Thread by @am_anatiala

NEXT UP:
White-lipped peccary (4)

vs

Rakali (13)! #2019MMM

To the right we have the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari; Vulnerable)! This pig can grow to 4 stoats long (139 cm) & 180 stoats heavy (40 kg). It lives across Central/South America in habitats ranging from rainforest to grasslands. #2019MMM #StoatsAsMeasurement

To our left, the rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster; Least Concern). Waterproof fur covers its one (1) stoat-long body, but its thicc, roughly one (1) stoat-long tail is naked.

This #StrayaScrapper comes in at a whopping 6 stoats in wgt! #2019MMM #StoatsAsMeasurement

The rakali's waterproof fur isn't its only adaptation to its uniquely semiaquatic & nocturnal lifestyle!

They love living near permanent water sources such as creeks & wetlands, so this rat also has partially webbed hind legs & a ~hydrodynamic~ streamlined skull. #2019MMM

While the rakali is solitary, the white-lipped peccary rolls in gangs 200 deep. You kinda have to when you're first on the menu for predators like jaguars, anacondas, & pumas!

Peccary herds roam large tracts of land, keeping close to water sources in the dry season. #2019MMM

We spot a relatively small herd of white-lipped peccaries (~75 or so) rummaging for food in the late afternoon in a marshy section of forest in Roraima, Brazil. But tonight's battle doesn't take place *tonight*...

no, we're headed into the future, three months from now! #2019MMM

The Manaus-Boa Vista transmission line project has begun, going right through Waimiri-Atroari land

"The govt’s dialogue w/ the indigenous ppls continues but their permission is no longer a condition for the concession of the license to build."

#2019MMM news.mongabay.com/2019/03/brazil…

The rakali sniffs the air. This place is definitely different from his Australian creekside home, but there aren't any aggressive rakali neighbors. It's a bit early for him to be active, though, so he begins to wander, looking for a safe place to sleep til night. #2019MMM

The peccaries don't even notice him. Their snouts snuffle along the ground. Occasionally, they look up, keeping watch for any predators that may be hiding in the deepening shadows. #2019MMM

Earlier, they had heard some people harvesting the fruit of the buriti tree, but the people seem to be gone. T

hey come across a large amount of scattered nuts that were forgotten & they spread out, feasting on the delicious fruit. researchgate.net/publication/22… #2019MMM

CRACK! #2019MMM

The sound of peccary teeth crunching the buriti nuts fills the air.

Our white-lipped peccary snuffles along, unknowingly on a path that will intersect with our rakali. #2019MMM

CRACK! #2019MMM

The rakali hears the snuffling coming closer.

A predator?

Will he fight?

Will he flee?

Uncertain, he freezes. #2019MMM

Our white-lipped peccary is only five feet away, still munching on the buriti nuts.

The peccary steps even closer to the rakali, who has nowhere to hide...

#2019MMM

CRACK!

Our peccary's ears flick.

CRACK!

Something's wrong...

CRACK!

This isn't the sound of cracking nuts, but the sound of a peccary warning call! #2019MMM

Our peccary's head shoots up! #2019MMM

CRACK! #2019MMM

The peccary herd scatters into the undergrowth. #2019MMM

But there's one white-lipped peccary that doesn't move from where he dropped, dead

from a gunshot wound. #2019MMM

A man who has come to the area in hopes of stealing some land from the Waimiri while the transmission line project occurs (theintercept.com/2019/02/16/bra…), comes out of the shadows, a rifle on his shoulder.

As he kneels to gut our peccary, our rakali carefully creeps away. #2019MMM

RAKALI OUTLIVES WHITE-LIPPED PECCARY #2019MMM