Animal of the Month: Lowland Tapir!

When the month December crosses one's mind you will automatically think of the last month of the year. One that most people are looking forward too as it is also known as the month of presents and surprises. The Lowland tapir has been the present of Kabalebo during the month December.

The past few months the water level had dropped dramatically in the Kabalebo river. This makes it also difficult to reach certain destinations by dug out canoes. On the other hand it gives us also the opportunity to see tapirs quite often near the river. The pictures below are taken from 4 (!!) different tapirs, all spotted near the lodge. Enjoy!

December 2, 2015: on my way to the river cabin, I spotted a 'heap' lying on the airstrip with a lot of Giant Cowbirds and Caracara's near it. A closer look revealed that it was a female tapir that was having a 'tic - acure'. The birds were eating the tics, as seen in the picture above, you can see the 'marks' where the tics were 'hanging' on. It does look a lot like a bite mark though, but by the look of the tapirs' face expression, it were nasty tics.

December 11, 2015: just before dark, we spotted this old fellow near the lodge. As I was pretty quiet, it wasn't bothered at all by my presence. 

December 15, 2015: I first saw the Black Caracara on top of a 'rock'. But then the rock started to move and changed into a tapir. This one was spotted near the pier, just right next to the dug out canoes. As you can see there is an abundance of fresh young grass, something that the tapir really likes. This time accompanied by a Black Caracara and a bumblebee.

December 21, 2015: while I was photographing some Red-and-green Macaws at the River Cabin, this fellow just showed up. It was seen across the Kabalebo river. It was walking really slowly and quietly and with a similar color just like the rocks, it was almost well camouflaged too. 

It was definitely the month of the tapir in Kabalebo, a welcoming present for us all.

You may also like the following posts:

Lowland tapir

Tapir update!

Extra-ordinary friendship: tapir and caracara

One with nature!