Serra Tapirapecó

From April 10 to May 22, 2004, the first multidisciplinary scientific expedition was carried out on the Brazilian side of the Serra do Tapirapecó, located at 01°12'N and 64°45'W with altitudes ranging from 300 to more than 2,000 m above sea level. sea ​​level (Figure 9). The three research camps were set up on the west face of Pico do Tamaquari (2340m) following the orographic gradient. The camps were divided into one main and two attack camps in higher parts of the mountain, as follows: Camp 1 (332 m), Camp 2 (829 m) and Camp 3 (1,231 m). The vegetation along the Marari River and the entire slope of the Tapirapecó mountain range is predominantly dry land up to 600-700 m, from which point it begins to take on the appearance of montane vegetation with various elements of the tepui flora. Above 1,200 m the vegetation has characteristics of mist forest and rocky walls. During this excursion, sections of the Padauari River were sampled, in particular the Cachoeira da Aliança region.

On April 7, 2004, the subproject's field manager traveled to the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, where he began preparations for the expedition to Serra do Tapirapecó, on the border with Venezuela.

This was the first scientific expedition carried out on the Brazilian side of that mountain range. Before this, only one expedition by the Fundación para el Desarrollo de las Ciencias Físicas, Matemáticas y Naturales (FUDECI), which had support from the Venezuelan army, had researched the mountain range, using helicopters to move teams and research materials. This would therefore be the first expedition to visit the mountain by land travel, going up the Padauari and Marari rivers.

The team was made up of 13 researchers, 8 field assistants and the field manager. The logistical difficulties related to transporting the team, supplies, fuel and research material to such an isolated area were even more pronounced due to the lack of precise information about the distances and obstacles to be overcome.

  Preparations began in São Gabriel since the equipment used in the previous expedition had been stored at the IBAMA headquarters in that city. On April 10th, the field manager and a field assistant, Branco, began transporting all the equipment (2 40hp outboard engines, 2 aluminum boats, chainsaw and tail adapter) by river, descending the Black River. About 12 hours after leaving the port of Camanaus, below the São Gabriel rapids, the passenger boat Tanaka Neto IV docked in Santa Isabel where two more field assistants, Dorismar and Murilo, boarded. We continued for another 14 hours downstream to the city of Barcelos where we disembarked all the equipment, the field manager and assistants, Dorismar and Murilo. Branco continued his trip to Manaus where he would meet Jean Philippe, coordinator of the sub-project.

Due to the extreme isolation of the Tapirapecó mountain range, we decided to set up our first camp at Missão Marari, from Novas Tribos do Brasil, located at the base of the mountain. Prior communication with the missionaries had to be done indirectly, since the headquarters of Novas Tribos is located in Boa Vista, RR. Contacts were made by telephone with staff at headquarters who in turn communicated with the Marari missionaries by radio. However, the information provided did little to help the logistical design of the expedition. Given this situation, it was decided that the coordinator, accompanied by ornithologist Mario Cohn-Haft and Branco, would go to Boa Vista, and from there, by single-engine plane to the precarious Marari airstrip. The main reason for the coordinator's early arrival would be the need to organize the workforce of indigenous assistants, without whom the transport of material and setting up of camps would be impossible.

  In Barcelos, the field manager met with the FUNAI Regional Manager, João Mineiro, to make a formal commitment to respect the rules for entry and carrying out research in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. In addition, more field assistants were hired for the expedition: the flight pilots Wanderley, Domingos and Evandir and the cook, Arminda. All of them were nominated by Mr. João Mineiro. Purchases of consumable material to be used during the expedition began, in particular negotiations for the acquisition of fuel.

  Over the next three days, the manager flew to Manaus and did most of the purchasing of consumables such as groceries, collection materials, films, various batteries, camping supplies, etc. On the night of Thursday, April 15th, the rest of the technical team arrived in Manaus. The following night, all materials and staff were loaded onto the Tanaka Neto IV which sailed up the Rio Negro. We arrived in Barcelos on Sunday night. After meetings at FUNAI and final preparations, the expedition towards the Tapirapecó mountain range began on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 20th.

Due to the large distance to be covered, the enormous amount of fuel and collection materials and the large number of participants in the expedition, it was necessary to hire a medium-sized boat with a central engine and cargo hold to transport from Barcelos to the waterfall of the Alliance, an insurmountable obstacle for any vessel. The initial plan would be to take flights from the waterfall to the FUNAI support post on the edge of the Yanomami Indigenous Land, and from there to the closest point to the Marari Mission, on the river of the same name. However, the navigation conditions of the Padauari River did not allow the wooden boat to go to the waterfall. Therefore, the flying machines had to be used ahead of schedule. And the packaging of more than five tons of cargo in the three available flights required two trips to the Aliança support shed (photo 2). Crossing the waterfall was only possible due to the help of six Yanomami Indians who were sent by FUNAI to help us. The leader of the Group was Lourenço, a young Yanomami who accompanied us from there until the end of the expedition. The Indians helped carry most of the cargo up a trail of about 700 meters, while the almost empty hulls were pushed by our team up the rapids. The experience of the field assistants was essential to avoid accidents with the loss of materials or damage to the health of the participants. The entire process of crossing the waterfall took almost an entire day of everyone's efforts. From Aliança, we began to use a fourth flying machine borrowed from FUNAI, as had been previously agreed.

After an overnight stay at the FUNAI support post, we continued on to where the Padauari River meets the Marari River, following the latter. In the middle of the afternoon, when stopping at a bend in the river, the team located and immobilized an anaconda that was measured (six meters) and its weight was estimated at 250 kg. We continued in the flying boats, under rain and sun until dark, when we made a “mining” camp (see Discussion) at the mouth of a small stream with dark water. The next day we had to cross three more waterfalls (rapids), known respectively as Sabonete, Inajá and Cujubim. Although much smaller than the Aliança waterfall, crossing them took more than half the day. In the middle of the afternoon we arrived at the SECOYA support station, in the village of Castanho. Both were abandoned, but three Yanomamis were waiting for us, sent by Jean who was already at the Marari Mission. One of them, Geraldo, also became our interpreter and guide throughout the expedition. At the end of the afternoon, the flying boats arrived at the mouth of the Catanau stream, in the town known as Gasolina, where there was an abandoned farm and shabono (Yanomami village). From there it would be a journey on foot, along a trail to the mission. In general, all distances and fuel supplies were reported with great imprecision by the people interviewed in Barcelos, who said they knew the route (see Discussion). This is the closest point to Serra do Tapirapecó accessible by flying boat. The flying boats, gasoline drums and outboard engines would be stored there until our return. We spent the night in this empty village.

In the early afternoon of April 27th, we arrived at Missão Marari, located at the base of Serra do Tapirapecó. There we camped for two days to rest from the trip, separate and pack the material that would be taken to the mountain camp in backpacks and drums. The project coordinator, Jean Philippe, who flew in a single engine, had already been on the mission for 10 days, so an area for the future camp in the mountains had already been determined and there was a group of 15 Indians previously hired to carry the load. The participation of missionaries Coy, Míriam, Edmilson, Selma and Brian was fundamental for carrying out all negotiations with the Indians as well as for all logistical support in the mission. They provided accommodation, fruit and space to store much of the food that was transported to the mountains as needed.

Camp 1, about two hours away from the mission, was set up next to a stream at an altitude of 332m, at the base of Pico Tamacuari, the highest in the Tapirapecó mountain range. Since it would be necessary to accommodate more than 30 people, including researchers, assistants and Indians, the camp was divided into four barracks covered in light canvas (photo 3). The kitchen and supplies were installed in the central shed, where generator light points were also installed. Between the central shedand the igarapé, two field laboratories were set up, with a white plastic roof and screened fabric walls to minimize the entry of mosquitoes (photo 4). Tables, benches and shelves were made, giving the laboratory the appearance of a luxury installation compared to the rest of the camp (photo 5). The unevenness of the ground and the amount of rocks and roots protruding from it throughout the camp area made the simple task of moving between the barracks something that required a lot of attention.

Although fieldwork began in Barcelos, technically, it was only on the 14th day of the trip, starting from Manaus, that the technical team arrived at the priority collection location. Just for the sake of comparison, the movement of the technical team of the 1989 Venezuelan FUNDECI expedition, which was entirely carried out by helicopters from that country's army, took three days, from Caracas to the base of the same mountain range on the Venezuelan side.

  Lines of pitfall traps were set up, with 100 25-liter plastic buckets, to collect amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. Sherman and Tomahawk traps for small mammals and mist nets for bats. Birds were studied with bioacoustics equipment and collected using firearms. Fish and tadpoles were collected with nets and puçás of different sizes. Monkeys and medium-sized mammals were collected by the Yanomami, who feed on them and agreed to provide samples of tissue, skeletons, skins and skulls in exchange for other food and utensils, in a barter previously approved by FUNAI.

  One of the expedition's priorities was activities to open an attack trail to the highest parts of the mountain. The expectation was that the fauna and flora of the highest parts would be related to that of the other Tepuis in the Amazon region, and therefore, of great interest for our inventory. Thus, camps 2 and 3 were set up at, respectively, 829m and 1231m altitude. This work took seven days of intense logistical planning and exploratory forays into the highest parts of the mountain. For cultural reasons, the Yanomami do not climb the mountains, so it was not possible to rely on their prior knowledge. Camps 2 and 3 were used for collections by researchers responsible for birds, bats, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish.

  The rainy season began two weeks earlier than expected, and the torrential storms caused flash floods in the stream next to the camp, in the phenomenon known as water head. The intense rains flooded the traps, ruining baits and releasing or disabling animals collected in the pit-falls. Furthermore, the exhaustion of the strenuous journey combined with the degradation of accommodation and working conditions due to intermittent rains, ended up generating physical and emotional fatigue in the majority of the technical team members. These factors were decisive in the decision to close the work and dismantle the camp on May 10, 2004, on the 11th day of collections.

The logistics of dismantling the camp, storing the collected materials and transporting everything to the flying boats, on the banks of the Marari River, took another three days. The Gasolina shabono, which had been empty two weeks earlier, had been occupied again by around 100 Yanomami. And it was there, in Tuchaua Lico's house, surrounded by other Tuchauas from shabono, that the field manager carried out a delicate and complex negotiation of payment for the use of the indigenous area and fundamental support from the Indians. The Yanomami are excellent negotiators and it was necessary to spend some time with the help of the interpreters, Geraldo and Lourenço, to reach an agreement that was satisfactory to all parties.

  Navigation back to Barcelos was very difficult as the rains greatly increased the river levels, making control of the flies much more critical. Thus, there was a partial sinking of a flying boat while crossing a Marari waterfall, with the loss of fuel, tools and supplies. Later, one of the outboard engines broke, which required two flying boats to be flown together to use just one engine. The last overnight stay before arriving in Barcelos was spent in an abandoned community considered a source of malaria and, in fact, two members of the team ended up contracting the disease throughout the expedition.

  Arrival in Barcelos took place on Friday night, May 14th. And the end of the first Brazilian scientific expedition to Serra do Tapirapecó occurred six days later at Manaus airport.