thing) near Kaieteur Falls and isn't found anywhere else in the world. It is tiny and very cute.


Also very hard to photograph!

There were also the hundreds (at least) of swifts that sleep in a cave behind the falls - one can see them coming and going at dawn and dusk. Orange hawks could be seen cruising the skys waiting to dive down on the swifts which are their prey. Yet another breath taking sight as they fly with amazing agility in these huge clouds. We also went hunting for the Cock-of-the-Rock - a beautiful exotic bird. We managed to spot it twice, albiet briefly and with no photos.
We also got to see Macaws flying around and nearby the falls a few times which was super cool.


Yours truely with the falls behind me


and again me, but this time the view behind me is the view seen when standing atop the falls and looking out down the river!

If you ever get curious about the whole experience I'd be more than happy to tell you over a beer or few :)

oh and this

is Steve
both Steve and the Golden Frog are of similar size - maybe as big as the first joint of your finger = tiny! not even an inch long