Native mammals - the peccary

My second assignment was to assist in tracking, trapping, measuring and micro-chipping the peccary. For animals that had been previously tagged we used radio transmitters to track them.

Setting the trap was an interesting experience - there was nothing high-tech about it. Someone had to go into the trap, set it using a primitive stick method, bait it with mandioc (a large edible root native to Brazil) then disappear. We checked the traps throughout the day until we found one with a captive animal. Peccary are monitored because they are threatened by a non-native species of feral (wild) pig, imported to Brazil in the last century.

I thought I would enjoy this part of the trip best, but after doing it I discovered I enjoyed the wetland study a lot more.