Saving a Anhinga

It was late afternoon; we were at the mouth of the Dorado River, this dry season is presenting itself early, the river has been receding rapidly so I think this excursion by boat through the waterways will be the last of the wet season. We went through a very narrow stream of shallow waters, we got stuck, so Roque our captain had to jump into the water and push us out while we bounced from one side to the other to help get the boat out.

Finally we got out, and started to cruise up river, the water was almost green with lots of algae which has grown because at this time there is less oxygen in the water. We met up with a troop of squirrel monkeys, they were a large group, actually they ware also accompanied by white capuchin monkeys mixed with the troop. They sometimes travel together; it’s common to see these two species together. We were very concentrated watching this loud group jumping from one tree to another.

Suddenly on the other side of the river we saw an anhinga, it was a male, black with long straight bill and very long slender neck and silvery patches on the upper wing. He was standing very still on a dead tree trunk protruding out of the water; looking intently down at the water very close to the trunk of the tree. Roque told our guide that there must be something in the water; first they thought it might be a caiman, so we approached but as we got closer the anhinga flew away.

Our guide Adonay saw that there was a bird under the water, the only thing that could be seen was a wing with the feathers all spread out. We got very close to see what was going on…..it was also an anhinga; we thought it was diving to catch fish.

Anhinga are similar to cormorant, males are all black whereas the female have a brownish head, neck and breast. Their bills, however, are long and thin with sharp point. They have long tails and very long thin neck. They are great divers and pursue fish under water using their large webbed feet for propulsion.

Usually they are solitary and are known as snake birds because they often swim with bodies submerged and only the long neck and head above the water.

Adonay saw that it was having trouble; it seemed to be stuck under the water and we realized it was actually trapped by fishing net. Seems that it had been struggling for a long time, he got it out and saw that the net was all around its beak and foot. Her long and sharp bill was completely tied with the fishing net; it was not easy to cut it loose. We saw that it was a female, it has a very, very thin and long neck, you can´t imagine how slender…. It’s a much bigger bird than one can imagine just by looking at it. It´s feet were trapped also and after a while working at the net carefully they were able to cut her loose. Looking at it our group wondered if its long neck would break, but luckily for all they put her back into the water and it started to swim again.

It was becoming dark fast as is wont to do in the Amazon but we saw its head one more time as it flew away; we really hope it was ok…. At least we have given it the chance to pursue its life..….we hope its doing fine and well…..a new chance to live….