calvisson-leblon

  A month ago in the Brazilian Pantanal, I got up close and personal with a randy jaguar couple.   I spent last week in the Brazilian Cerrado and met Savana (photo below), a relaxed female maned wolf ( Chrysocyon brachyurus, lobo guara in Portugues) near the lodge where I was staying.   She is the local matriarch and was surveying her territory; the Trijunçâo lodge stands in the middle of her playground. Since moving to Brazil, I have been puzzled by Chrysocyon brachyurus , a fruit eating Canidae.   It is Brazil’s largest Canidae and a symbol of the Cerrado , the world’s most biologically rich savannah.   Chrysocyon is an icon which graces Brazil’s largest note of R$ 200.   I had never heard of maned wolves until I read that Catholic monks were feeding them in their Caraça sanctuary in the state of Minas Gerais.   Up to two wild wolves visit the monks at night when they want to complement their usual critter catches with a treat of chicken and fru...