| Venezuela: Llanos: Searching for the Capybara |
| This week I trekked to Venezuela, South America, to the huge, grassy plain called the Llanos. Here you find the last real cowboys, so naturally I rode a horse -- which really helped when I spotted a giant anaconda by a river! |
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The giant anaconda, or water boa, is the longest snake in South America, from 10 to 25 feet long. (The one I grabbed was a bit smaller.) It coils by the shore, waiting for prey. Then it leaps, hooks its fangs into its victim's neck, squeezes the animal to death, and swallows the body whole! |
| Behind the Scenes: You won't see it on TV, but that giant anaconda bit my hand. It snagged me right near my thumb. The river was so murky, I was sure the bite would get infected. Sure enough, I woke that night with my thumb throbbing! But I'm okay now. |
FEATURE CREATURE
This week's Feature Creature is the largest rodent in the world: the capybara. With the head of a rat and the body of a guinea pig, it's called the "master of the grasses" -- and I came to this grassland to find it. |
| Every year, the plain gets flooded by streams that overrun their banks. But now the hot sun has made much of the water evaporate. I traveled from shrinking water hole to water hole in search of the capybara. |
| Behind the scenes: I love to ride horses. But at the start of my adventure, as I raced after the anaconda, I rode right under a tree -- and got bonked by a limb! |
| I got a quick surprise when I accidentally woke up a prehensile-tailed porcupine. The porcupine uses its tail as a fifth limb, and its quills make it one animal you don't want to bump into. This porcupine is actually related to the capybara since it is also a rodent. |
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I also spotted an animal that looks like a cute land seal: the giant river otter. But its look is deceptive -- it can reach six feet, and it's a powerful carnivore! |
| The shrinking water holes attract a lot of birds. Why? Because the fish are forced to get closer and closer together, making for an easy lunch! I also saw birds that weren't after fish. The scarlet ibis uses its bill to hunt for crustaceans in the mud. In fact, the reason the ibis is such a rosy red is because it eats so many shrimp. |
| Behind the Scenes: We had trouble finding hungry piranha. But when we heard a local dog yelping -- it had been nipped in the water -- we knew we had found some hungry fish. I dangled a chicken in the water, and the piranha picked it clean! |
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Then I spotted a mata-mata turtle. Its nose is like a snorkel. Mata-mata means kill-kill, which perhaps refers to the turtle's clever way of hunting. It digs into the muck underwater, and when prey swims nearby, the big turtle literally vacuums it in! |
| Though I'm surrounded by wildlife, this prairie provides a great food source for cattle, and with cattle come ... cowboys! At night, they build campfires and sing songs, accompanying themselves on four-fingered guitars called "quatros." |
| One morning I was about to bathe in the river when I saw dozens of spectacled caimans, big crocodilians related to the American alligator. My bath could wait! These big reptiles can grow to six feet in size -- but they can still be beaten by the giant sea otter. |
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| Finally, I found a fresh clue to our Feature Creature: some "scat," or droppings, from the capybara. A bit farther into the plain, I saw a whole herd. These animals can grow to 100 pounds. A really big male can reach 200 pounds! |
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I got closer and noticed the large lumps on the males' snouts. This lump contains a gland that the male capybara uses to mark its territory. I also got a look at its powerful incisors -- the sharp front teeth. |
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--Totally wild,
Jeff |
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