Patrícia, perhaps you can tell us what it's like to try and "track" tapirs for your project? For example, can you tell us about a typical night, if there is one?

Well, Sheryl, yesterday we worked throughout the night. Joana and her radio collar moved around a lot and we had to run after her from one triangulation station to the next. Exhausting, but great fun! Another tapir subject, Paulette, insisted on moving to the other side of Joana's area and her signals weren't strong enough to establish a firm location. We'll have to choose some other triangulation stations in order to collect further information on Paulette. We certainly have our work cut out for us!

How does your research on tapirs affect studies on other animals?

After collecting the data on the tapirs last night we helped another researcher/trainee set some box traps along jungle trails where we usually find jaguar tracks. This researcher has spent about a month and a half collecting data on jaguar and puma tracks in the Park. So far, she's found tracks of 51 different animals!

Our two projects are different, yet closely related. Discovering where tapirs, jaguars and pumas travel in the Park will help us to plan the protected corridors which will be established. These corridors will enable different species of animals to travel further, thereby enlarging the gene pool and creating healthier offspring.

How do you feel after such a busy night?

Really tired! I'm going to get some rest now as we're going back again tonight. I'll probably talk to you tomorrow.

A number of our readers are probably wondering how you actually catch a tapir in order to give it a radio collar. They're pretty big animals after all.

We found the perfect solution to catch a tapir without causing it any harm. After we've dug a large pit, about 6 feet deep, we cover it with about 4 large, thin "tiles." These tiles are about 8 feet long x 1 1/2 feet wide and become very fragile when wet, like a big soda cracker. Once they're in place we camoflauge them with leaves and branches then pour water over them to make them soft. We got the idea from a tapir researcher in another part of Brasil, Tarcisio da Silva Santos, Jr.

Don't the tapirs get hurt when they fall into the pit?

Not at all. This was our greatest fear and we spent a lot of time analyzing the methods used by other researchers as well as local hunters, before we decided on this perfect design.

You must remember that the tapir will walk very slowly down the trail, constantly snuffling about for fallen fruit or coconuts. When it steps on our wet tiles, they slowly collapse, depositing the tapir on a big pile of loose sand.

Tell us about your amazing encounter yesterday.

After all our time tracking Joana through the jungle at night we actually saw her, yes, saw her! I should explain that I'd spent most of the day in the office but was growing tired of my computer, writing proposals, balancing budgets, you know the feeling, and I'd decided to pick up some cold drinks and meet the team out in the field. It was very hot. They were helping Bea, an American researcher, to make some trails in order to assist her work in tamarin monkeys. Another example of how these projects provide mutual support to each other.

Anyway, I waited for them on a sandy road close to the river, and when they appeared and devoured their cold soft drinks, we decided to see if we could pick up any signals from Joana and Paulette. We were amazed to find Joana's radio signal coming in at full strength! Immediately Homero, one of our local field assistants, and I set off to try and find her. After walking about 120 yards off the road we suddenly spotted Joana sitting on the ground a mere 15 feet away from us! You can't imagine how excited we felt to actually see her, and at such close quarters. We silently studied her for a few minutes, inwardly bubbling with excitement, until she slowly stood up, sniffed the air and quietly ambled back into the forest.

On a personal level, we were elated to see one of our radio-collared animals for the first time "in the wild," while as professionals, we were relieved to see her in apparent good health and seemingly unconcerned by the collar.

After today's excitement, I'm quite sleepy and have to get up early tomorrow to monitor another one of our tapirs called Docinho. Good bye for now.