It was bittersweet day for me. We went to the Museu Emíio Goeldi & Parque Zoobotáico, which has been the highlight of my week.
However, my camera broke and died. For some reason the lens won't focus on an image. I'm so pissed off. I also didn't get to see an anaconda today. Dan and I have decided that no matter what, were not leaving Brazil until we see the monstrous snake.
The Museu Emíio Goeldi & Parque Zoobotáico was so amazing. Founded in 1895, the museum is actually an outdoor sanctuary for Amazonian animal species ranging from jaguars, monkeys and giant otters.
Our guide was a Brazilian vet by the name of Messias Costa. Costa was really funny and truly a joy to be around. He would take pictures of the animals close up for us and we even got to go inside the cayman enclosure. For those of you who don't know, a cayman looks just like an alligator. He had remarkable relationships with the animals. The jaguars would all approached the fence and greet him with a roar when he got close, he would also throw plants for the turtle to eat. "Animals have psychological needs too," explains Costa.
The jaguars were by far my favorite attraction. The first one approached the fence letting out a giant roar. He was so beautiful. We also got to see a black jaguar, who has already exceed two years his expected lifespan. The final jaguar we saw was what Costa's called "naughty". When he said he was naughty I didn't know he really meant NAUGHTY! The jaguar came to the edge of the fence and started to masturbate just like a human. Costa's says that this is not normal for a jaguar to do and his previous owner probably taught him how to do this. Although this may seem funny, it's actually really sad because the animal is suffering. This poor animal was psychologically abused earlier on in his life.
Next, we got to see some of the largest trees in the Amazon and an açaí tree. We also saw the Amazon's largest flower, which grows in water with lily pads. There are animals and iguanas roaming free in the Museu, which I thought that was a great.
Costa explained that the reason for biodiversity in the Amazon is because the species are able to adapt. Costa's also told our class that environmental problems exist in the Amazon and in order to solve the problem, the federal government has to first solve the economic issues.
Spider monkeys are so much cuter in person than they are on television. Although they are mean, they seemed really friendly swinging from one end of the enclosure to the next following our class and they seemed to be interested in what we were doing there. After, we took pictures with the caymans and got to get as close as the handlers to them. We were also going to watch a feeding, but the cayman wasn't hungry.
The parrots were hilarious. They spoke Portuguese! They also flipped out when our class stopped giving them attention to look at the two-toed sloth. The sloth was much smaller than I had imagined. The sloths are hard to see because they blend in with the threes.
Finally, our tour ended with Costa's taking pictures of our class and we went to his office where we talked and looked at photos he's taken on the computer. Costa's stays with the indigenous people for days at a time, which I found really interesting. He has some incredible pictures of him with the native Amazonian people.
I'm sad I couldn't get more pictures of the Museu today, however, I did take a lot of pictures and footage on my phone so hopefully I can upload those pictures and they won't appear too grainy on the computer.
Tonight, our entire class is going to a bar to watch the fúbol game! Hopefully Brazil will win.
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