Finding giant river otters on the Pantanal
Helen Blazis of Grafton recently returned from leading a safari to the Pantanal of Brazil. Her safari included photographers from Worcester County, and the group wanted to bring home stories of experiencing such a wildlife adventure. Helen is the wife of Mark Blazis, who wrote the Outdoors column for the Telegram & Gazette until his death in 2021,
Having witnessed the jaguar kill a capybara in the early morning, I assumed we would visit the site to see if the female had returned to the kill following nursing her two cubs. Had the dominant male taken possession of the kill? Were the vultures and other scavengers taking advantage of the jaguar’s absence?
Instead, our stalwart team of eight naturalists cruised along the left fork of the Rio Negro, a stretch of water we had not yet explored. A boat-billed heron sat patiently on a snag overhanging the river. High on the very top of a tree was a massive nest of sturdy sticks. A pair of incredibly tall (5 feet) and heavy (15 pounds) storks stood guard over their nest. Their body and wings were feathered pure white (wingspan of 9 feet). Their heads and necks revealed bare black skin. And below the neck, a stretchable pouch of gaudy red skin got our attention. They are known as Jabiru, the Huarani Indigenous word meaning “swollen neck.”
Out came the cameras and telephoto lenses. The Jabiru male and female will both incubate their eggs. This allows one parent to be off hunting for fish, frogs, snakes, and even mice and carrion, if the occasion arises. Mating for life, Jabirus can live an incredible 36 years.
Up river, we rousted a flock of dozens of snowy egrets which were gathering to roost for the night in a large tree. The spectacle of so many flapping white wings was an awesome sight.
Moments later, our guide shouted, “Giant River Otter!” We set anchor in the middle of the river, so as not to disturb
the otters by our presence. The adult male and female were relaxing on a large branch which hung over the water. Each, periodically, would scratch against the bark. Then the pair would rub against each other. Very romantic. In the water beneath them, three subadult otters (born last year) were chasing one another, in a kind of game of tag. We noticed the two 3-month-old baby otters in the water as well. The game of tag was getting more boisterous, and the two babies were being chased and roughhoused by their older siblings.
The mother noticed the harassing behavior and slipped into the water. The entrance to their den in the muddy embankment was nearby. She urged her sub-adult offspring to stop their play and go into the den, which was about 10 feet deep. The young otters, of course, refused and ignored their mother. They just kept swimming around chasing the babies. The mother otter had had enough. She grabbed one otter with her mouth and pulled him up into the den. Then she emerged and collected a second otter. While trying to force him into the den, she slipped and both young otters fell out of the den with her, back into the water. The sub-adults must have sensed her displeasure. This time as the mother dragged each one into the den, there was no debate.
There. With all pups in the den, she could have a moment of peace. Or so she thought. The littlest baby otter was still in the river, crying piteously. So maybe she couldn’t count. Back into the water she slipped, and with a gentle bite around the neck of the little one, she carried the pup into the den with his siblings. And the father otter? He had ambled up the muddy embankment to the top where he was resting in some grasses. Mother otter could handle the youngsters.
Returning to our lodge, we came upon a sandbar in the middle of the very wide Cuiabá River. Black skimmers, wattled jacana, yellow-billed terns, large-billed terns, collared plover, pied lapwing, lesser yellowlegs, and stilt sandpiper. What a splendid way to end an amazing day. The Pantanal of Brazil proved to be full of drama and excitement for the team of Donna and Larry Reich, Ellie and Paul Horwitz, Lisa and John Rawinski, and Stephanie Donaldson. The magnificent Giant River Otter is the world’s largest otter species, and currently is listed as endangered. Habitat destruction, water contamination, shooting, and climate change have all contributed to its diminishing population. Ecotourism can help, as the Giant River Otter becomes more valuable alive than dead.
What other dangerous or beautiful, exotic or rare creatures would we encounter tomorrow?