And we have been amazed to watch a South American tapir (tapirus terrestris), a creature which is normally so shy and elusive, come every day of this last week to feed on the fallen fruits of this palm tree. This photo shows the tapir feeding at 7.30pm in the evening a few days ago around the tree...
And this is what greeted me as I walked out of the house at 6am yesterday morning...
The tapir, by lying down, was allowing a bird of prey called a yellow headed caracara (milvago chimachima) to hop around its body picking off any unwanted tics who had no doubt hitched a ride on the tapir whilst it was in the forest behind our lodge.
