Recap: Maned Wolf!

So I know we need to fill out our take home final, so I thought it might be a good idea for me to remind you guys about the maned wolf.  Here are some things to remember:

• The Maned Wolf is a misnomer. Although a canine, it is the only living member of the genus Chyrsocyon. While it looks like a "fox on stilts," it is most closely related to the Bush Dog
• It's name in Portuguese is the lobo-guará
• The Maned Wolf lives in various habits and its range extends from Central Brazil to Southeastern Peru. It prefers grasslands, and is therefore one of the few species that might benefit from the conversion of forests into farmland. 
• Maned Wolves are not fierce predators. They are quite shy and secretive, and are true omnivores. Over half their diet is comprised of fruit, especially the lobieria (fruit of the wolf), a fruit closely related to tomatoes. 
• Important adaptations are:
• stilt-like legs: allow them to see above grass
• mane: raise it in order to increase their size. Maned Wolves are not very aggressive, and usually this will be enough to avoid a conflict
• "roar-bark": very few recordings; rarity may be due to the fact that maned wolves rarely use this in captivity
• stinky urine: maned wolves are territorial and solitary animals. While a male and female may share a territory, they will rarely spend time together except during the breeding season. They are considered to be monogamous.
• They are considered near-threatened. Many ranchers perceive them as a threat to their livestock, when in reality, maned wolves rarely go for anything bigger than birds or small rodents. Automobile accidents and habitat fragmentation also contribute to this status. 
• Sadly, lots of superstition surrounds the Maned Wolf. The roar bark is believed to indicate a change in weather and many of their body parts are sold because of their "magical powers."

I found these animals to be incredibly beautiful and interesting in their unusual behavior for canines its size. Although the chances of seeing one are low because of their secretive demeanor, we may get lucky! 

-Catie

(for a complete list of sources please look at the prezi I emailed out)

Brazilian Superstitions and Myths

In my opinion, one of the most interesting parts of learning about another culture is hearing the superstitions and myths the people believe in.

In Brazil they share many of the same superstitions that we do here in the United States:

• Horseshoes bring good luck.
• Breaking a mirror is bad luck and indicates a cursed or unfortunate future.
• Walking under a ladder brings misfortune.

However, Brazilians have also have some superstitions that we don't:

• Never take a broom with you when you move. Throw it out and buy a new one.
• Never leave your purse on the floor, otherwise you will lose your money and become poor.
• White butterflies bring good luck
• Also, many Brazilians wear white on Fridays

While most Brazilian myths are centered around specific characters, like Anhanguera (their equivalent of the devil), some of the folktales' tell stories of the animals we will be seeing in the Pantanal. For example, the giant anteater is generally characterized as a trickster and a foil to the jaguar. The Jaguar is a symbol of power and strength, but can often fall victim to hubris, a consistent theme in literature worldwide. It is interesting to read how these two animals are opposite in many ways, diet, locomotion, reproduction, yet similar in others; both animals are adept killers.

I can't wait to hear other Brazilian myths and folklore when we are in country!

~ Megan Good

Sources:

http://blog.londolozi.com/2012/08/the-pantanal-series-walking-with-a-giant-anteater/

http://www.mangolanguages.com/culture/brazilian-culture-superstitions/

http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2010/11/26/most-common-superstitions-in-brasil/

http://www.superstitionsof.com/brazil-superstitions.htm

Ecosystem Services - Pollination

After I did my Pantanal economics presentation, I got really interested in this idea of ecosystem services which I hadn't met before. It seemed to me like a really interesting way of demonstrating the value of ecosystems to humanity and how interrelated we are to them. I found some examples of this kind of ecosystem service thought in practice, and it is definitely an area that I would like to look further into. I feel that if we can use economic tools and policy to create the right incentives and design a market that creates the desired conservation outcomes, it would be much more robust than continued legislation.

Pollination is one economic service provided by the ecosystem that I hadn't thought about. Though there isn't much intensive agriculture in the Pantanal, in the US farmers often have to buy crates of bees to pollinate their hives at great cost. A study (Kramer, 2005) that I found indicated that often these services could be fulfilled by wild bees rather than commerical honeybees, provided that the surrounding habitats were well preserved. If the scale of agriculture was too intensive, the ability of the bees to provide this free service dropped, but could still maintain useful backup and support. A relatively small investment in maintaining the surrounding ecosystems could generate far more efficient economic outcomes than direct modification.

Kremen, C. (2005), Managing ecosystem services: what do we need to know about their ecology?. Ecology Letters, 8: 468–479. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00751.x

Brazilian Jazz

The RA for my floor plays guitar, and one of his favorite types of music to play is Brazilian jazz.

Brazilian jazz, better known as bossa nova, is comprised of complex chords and simple, catchy melodies. These songs are also characterized by a "carefree" mood and, as my RA put it, give off a "girl on the beach" vibe.

The best known example of Brazilian jazz is probably "The Girl from Ipanema" performed by Astrud Gilberto, João Giberto, and Stan Getz.

"The Girl from Ipanema" is believed to be the second most recorded pop song in history.

Covers have been done by many musicians, to include Amy Winehouse and Frank Sinatra.

Amy Winehouse:

Frank Sinatra:

Frank Sinatra did covers of several Brazilian jazz songs and is largely credited with popularizing the genre in the United States.

Other people who influenced Brazilian jazz, bossa nova, include songwriter/composer Antonio Carlos Jobim and composer Vinicius Moraes.

~ Megan Good

In Defense of Drawing in the Age of Photography

In what will follow, I will accompany information about  different creatures that live in the Pantanal with sketches of those animals.  I thought it would be nice to mix it up, after seeing so much great photography.  Here, I will talk about why I think sketching is important, even in the age of photography, and why I hope to continue drawing during our safari.  

So, I am not a gifted artist, and I actually don't find making art particularly enjoyable.  I did when I was younger, however, and because of that I tried to learn to draw more realistically.  And while I was doing that, I realized how much concentration I was pouring into the subjects of my drawings, mostly of animals and people.  I found myself thinking about the structures of their bodies, the shape of the skeleton and the muscles that overlay them, and how to capture the texture of soft fur and feathers and hair and scaly skin.  

After drawing an animal, I noticed that I remember them much better afterwards.  I think I absorbed some information and intuition about the proportions of the creatures and the way they were put togethers.  It's much easier to remember the patterns on their bodies or their facial features after spending so much time getting them wrong.  That's a big part of it, is getting it wrong and looking at why.  Does the pattern of fur change around the joints?  How do the shadows work around the ears or beak? 

Obviously, a photograph can communicate the same information, and often communicates it better.  But have you ever stared at a photograph for two hours straight?  Probably not.  And if you tried, you might find you have a rough time of it.  If, however, you try to draw an animal, you will find yourself concentrating on it for a long time without even realizing how much time is passing.  And trying to figure it out, how to capture all the important parts.  

After a while, if you really start to understand an animal, you will be able to sketch it without seeing it or a picture of it.  It's fun, when that happens.  All the animals from that Pantanal that I have drawn so far were new to me, but I hope to get a better sense of them over the course of our trip.  

Sketching can also be a meditative experience.  You sit (more or less) still, and concentrate on one thing thing.  I feel like it's often mentally engaging without being challenging, per se.  That makes it a nice break from other types of work.  Plus, if you get way better, you can take creative license to do all types of fun things, or at least get rid of that annoying fern or whatever that screwed up your photo.  

Anyway, I really enjoyed drawing these, and the effort definitely made me appreciate all the beauty and variety of the creatures we hope to see.  

 

Caiman Ecological Refuge

The Caiman Ecological Refuge is a 131,000 acre reserve that credits itself with being the first ecotourism operation in the southern part of the Pantanal. The reserve is broken up into three parts:


Caiman Lodge:
There are two lodges that visitors may choose to stay at. The first lodge can hold up to 10 people and is located in a "wooded hillside" while the other lodge can hold 12 people and is located on a permanently flooded lake. The refuge offers a variety of tours and safaris in addition to lodging. They also appear to pride themselves on their ability to provide visitors with a fully immersive Pantanal experience, partially through the service of authentic regional dishes.

Nature Conservation Program:
Approximately 11% of the refuge was set aside in 2004 to create a reserve, the Private Reserve of Natural Patrimony Dona Aracy. The refuge also "encourages research and conservation of the Pantanal,"by supporting and sponsoring several species management projects.

• Hyacinth Macaw Project - Projeto Arara Azul

• Blue-Fronted Parrot Project - Projeto Papagaio Verdadeiro 

• Caiman Recycling Project

• Jaguar Project - Projeto Onçafari

Caiman Ranch:
Caiman Ranch is the refuge's traditional cattle ranch that hosts about 35,00 heads of cattle. Permanent residents, around 180 lodge and ranch workers, live on Caiman Ranch. These employees have access to a school as well as medical and dental care.

~ Megan Good

Here's the link to the Caiman Ecological Refuge website:
http://en.caiman.com.br/guides/

Take a Study Break with Babies of the Pantanal

I was procrastinating on StumbleUpon a few nights ago when I came across a video of a baby Jaguar chewing on a person's finger and trying to "roar." It was the cutest thing I've seen in a long time and led to me spending several hours on youtube looking up videos of baby animals from the Pantanal. Here is the best of what I found:

The video that started it all. Is that not the cutest thing ever?

Fun Fact: Cubs are born blind but gain sight after two weeks. The cubs will stay in their den for their first six months of life before venturing out on their own to hunt.

Capuchin Monkey

Fun Fact: Young Capuchins cling to their mothers' chest until they grow in size, at which point they will migrate to their mothers' backs.

These peccaries reside at the Zoo in San Diego, my home town.

Fun Fact: Frisky hopping is super cute.

This video is accompanied by some pretty sweet music - 

These anteaters, like the peccaries above, also live in a zoo (Santa Anna Zoo).

Fun Fact: The pup's colors and bands allow it to camouflage by aligning with the mother's colors and bands (you can see this in the video).

I hope we get to see some of these adorable animals while on our Pantanal Safari. Good luck with studying and finals!

~ Megan Good