#rupununi

[brynns-travel-blog]

Caiman House in Yupukari Village, North Rupununi Guyana.

I think I may have found paradise on Earth.

I visited during the dry season, but in the wet, everything the light touches is flooded by one of two neighbouring river systems.

The Mapuke people were so welcoming and full of knowledge about their breathtaking environment. Caiman House EcoLodge was beautiful and super comfortable and activities were balanced by plenty of rest during the hottest part of the day and plentiful fresh food, tailored to guests’ preferences.

We went on a caiman capture trip to support research into black caiman populations, visited the village’s turtle conservation project, saw the blue backed manakin on a birdwatching walk, saw giant anteaters and giant otters and the Agame heron, and hundreds of other creatures I’ll never remember the names of.

If you’re looking for somewhere to go as a South American alternative to the African Safari, I cannot recommend the Rupununi region enough. And I’ll put in a special word for Caiman House - it’s run by and for the community and delivering training and opportunities to a community of around a thousand people. The guides are working to develop more remote and immersive opportunities and the money from the lodge is supporting programs to develop local artists and crafters into independent sellers, and supporting women to establish commercially successful cassava processing in nearby villages. The staff all rotate through from other roles in the village to share skills around and I did not meet a single person who wasn’t unbelievable generous, knowledgeable, and absolutely thrilled to share their home with tourists.

[herpsandbirds]

Red-and-Green Macaw (Ara chloropterus), family Psittacidae, order Psittaciformes, Rupununi River region, Guyana

photograph by @bucktuh

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - August 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my new(ly repurposed) Patreon!

1. Zoo hails birth of 'one of world's rarest animals'

“[Jasper] the Persian onager was born to mum Azita after a year-long pregnancy. […] Conservationists at the zoo said there are less than 600 surviving wild onagers[, … which] only survive in two small, protected areas in Iran, a Chester Zoo spokesman said. […] Mike Jordan, animal and plant director at Chester Zoo, […] said Jasper is "doing very well" and added that "mum Azita is doing a fantastic job of nurturing and bonding with her new charge". "He’s full of energy and enjoys playfully kicking up sand as he races around his habitat", Mr Jordan added.”

2. Charity creates 50 community orchards in city

“Community orchards are returning to Birmingham, with the aim of teaching people how to grow their own food and be part of the solution to climate change. […] Once established, the long-term aim is to distribute the produce to those most in need, but local people are also invited to pick the odd bit of fruit. […] By planting trees and plants and encouraging biodiversity back to these areas the charity is also doing its bit to help climate change. They even use locally sourced wood chip which helps to put carbon back into the soil. […T]he hope is that these edible landscapes can also be enjoyed by local people for years to come.”

3. Farmer-led badger vaccination could revolutionize mission to tackle bovine TB

“[… T]he results of a four-year pilot badger vaccination program co-managed between farmers, scientists, and conservationists […] show the percentage of badgers testing positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in the study area dropped from 16% to 0%[….] While most bTB incidents in cattle are caused by transmission between herds, transmission from wild badgers plays a role in the persistence of the disease. […] Blood sampling showed that the proportion of badgers with bTB fell even though overall badger numbers remained high[….]”

4. Every Colorado Anti-Trans Ballot Initiative Fails To Collect Enough Signatures

“Anti-transgender politics are becoming increasingly unpopular in polls. […] A recent LA Times/NORC poll found that 77% of voters believe elected officials use transgender debates to divert attention from more pressing issues. The poll also showed significant opposition to forced outing policies. […] A Gallup poll published in June revealed that while Americans have mixed views on the morality of transitioning, the majority oppose bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth. […] “The fact that they could not get enough signatures, barely half, to be placed on the ballot shows they lack support from everyday voters.”

5. In a fight to save a rare bird, Indigenous communities in Guyana are winning

“The partnership [between Indigenous communities and Smithsonian researchers] sparked a decades-long community-led conservation movement that has protected the red siskin and helped locals reconnect with nature. [… T]he South Rupununi Conservation Society […] established one of the country’s first conservation zones to protect the species, covering 75,000 hectares (185,000 acres) of Indigenous land. […] To plant the seeds of conservation, they’ve implemented an after-school program in more than 16 communities, [introducing children] to ecological research and surveying, and also [teaching] about Indigenous culture and tradition, including fire management skills.”

6. North Adams hospital gets federal designation which pays for health care in rural areas

“[The hospital] received a federal designation on Wednesday that is key to its long-term financial stability. […] The designation pays for staffing regardless of the number of patients[… and] “works to resolve stark inequities in rural and underserved communities as it relates to our nation’s health system."”

7. Andrea Vidaurre: Leading the clean transportation revolution

“Thanks to Vidaurre’s relentless advocacy and strong community support, these regulations introduced the first national standards for train emissions and set a groundbreaking goal for all freight trucks to be zero-emission by 2036. This initiative promises cleaner air for Californians and paves the way for a zero-emission vehicle future across the country. Studies predict these measures will prevent thousands of respiratory illnesses and save countless lives in the coming decades.”

8. Boston announces a new climate resilience office

“Through its Climate Ready Boston initiative, the city has worked to […] design creative adaptation plans with community input[, …] includ[ing] everything from redesigning waterfront parks and planting more trees, to modernizing the city’s underground sewer system[….] The Office of Climate Resilience will be in charge of coordinating work across city departments and with community groups[….]”

9. Combining Green Thumbs and Sustainable Fashion in a Swap Event

“This unique plant and clothing swap event in NSW is championing both environmental and fashion sustainability through native plants and preloved clothing. […] To participate in the plant swap, attendees brought their environmental weeds in a bag to the Council stall and exchanged them for free native plants. […] The event sparked valuable community conversations about the benefits of plant and clothes swaps, the impact of textile waste[, …] support a circular economy and combine a love for nature with practical, eco-friendly practices.”

10. Growing Green Spaces to Protect the Endangered Regent Parrot

“On Schools Tree Day, celebrated on 26 July, students from a local NSW school planted trees and shrubs to create crucial forage habitat for the endangered Regent Parrot, enhancing local biodiversity. […] Approximately 50 [… plants of] native species were chosen for their ecological benefits, helping to attract native birds, bees and butterflies while providing essential habitat and food. […] They [also] raise awareness about the regent parrot, encourage conservation efforts and emphasise the importance of protecting local wildlife. Additionally, conserving [the regent parrot] supports the health of their ecosystem by helping with in [sic] seed dispersal and maintaining plant diversity.”

July 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[ms-hells-bells]

in reading more about the colombian children that survived the plane crash and jungle, i stumbled upon this story. there is almost no english news about it, largely only an AP article from 1996 about it, there's not even a wikipedia page, but i found a translated page of a guyana newspaper with the story.

THE gripping, inspiring survival experience of two young girls lost in Guyana’s jungles is the stuff epic films are made of.

Bertina and Bernadette Domingo of the Wapishiana tribe, Apoteri Village in the Rupununi began travelling from 7th April 1995 with their uncle up the Essequibo River; an uncle who had been instructed by the father of the girls to take them direct to the family farm.

Instead he diverted in the opposite direction with them, paddling for ninety-five miles in a canoe, then forcing them to trek through the jungle, threatening to kill the terrified girls when they cried.

At Pakani Falls they watched in fear as their uncle died of malaria – an uncle whose motives for his actions are shrouded in secret, lost forever in the hinterland landscape that had been the undoing of men from a time even preceding the Spanish Conquistadors.

If that uncle meant harm to his innocent, trusting nieces, as his actions indicated he did, because terrible pictures come to mind of child and female trafficking, he paid a terrible price for his heinous betrayal of his brother and nieces.

But that was no real consolation to the two young girls, who were left alone and defenceless to fend for themselves in the dense, dark rainforest, with merely a cutlass, a hammock, and their traditional tribal skills to keep them alive.

They were forced to undertake a journey that would test all their survival skills, their resilience, their character, and their survival instincts if they were to live.

The older Bertina, at thirteen, would have to become the leader, transmitting her unshakeable faith that they would survive their ordeal to her frightened nine-yr-old sister. In turn, the response of the younger girl, and the faith she reposed in her older sibling, would bolster Bertina’s spirit and inspire and encourage her to greater feats of endurance.

Before their journey ended they would have traversed over 200 miles of virgin rainforest, at the mercy of the elements, with all the inherent dangers of the deep rainforests – from the remote reaches of Essequibo to approximately 190 miles up the Berbice River – a mile away from the Lindo tributary.

They ate what they could, but their knowledge of the land and basic survival skills, inculcated from birth by the traditions of their aboriginal tribe, came to their rescue, resulting in their finding the “haiwa” wood to produce the most crucial requirement for their protection at night – light.

The girls staved off hunger by eating berries, peppers and fish caught by the traditional method. They remembered their tribe’s ancient skill of lighting an area of water with the “haiwa” wood to entice fish to the surface, then spearing them with a spear – in their instance with a cutlass.

The girls also had a miraculous escape from the claws and jaws of a jaguar and were forced to keep their terror at bay when they encountered the large snakes, crocodiles, and other large and dangerous denizens that proliferate in Guyana’s rainforests.

At one point they thought that they were about to be rescued. Hearing the sound of an engine their hopes soared as they walked quickly toward the sound and what they hoped would have been the end of their ordeal.

But as fast as they walked it was not enough and the frightening sounds of the rainforest enclosed them once again.

Rescue seemed near at hand once more when they stumbled upon a porknocker’s camp, but the camp had long been abandoned and was empty of any human presence. At nights they slung their hammock high in the trees to protect themselves from the many ever-existent perils threatening their survival every minute, with every step they took, and even in their sleep.

Many nights Bertina stayed awake for hours watching protectively as the exhausted Bernadetta slept the sleep of the innocent.

Meanwhile the girls’ parents were frantically looking for them and search parties were organized. The parents, accompanied by members of one search party went as far as Kurupukari – 60 miles from the Potaro River, but had to give up, not knowing what direction to take in the vast, dense rainforest.

Frantic messages were sent to relatives living in Georgetown in attempts to locate the uncle and girls, but to no avail.

Finally, at 5.50 p.m. on the third day of May, 31 days after they had left home, covered with mosquito bites and weak with hunger, Bertina and Bernadetta stumbled into a porknocker’s camp.

The astonished miners fed the girls and then took them into the city, where officialdom took over, affording them medical and other care.

Their rescuer, a miner named Gonsalves, said that the area in which they were found was so remote that hardly anyone ventured there.

The indomitable will to survive, their stoic resilience in the face of betrayal and overwhelming dangers, and the epic journey of these two fragile little ones is the stuff of which legends are made.

This was triumph of the human spirit against all odds. These two little girls were imaginative, resourceful, determined, tenacious, and, above all, courageous beyond the parameters of normal human endurance of body and mind.

To honour their resilience and courage in the face of danger and adversity, the Domingo sisters were deservedly conferred with a special award for courage during the 1996 investiture ceremony by then Executive President of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

They had also been awarded with a plaque saluting their bravery by the South Ruimveldt Policing Group.

Bertina and Bernadetta Domingo represent the best of the indigenous peoples of this land.

[armatofu]

10 hechos increíbles sobre Guyana

2. Es conocida por su diversa composición étnica, con una mezcla de poblaciones indoguyaneses, afroguyaneses e indígenas.

4. El país cuenta con una increíble variedad de vida silvestre, incluyendo jaguares, nutrias gigantes de río y el raro oso hormiguero gigante.

6. Tiene la distinción de ser el único país de América del Sur que no es una nación hispana.

7. La ciudad capital de Guyana es Georgetown, conocida por su hermosa arquitectura colonial.

8. Guyana es famosa por sus vastos tramos de selvas prístinas, que son el hogar de una amplia variedad de especies vegetales y animales.

9. El país es un importante productor de bauxita, oro y diamantes, contribuyendo a su economía.

10. Guyana también es el hogar de la Rupununi Savannah, una vasta pradera que es el hogar de diversas fauna silvestre y comunidades indígenas.

[warcrimesimulator]

Crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus) Rupununi, Guyana

Photo © Pete Oxford / Minden / naturepl.com

[fishfolkart]

Silver Arowana - this predator is a member of the Osteoglossidae family and is native to the Amazon River basin, Rupununi and Oyapock Rivers in South America. It is also called a 'water monkey' because of its ability to jump out of the water and capture its prey. It usually swims near the water surface waiting for potential prey. It can reach a maximum length of 90.0 cm (about 36 inches) and maximum weight 0f 6.0 kg (about 13 pounds). https://www.redbubble.com/people/fishfolkart/works/137770151-silver-arowana?asc=u

[demerarawaves]

Storm rips 17 houses in Rupununi; emergency response mission deployed

One of the houses at Karasabai that was destroyed by the storm. At least 17 houses at Karasabai, Rupununi were Sunday night damaged or destroyed  by a violent storm, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) said Monday. “A powerful wind storm hit several houses in Karasabai, Region 9 last evening leaving significant damage in its wake,” the CDC said. The Commission, which is Guyana’s national…

[travelguyana]

Spotlight on Rupununi Savannah: The Ultimate Guyanese Adventure

🌍 Dive into the heart of Guyana! The Rupununi Savannah offers a unique landscape, breathtaking wildlife, and a rich indigenous culture. Discover why it’s the ultimate destination for adventurers and nature lovers. 🌿🌅 📖 Read more in our latest blog post!

https://www.travelguyana.co/2024/10/26/spotlight-on-rupununi-savannah-the-ultimate-guyanese-adventure/

[manessha545]

Berbice River

River in Guyana

The Berbice River, located in eastern Guyana, is one of the country's major rivers. It rises in the highlands of the Rupununi region and flows northward for 595 kilometres through dense forests to the coastal plain. The river's tidal limit is between 160 and 320 km from the sea. 

Source: Rupununi River

Length: 595 km

Mouth: Atlantic Ocean

Country: Guyana

Berbice River - Wikipedia

Truck loaded with plantains in Berbice, Guyana

[herpsandbirds]

No rush on this, but i love your blog and the sweet terms you use to address askers! Humbly requesting a few crocodilians for my Lyle, Lyle Crocodile-loving heart 💜

Aw, thank you my little lemondrop. Today, I have some of my favorite crocodilians for you... the caimans!

Yacare Caiman aka Southern Spectacled Caiman (Caiman yacare), family Alligatoridae, Brazil

photograph by thejack

Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger), family Alligatoridae, Rupununi River, SW Guyana

photograph by David Stanley

Broad-snouted Caiman (Caiman latirostris), mother carrying baby from nest to nearby water, family Alligatoridae, Santa Fe, Argentina

photograph by Mark Macewen

Broad-snouted Caimans (Caiman latirostris), family Alligatoridae, found in eastern and central South America

photographs by Dennis Jarvis and Tim Sagorski

Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus), family Alligatoridae, Brazil

photograph by MikeLane45

Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus), family Alligatoridae, found in much of northern and central South America

photograph by Wrangel

[conandaily2022]

Complete list of Miss Universe Guyana 2023 candidates

There are eight women competing for the Miss Universe Guyana 2023 crown. Here are the candidates: Colline Ward (Bartica) Mackella Profeiro (Demerara-Mahaica) Chandini Baljor (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Lieve Blanckaert (Georgetown) Melissa McLean (La Parfaite Harmonie) Britny Mack (Pakaraima) Lisa Narine (Pomeroon-Supenaam) Anika Felicien (Rupununi)

[manessha545]

Guyana is home to some of the most biodiverse and beautiful rainforests on the planet

Tourist Attractions You Can’t Miss in Guyana

Kaieteur Falls is one of the world’s most spectacular waterfalls.

Sunset from the waters of the Essequibo River

The flowers of the giant waterlily transform as the evening draws in Guyana

Iwokrama Canopy Walkway: The canopy walkway is a perfect place to spot wildlife you might miss at ground level

Views for miles across the jungle from the top of Awarmie.

Catch a glimpse of big cats in the wild

Hunt down the Goliath Birdeater, the world’s largest spider species

 Help out with one-of-its kind black caiman research-Support local conservation efforts and touch a living caiman while helping researchers in the Rupununi.

Head out on a speedboat with Caiman House staff to join in their scientific research into the black caiman.

Paddle out in a dugout canoe or kayak -Are you brave enough to bring your camera on a traditional dug-out canoe?

Follow a local cowboy to find giant anteaters-The giant anteater is absurdly well-adapted to live off a diet of termites and ants.

Working cowboys can help you find the giant anteater in the grasslands.

Learn about otter conservation at Karanambu Lodge-What could be better than hanging out with orphaned baby otters for a day?

Giant river otters are just one of Guyana’s extraordinary giant species.

Go horseback riding through the savannahs of the Rupununi-Horseback riding at sunset in the Rupununi is quite the experience

Fish for the world’s largest freshwater fish -Catch-and-release fishing helps support local fish conservation efforts.

Spy the Guianan cock-of-the-rock’s mating dance- male Guianan cock-of-the-rock with its startling plumage.

 Find harpy eagles nesting -Harpy eagles need vast trees capable of supporting their massive nests.

Spend a day in Georgetown, Guyana’s scruffy but charming capital -Charming architecture is part of Georgetown’s appeal.

Stay in a historic lodge frequented by presidents and royalty-Gather around the table for a taste of local cuisine.

Tour Guyana’s final remaining sugar cane plantation-Explore the country’s history and rum traditions at one of the last sugar plantations.

Take a sundowner on Guyana’s only highway -Enjoy a drink along the open road and keep your eyes peeled for wildlife.

Stay at one of the country’s indigenous lodges -Supporting sustainable tourism can be as easy as where you choose to stay.

The ATTA Rainforest Lodge in the Iwokrama Reserve is operated by local Guyanese people

Tour Bourda Market and enjoy a Guyanese feast at Backyard Caf��-Chef Delven Adams loves to explore the cultural flavors of Guyana.

Sample rum blended with local flavours in Georgetown’s colourful markets.

21 Dazzling Tourist Attractions That Will Make You Fall In Love With Guyana (worldlyadventurer.com)

Join us on the IOTI Expedition 2019. Experience the natural beauty in Guyana, South America including the rainforest, 4x4 Mountain Safari in the Pakaraima mountains, Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, Kaieteur Falls (the highest single drop waterfall in the world), guided tour of Georgetown.

Become a member of the IOTI and get 20% discount off all IOTI Events and IOTI Expedion.

Find more information at https://www.ioti.institute/ioti-expedition

[worldspotlightnews]

Guyana's Rupununi Rodeo celebrates local cowboy culture

Comment on this storyComment LETHEM, Guyana — Their horses’ hooves kick up dust amid blaring country music as participants enter the arena to begin the Rupununi Ranchers Rodeo, a celebration of the cowboy lifestyle on Guyana’s rugged Rupununi savannah. The two-day, annual rodeo draws thousands of visitors from Guyana’s capital and other countries, especially neighboring Brazil. The event is…

[wildlifeday]

If sustainably managed, wildlife can: - provide nutrition & income - contribute to poverty alleviation - safeguard human & environmental health

[victorian130]

Rupununi 💛💚