Brazil's nut growers, landowners and ecotourism operators have embarked on an innovative project to save the horned eagle.
The horned eagle is the largest eagle in the world, weighing up to 11.3 kilograms and having claws larger than the paws of a grizzly bear. Since the beginning of the 19th century, their range of activities in Central and South America has shrunk by nearly half. Photograph by KARINE AIGNER
Written by RACHEL NUWER
We are on a difficult trek in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It was supposed to be a shortcut, but now it was waist-deep dirty water, and I was not only tripped by underwater stumps, but also drilled through the thorns full of ants and broke through the cobwebs as thick as curtains — following in the footsteps of Brazilian biologist Everton Miranda. Field assistant Edson Oliveira plunged headlong into a puddle and scrapped an expensive camera; photographer Karine Aigner's forearm was stung by a wasp and had swollen into a large tomato-like bag.
But no one backed down, after all, this mission was crucial. We came here in search of the horned eagle's nest, which is said to be located in the amazon primeval rainforest of mato grosso, Brazil, just 1.6 km around here. The state of Mato Grosso is the size of Nigeria.
Brazilian ecotourism company Southwild has built some 18-meter-high watchtowers to give visitors a close-up look at the nests of horned eagles and newborn chicks. Proceeds are used to protect horned eagles and fund related research. Photograph by KARINE AIGNER
Deforestation is a major threat to horned eagles and has not slowed down in the slightest. Last year, the Amazon fires shocked the world, and large areas of land were engulfed in flames; now in the Brazilian Amazon, 182,000 square meters of land per hour have been razed to the ground.
© NGP, Content may not reflect National Geographic's current map policy. Source: IUCN
Miranda was a former boxer who later joined the scientific community and was at the forefront of saving horned eagles. He was sure that without effective conservation measures, the horned eagle would soon become extinct from its stronghold in Brazil — the so-called "deforestation arc zone", surrounding the southeastern Amazon, huge and broken, like a broken smile. He felt that by showing Brazilians that forests were more beneficial than logging, habitat loss could be curbed, and that horn carvings could be achieved. To this end, he recently helped launch an innovative ecotourism project to encourage landowners to protect the horned eagle and its habitat.
Everton Miranda observed that a horned eagle brought an armadillo that had just been hunted back to the nest. Miranda, a Brazilian biologist, is working to study and protect horned eagles in parts of the Amazon that are vulnerable to deforestation. Photograph by KARINE AIGNER
If we can find the nests we have searched for, we will have an important data when estimating the number of horned eagles in Brazil. Miranda stopped and looked at the GPS anchor on Google Maps, which he thought was home to the nest. Now, a rushing stream was in front of us, too deep for us to wade through. Miranda did not flinch, but found a fallen piece of wood, a half-rotten piece of wood that could support our weight, and we walked to the other side one by one. Climbing up the muddy embankment, we stepped onto solid ground; the last 800 meters were all at full speed, and finally a tall Brazilian nut tree appeared in front of our eyes. This is a protected tree, and the nesting site of the horned eagle is here, hidden in the towering canopy. The horned eagles that were feeding the chicks were aggressive, so we approached silently and peeked into the lush foliage above. At a height of about 30 meters, a large pile of branches appeared in a peephole. The horned eagle's nest is here!
Miranda was able to find the nest not by searching the dense jungle alone, but by seeking help from the locals. These people collect Brazil nuts to make money. They discovered the place a few weeks ago and then shared GPS coordinates with Miranda.
"Rachel, if you can find a bone or a feather, I'll make you a cappiriner by hand," Miranda whispered, winking at me. The Caypirina cocktail is the national liquor of Brazil, with a strong, fragrant and delicious flavor. He soon found a slender white feather, but I wasn't so lucky, and the hound-like search found nothing and could not prove that the nest had an owner. We played a recording of the horned eagle's cries, which sounded like a series of harsh screams and didn't get any response. Miranda guessed that the chick must be a young man who, after three years with his parents, was in the process of leaving the nest.
Not surprisingly, horned eagles will live in the same nest for decades; by the end of 2020, Miranda says, the nest may welcome a new chick. If all goes well, he hopes to guide visitors here to see the horned eagle and help protect it.
Look for horned eagles
Instead of studying horned eagles in the unspoiled Amazon, Miranda focused on the deforestation arc, where danger loomed. Decades ago, the only inhabitants of the Amazon were indigenous peoples, but in 1966, the Brazilian government launched a major colonial project here. Officials sold large tracts of forest, sometimes as much as 1,290 square kilometers, to wealthy buyers and small plots of land to poorer Brazilians. As a result, a wave of migration with the support of the world's largest state led to livestock and industrial agriculture becoming the economic base of the Brazilian Amazon.
Ultimately, deforestation is caused by illegal land grabs; From 2004 to 2012, Brazil's deforestation rate decreased by 80 percent, reducing the area of forests by 4,400 square kilometers a year. But the cattle and soybean growing giants bought off politicians, and slash-and-burn is back. In 2019, after Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil, he struggled to stop the regulation of illegal logging, resulting in a 30% increase in deforestation. It is estimated that 95 per cent of deforestation today is illegal. As Miranda puts it, "Our situation was already not good, and now it is even worse." ”
When Miranda arrived at the deforestation arc, everyone told him that the horned eagle had disappeared, but he didn't give up. Miranda set up his headquarters at ONF-Brasil, a French research station 250 km west of the town of Haute Floresta, which has 50,000 inhabitants and 700,000 cattle. Reminders are everywhere: He is at the heart of deforestation. The barren land is overgrown with grass, cattle grazing, scorched-earth forests hanging signs for sale. It is illegal to cut down tall Brazil nut trees, but they often die in fires clearing woodlands, leaving only the wreckage, making it impossible to imagine the canopy they once towered into the clouds.
To investigate, Miranda needed to find a bird's nest. Given that he had been in contact with anacondas while writing his master's thesis, he was convinced that he could accomplish the task alone. That time he had to collect a large number of samples to prove how body size and sex affected the diet of the anaconda. He set a goal of collecting 200 anacondas over 45 days, which mentors and other experts told him was impossible. In the end, Miranda recorded 220 anacondas in a month and a half. With that success, he decided to find the horned eagle's nest on his own — and hiked the whole way.
Looking back at the scene, he realized, "I was so arrogant." After a 48-kilometer journey through the jungle, Miranda found the first bird's nest. Secretly happy, he thought that at this rate, he could find several nests every month. However, after a 3-month trek of 400 kilometers, Miranda found nothing. He finally felt the need for help.
Miranda began putting up posters to gather information about horned eagles and offer a $150 to find the nest. So The Brazilian nut gatherers came into his sight, wandering the forest in search of fallen nuts. These nuts bring a sustainable, profitable industry to the region. "I realized that some people have been wandering in the jungle and there is no charge." Miranda became in contact with the Brazilian Nut Association of mato Grosso.
Veridiana Vieira, president of the Brazilian Nut Gathering Association of the Green Valley Settlements, recalls: "I remember hearing about a crazy guy looking for horned eagles in the Amazon. Before meeting Miranda, Vieira said that although she had never seen a horned eagle in person, she was under the impression that it was a chick killer. She enjoyed contributing to science, so she signed a contract for the project on behalf of the association. Miranda teaches her and other nut gatherers how to use the collection to play the call of the horned eagle and how to find traces of bird's nests on the forest floor. Vieira said: "Now, everyone uses the instant messaging app WhatsApp to exchange information about horn carving. ”
So far, Vieira and colleagues across the state have helped Miranda find more than 30 nests; Watson says it's a "very valuable and meaningful" dataset. Watson compiled another comparable record of horned eagle nests in Panama.
Impossible champion
Among biologists, 32-year-old Miranda is a sort of eccentric. Growing up in Brasilia, he was particularly fascinated by animals as a child: he loved to catch tarantulas, which frightened his mother; but what really made his blood boil was violent and bloody. "My parents were very worried," he said. Football and other team sports were too mild for Miranda, so he decided to go into martial arts. At the age of 12, he began training seriously, pursuing a physical education degree at university and competing professionally in mixed martial arts cages. "It's the worst scenario you can imagine: it's like people and dogs wrestling together," he said.
Paid too little for professional boxing matches, Miranda began taking part in illegal boxing tournaments held in the port of Rio de Janeiro, where he proudly said he had never lost. But a few years later, he began to question whether it was moral for people to hurt each other for fun. The gambler had a big impact on his life, and after understanding this, he stopped fighting, completed his physical education degree, and turned to biology, to be precise, predator biology.
"I have found that violence in nature is not immoral. I can put my love of bloody violence into something meaningful," Miranda said. He is 1.8 meters tall, while 90 kilograms of muscle and perfect posture make him look even more imposing. Behind the thick glasses was a pair of dark eyes, shining with wisdom, and he was more like a philosopher than a boxer; he spoke quickly, the literary works of Jack London, Herman Melville, the poetry of Dylan Thomas and the Brazilian poets Vinicius de Moraes and Machado de Assis.
In 2014, Miranda began his PhD studies, and he decided to specialize in horned eagles because he saw the perfect predator-hunting machine in them. "Essentially, they're velociraptors flying."
We have horns here because we protect the forest and you are logging.
INACIO RIKBAKTSA, Traditional Healer, Escordido Aboriginal Land
He launched a public relations campaign about horned eagles to educate people about the bird and reduce the number of hunts. He had seen pictures of people holding up dead horned eagles on social media, so he interviewed 180 landowners to find out the truth. Based on known circumstances, he speculates that landowners shot more than 200 horned eagles in three years. More than 80 percent said they had never seen such a big bird before and just wanted to see it up close. "There's a saying in Portuguese, 'We're going to see for ourselves.'" That's the main reason they shot the horned eagle.
But when many landowners said they regretted shooting the horned eagle, especially now that they knew more about the endangered bird, Miranda felt a little relieved.
"Now, everyone realizes that horned eagles have a positive effect on the local area, so people stop hunting them," Roberto Stofel said. He was a land clearer, hunter and now works with Miranda as a professional tree climber. On two occasions, the workers even revived a horned eagle chick that nearly died. Miranda, Stofel and colleagues rescued the chicks and released them.
To Miranda's relief, he has confirmed that the local horned eagles have not been poached for body parts and pet trade. Hunting is often illegal in Brazil, and most people are not poor enough to go down the path of poaching. "You'll find that no one here is starving, there really isn't anybody," Miranda said.
But in indigenous lands, it was legal to hunt horned eagles. The Escodido Aboriginal land area is 1,720 square kilometers, and chief Roseno Zokoba Rikbaktsa said: "The horned eagle is a very important animal because every part of the body comes in handy. Every time we killed a horned eagle, there was a party. "We make the carcasses of horns into sweet soup, the claws into crafts, the bones and large feathers into arrows, and the feathers are sometimes used on headdresses for ceremonies.
Roseno Rikbaktsa estimates that his tribe hunts 1 to 3 horned eagles a year. Inacio Rikbaktsa, an elder in the village and a healer, added that if the birds were endangered, it must be the fault of the whites, not the Indigenous tribes. "We have horns here because we protect the forest and you are logging."
Miranda believes that this sustainable hunting practice does not pose a serious threat to the survival of the Brazilian horned eagle. "Indians still have intact forests," he said, "and they do a better job of protecting biodiversity than Brazilians." ”
The price of protection
Protecting the horned eagle from being shot helps, but the real challenge, Miranda says, is not letting livestock farms and agribusinesses clear large amounts of woodland while finding ways to make money from the forest. "To keep a few skinny cows, we're burning the most biodiverse forest in the world," he said, "and to stop people from cutting down forests, we need to find a clever way to integrate the Amazon region with the global economy." ”
The good news, he added, is that Brazilians can make money without cutting down forests. For example, according to a large number of scientific studies, the collection of Brazilian nuts and fish farming is not only more economical but also more sustainable than cattle farming. Some studies have proven that, as Miranda and others argue, tourism offers another way to do it.
In 2017, Miranda reached out to Charles Munn, who gladly accepted the offer. Munn is the co-founder and owner of Southwild, an ecotourism company based in Cuiaba, Brazil. "A lot of scientists are only interested in basic research and have no intention of using their findings to find sustainable solutions," Munn said, "What makes Everton special is that he is also concerned about creating green jobs and protecting nature." ”
Munn organizes high-end photographic safaris in South Africa and has a proven track record of protecting wildlife. He was also the first to take tourists on a tour of today's famous jaguar; in the Pantana region of Brazil, the world's largest tropical wetland, the animals have become accustomed to the presence of people after fishermen feed jaguars. Last year, Jaguar Tours made a $7 million profit. Ranchers who benefit from it no longer shoot jaguars, even though these cats occasionally kill their livestock. To expand the revenue, conservation group Panthera is looking for the possibility of charging travel fees that will be used to compensate for the loss of livestock caused by jaguars, covering the entire Pantanal region, not just the ones where tourists often visit.
"It's like wildlife venture capital," Munn says, "and we're trying to find ways to use the animals themselves to protect their habitats." ”
As of March 2020, Miranda has recruited 29 landowners to join the project, all of whom have horned eagle nests on their land. When the chicks hatch, he hires locals to build a 27-meter-high watchtower for visitors to use. Each visitor will earn $20 per day for landowners, while others in the community make money by carrying, driving and cooking. Munn guarantees that visitors can view the horned eagle at a height of view, otherwise refunds will be issued.
In the early stages, Miranda said, ecotourism has had a positive impact, showing landowners that "forests are not an economically barren place." Cenomar Picouto, who entertains tourists on a 240,000-square-meter farm, says he's not just here to make money. "In addition to the additional benefits, I also want to be directly involved in the prevention of species extinction, both of which are important." I would have very little, but I knew that with a concerted effort, humans could protect the horned eagles and the forest. ”
Veridiana Vieira of the Brazilian Nut Association says horned eagles are becoming a guide to this kind of thinking. "My dream is to talk to the president and show him that forests can generate multiple benefits," she said, including sustainable wildlife tourism and local activities such as collecting Brazil nuts. "Making money and protecting forests are two sides of the same coin."
As for Miranda, he is working to preserve the future of horned eagles and the species diversity behind them. Later this year, he plans to build a Predator Institute in the town of Upper Floresta to conduct basic research and apply the findings to the real world. "Conservation efforts will only work if people who live in amazon take action," Miranda said, "and I think we will eventually realize that the Amazon is Brazil's greatest asset." ”