Man-eaters

[peter]

A JUNGLE TRIP 

I've been in Surinam, French Guyana and the northern tip of Brazil in the early eighties of the last century. For some weeks, I was alone with my girlfriend in the wild. Car, canoe and tent. More than once, we saw Indians on the river. Most went their way, but a young man traveling with his wife and child accepted the invitation to come over. We had a talk with gestures and pictures drawn in the sand. I asked about the black caiman, the anaconda, the puma, the jaguar and poisonous snakes. 

He made it clear people of his community and others he had known had been killed by jaguars and adviced me to be careful. This was in French Guyana. Second place was for the anaconda. They sometimes attack and consume children. Third place was for river stingrays, electric eales and, near the coast, sharks. Incidents with poisonous snakes and the black caiman were few, but those with jaguars were not infrequent. The most dangerous of all, of course, were tropical diseases and unknown viruses.  

Sometime later, in a village on the border between French Guyana and Surinam, I witnessed a fight between an Indian and some locals near the place we stayed. The Indian probably had been cheated. When it was five to one, I stepped in. The Indian left in his canoe. The locals were certain he would return with his friends. They were right. At night, I woke up from the noise. The villagers had to compensate the Indian. After settling his affairs, the Indian then came over to see me. I asked the same questions I had asked the first Indian and the answers were the same. The jaguar was much feared by Indians.

Returning to Surinam, we met a European with a clouded past. He caught and shipped wild animals, heard about my interest in them and invited me. I saw puma's, jaguars, ocelots, jaguarundi's, a harpy eagle and many other animals. Most were sold in the USA through middlemen. He confirmed jaguars were much feared and with good reason. 

In the last week, we did a jungle tour. After some days, I was done with the tourists. We asked one of the assistents if he would show us a bit more. The young man agreed. The first night, we camped on a river island. Next morning, big prints of a large jaguar were found very close to the tent. My home, the jaguar said. My feeling was we could stay another day and the guide agreed. It was a paradise. Next morning, the tree very close to the tent was scratched and there also were scratch marks right in front of the tent. This meant the time to leave had arrived. 

The guide knew about the jungle. Quite remarkable, as most who live in the jungle know next to nothing and what they know is based on hearsay and fantasy. In French Guyana, I asked a fisherman on the shore about sharks and he said he had never seen one. Before I started swimming, he asked me to bring in the net. He promised us fish, so I agreed. I had to go in the sea to get to the net. On the beach, I saw a big fish in the net. The shark was large enough to rip me apart. He had also caught a very large stingray and killed it in the most brutal way. The man, although a fisherman all his long life, underlined that many people who live in wild places are not to be trusted. Same for wild animals. There's no rules. Every meeting stands on itself and you have to act accordingly. When you do that and stay wary, chances are you die of old age. If you don't, the duende will get you.  

The guide was the exception. He said big jungle cats are not that different from us. There's a universal right to camp on the territory of other 'jungle men' when you travel, but it's one day only. All in all, hunting animals, although nosy, are friendly, but one always has to remember life is difficult and there's also grumpy and dangerous characters, just like in humans. He knew of cases of people killed by jaguars.

The point I want to make is the Amazone forest is a very large and unknown place. Kind of a black hole. We think we know a few things, but my conclusion is we don't. This conclusion is based on what I read, saw and heard. I can understand biologists presenting the animal they're interested in the best possible way, but every creature has two sides and you only see what he wants you to see. I'm not that sure about jaguars and the reason is what I heard about them. Indians really know about animals and they said jaguars are dangerous. 

The jaguars I saw were the size of large dogs, but they were more robust and didn't fear humans one bit. I'm not saying they hunt Indians, but they most certainly don't make room for them when they meet.  

I also saw an interview with a man who had made a documentary about jaguars in Brazil. It took him the best part of two years to finish the project (it was broadcasted on the BBC) and he said he had been afraid of them more than once. He also said he feared them more than other big cats. So what do we know? Reply