The Survey and Findings

1. The Purpose of the Survey.

The goal of this study was to assist STINASU (Nature Conservation Foundation of Suriname) and LBB-NB (Nature Conservation Division of the Suriname Forest Service) in evaluating the changes in Kaburi Creek since the 1978 proposal of creating a Kaburi Creek ­ Nanni Lake Nature Reserve.

Kaburi Creek was visited and surveyed from September 2000 to March 2001 every two months to determine the following:

*Human impacts since the Giant otter study conducted in 1976-1978.
*Present status and distribution of the Giant otters in Kaburi Creek.
*Estimating the biodiversity of the creek by conducting a bird survey.
*Feasibility of introducing low-impact community-based eco-tourism to the area and: a) the potential impact of tourism on the Giant otter and other wildlife. And b) the level of interest of the Washabo Indian community to this proposal.

2. Kaburi Creek

The approach of Kaburi Creek along the Corantyne river bypassing Kaburi island has not changed. The island is still covered by swamp forest and high trees. There is no sign of regular boat access or of paths being cut into the thick curtain of Arum lilies or Mokomoko (Montrichardia arborescens). Hoatzins (Opisthocomus hoatzin), an unusual bird not seen elsewhere in Suriname, are present here.

The bridge at the entrance to Kaburi Creek, built in 1977, has disappeared with only a few wood supports remaining. There is a wide area of cleared bank here that occurred when the road was built.

Three permanent Indian camps and kitchen gardens have been built on the northern banks in the first two kilometers (see Figure 1 and Table 2). There is no refuse or rubbish visible in the creek and these areas are clean.

This wide area of the creek is associated with high Mora tropical hardwood (Mora excelsa) forest which has been logged. There are a few that have fallen across the creek which slows access to larger boats. Smaller creeks branch off to the north and south ending in swamps a few kilometers upstream. The first, Oralli Creek, joins the swamp forest to the north where Giant otters spend the rainy season. The next, Firestick Creek (Km 2.5), has a large tree now blocking the entrance.

Big Yarwaw Creek is quite narrow (Km 3.7). Next to it, a path on the south bank crosses forest and savannah all the way to Washabo. It takes 2-3 hours to walk there.

Soon after that there are two old logging camps: one on the opposite bank, now abandoned, the other in use until January 2001. A large campsite and kitchen garden is now visible here, belonging to a former Captain of Washabo. This is a new permanent camp (Km 4.37), started in August 2000. The very large kitchen garden measures 250m x 350m and more land is being cleared with chain saws.

Dawalloo Pan is the next portion of the creek. It is forested but the undergrowth is thicker. Old otter campsites and a den are found here. One site (Km 4.8) had just been cleared in September '00 of leaves and tiny plants. It was muddy with a strong smell of feces and urine ­ typical of very fresh sites that can be detected by smell from up to 10m away. We saw otters in this area almost every day during our stay in September. In January they were using a den nearby and still marking the area in March. This was the first "core area" on the creek. The old "core areas" further downstream which were used heavily in '76-'78 are no longer, probably because of the increased human activity and permanent camps.

Swallow Pan (Km 5.16) is the first floating grass mat area with floating water lilies which is prime fishing habitat for both otters and Indians. Hedges of arum lilies mask the banks and the otters chase fish into the shallows to catch them.
This middle stretch of the creek is narrower and the swamp vegetation lower. Low trees predominate. The flooded areas are still drying out in September and otter sites are rare in the Ayarina area until Big Bend just below the open grass mat area of Arawaboo Pond (Km 7). There was an otter campsite there that had also just been cleared even though it was still surrounded by flooded forest.

Lana Swamp is low floodable forest, still under water in September and again in January. Here the trees are higher, and the narrow creek becomes shady. Frenchman's Landing is the next high land area (Km 9.7) and there is a perennial otter site there with several old dens. This campsite has been here for at least 30 years and probably longer. It was visited briefly in the '00-'01 season and a den was used. There is logging area just above it and the noise and human activity may have discouraged the otters.

Upper Monkey Pan and Winana Creek (Km 14) is a transition zone between flooded forest and open swamp. It was a "core area" for otters and a group of seven was spotted here in November '00. Immediately upstream there are several open areas with tall Mauritius palms (Mauritia flexuosa), a sunny contrast to the shady narrow creek.

The creek continues for several more kilometers, barely a meter across in places, until Kaiwiriwiri Creek (Km 15.5) where it disappears into a swamp. The path to Nanni Lake starts here. There are several low swamps along on the way. It takes a day and a half to reach the Nanni Lake on foot.

3. The otters

Giant otters. The Indians of Washabo use the creek daily. They report that the number of Giant otters they see during the dry season has not decreased over the years and that the fishing also remains as good as ever. As before, they say, there are usually several groups of Giant otters that patrol portions of the creek. The otters ignore humans after a few snorts of surprise and alarm. Just a few weeks before we arrived in September a group of seven was seen fishing at Two-mouth Loop near Oralli Creek near the mouth of the creek (Km 1.3).

However we feel the Indians may be optimistic. Over the course of the '00-'01 season the otters became increasingly shy until they bolted at the sight of a boat 100m away in March ­ not 'undisturbed' Giant otter behavior. Normally a group of otters will swim up to a boat and investigate before swimming on. Now there is active avoidance behavior with visible panic. Why? It may be due to several factors: 1) increased daily human activity, and 2) possible hunting activity ­ have the otters been shot at? Probably not by Indians who do not shoot otters but by other visitors.

We also heard of a Giant otter cub that had been caught and offered for sale in Nickerie. It was taken to Paramaribo and raised successfully. It was conficated by the Wildlife Enforcement officers and released in the Coesiwijne River Nature Reserve where its chance of survival alone at three months old were nil. We do not know whether it came from Kaburi but such a 'kidnapping' would certainly result in active avoidance of humans by the parents. Capture of cubs had also occurred in 1978 and the cubs were also released into the river with no hope of survival.

Giant otter sightings. We spotted otters every day during our stay in the creek in September, usually for only minutes at a time but once for a 45-minute stretch as we watched a group of three fishing in the shallows below Swallow Pond near our camp (Km 4.85). In March we only caught brief glimpses of otters, also a group of three, further upstream and they tried to actively elude us by submerging under vegetation along the banks.

The September the Swallow Pond group of three may have been a pair with a subadult offspring. We took photographs to record their neck markings which will useful in identifying them if seen again (Figure 2). We saw the same three individuals either alone or together as they made their way up and down from Firestick Creek (Km 2.2) to just above Swallow Pond (Km 6). This corresponds to the territory length of otters that were studied in 1976-1978 on the creek. We found two campsites in that stretch (one containing a den), both freshly cleared and marked by the otters. (see Table 1).

There were other otter campsites along the creek in areas of higher ground. Some were in use with fresh markings, others were not but had been used during the last dry season as evidenced by the old fish scales in the latrines used by the otters. The very large campsite at Frenchman's Landing (not in current use, and maybe not last year either) had also been a site in 1976-1978 which indicates that campsites may be used intermittently over many decades. Also it is the only suitable spot of dry land in a 2-kilometer stretch of low floodable swamp forest.

Virtually every Giant otter "core area" along Kaburi is close to such grass mat fishing area: Swallow Pond (Km 5.16), Arawaboo Pond (Km 7), Lana Swamp and Creek (Km 8), Karekouya Pan (Km 10), and Monkey Pan (Km 12). The only exception is the Winana Creek otter group (Km 14.6) which has access to a shallow savannah swamp nearby instead.

Several other campsites are in use sporadically along the creek, including several with dens that show fresh digging marks. The otters return to the creek after the wet season in late August, ready to have their cubs. These fresh campsites are spaced into four "territories" along Kaburi all the way up to Winana Creek (Km 14.5) in roughly the same areas they used in the past. Groups that have access to creeks and permanent swamps are seldom seen on Kaburi even during the dry season -- probably spending most of their time fishing in the shallow pools left in the forest as the waters recede and the fish become vulnerable. When these dry out the otters take up their seasonal residence on Kaburi but still retreat to the forest when approached.

Giant otter groups. During this survey we established that there were both resident and transient otters in the creek. When Table 2 is analyzed, one can see that the otters during the '00-'01 dry season centered their activities in three areas: Dawalloo-Swallow Pond (Km 4.5-5.52), Lana Swamp and Creek (Km 7.6 ­ 8.48), and Lucas Landing-Winana Creek (Km 13.9-15.1). Campsites and dens were visited and used regularly in these areas. There may also be a group near the mouth of the creek in the Aiwa-Oralli Creek area (Km Km 0-1.3) as they are seen there regularly but they are not marking any of their old campsites ­ it coincides with the area of permanent Indian settlements. We feel they may have campsites further up the narrow Oralli and Firestick creeks ­ both difficult to access by canoe

Since we spent relatively little time in the creek with only four seven-day visits and since the otters became increasingly shyer, we were not able to identify the neck patterns of all the otters we saw. However, we did note several key 'core areas' that the otters used throughout the dry season (Table 1).

Aiwa Group. The first 2.5 km of the creek do not have active campsites even though otters are sighted passing through. A solitary individual was seen here in September and in November. Two otters were glimpsed entering Kaburi in January. We believe that these are transient otters that live up Oralli and Firestick creeks near the swamps and they do not use the old campsites still visible in this area of the creek. This area has the highest level of human habitation and disturbance.

Dawalloo-Swallow Pond Group (Km 4-6.2) The three individuals seen here in September were not sighted again in November but they were marking several camps in the area and using a den. A group of four was seen here in Novemebr which may not have been the resident group.

In January the female with a cub may have been seen downstream in Big Yarwaw (Km 2.89) and they were not shy at all, staying quite close to the boat for five minutes. Again in March we saw three otters in Big Yarwaw but they were so shy we were unable to identify them.

Big Bend-Arawaboo Group (Km 6.81-7). There were active campsites and dens here in September, November, January and February but not in March. Two otters were seen here briefly in November

Lana Swamp-Creek Group (Km 7.71-8.48). This, with the Winana Group below, was the most active group on the creek with 3 dens and 6 campsites that were visited regularly during the dry season. The proximity of Lana Creek that connects with a large swamp makes it ideal habitat.

Monkey Pan-Winana Group (Km 12-15) In November a group of seven otters was seen in Winana (Km 14.6) where they was an active den. Two otters rushed out of the den where they may have been cubs. The campsites in this area were active during the whole season from September through March. Winana Creek is at the very top of Kaburi and has the lowest level of human disturbance. In November, this group was observed for 10 minutes and showed little fear, swimming close to the boat. In January two otters were seen in the Monkey Pan grass-mat area swimming downstream and were not shy.

These 'core areas' correspond to the areas that were also used during '76-'78. The otters are restricted to finding campsites in areas that are: 1) on high ground during most of the dry season, 2) close to good fishing areas on Kaburi or in nearby swamps on either side of the creek, and 3) are relatively undisturbed. The third factor has forced the otters to shun the first three kilometers of Kaburi where human activity is constant. It has also pushed the most active campsites to 7 kilometers up the creek whereas before the most active areas were situated between Km 2 and Km 10. This shows that the otters are losing ground on Kaburi creek.

The dilemma, which will eventually dictate the success or failure of Kaburi Creek Nature Reserve as a Giant Otter sanctuary, is that there is little 'high ground' available that is not flooded during the rainy season. Both the otters and the Indians zero in on these dry areas, particularly those located near grass-mat fishing areas, to built their camps (and, for otters, to excavate their dens.) Certain areas are targeted by both 'users,' in particular: Frenchman's Landing (Km 9.7), upstream of Karekouya Pan (Km 9.9), Monkey Pan (Km 12) and Nut Landing (Km 14).

Neotropical otters. One new and exciting event in September was the sighting of a pair of Neotropical otters (Lontra longicaudis, formerly known as the Guyana otter Lutra enudris). I had never seen these smaller relatives of the Giant otter on Kaburi Creek before. They are shy, nocturnal and elusive. Normally seen in smaller forest creeks deep in the interior it was a surprise to see them at 8:00 AM one morning near Big Yarwaw Creek (Km 2.83). We were paddling the canoe very quietly at the time. Jacob Lingaard says that he has seen them before but not often.

They were seen again as a pair in November, but only as a solitary individual in January at Karekouya (Km 9). In March we saw a solitary Lontra twice, in Karekouya again and below Lana Swamp (Km 7.7) at the same time as three Pteronura. We believe this was the male of the pair seen in September 5 km downstream. Lontra female otters, unlike Pteronura, raise their cubs on their own and the male does not participate.

We did not see the female who we think had a den in Dawallo (Km 4.5). An Indian living further down the creek (Km 0.8) saw a mother and cub on the bank in Dawallo and, later we located the den. He grabbed the cub that was about 2 _ months old and could barely walk or focus its eyes. The female ran off into the woods. He took the male cub to Washabo and gave it to his friends. We recovered it two days later. The cub was still strong but had not eaten. It was at the critical weaning stage when it needs both milk and tiny pieces of fish every two hours around the clock. He accepted fish but squeaked constantly in obvious distress. Since there was no rehabilitation facility, no medication and no alternative available, the next day we were forced to put this cub to sleep with sleeping pills as its chances of survival were nil.

After this most unfortunate incident we spoke with all the Indians living along Kaburi and explained the situation. They did not realize that an otter cub was unlikely to survive at that age as a pet and could not be released by itself in the wild. All promised not to take otter cubs again and to stop anyone else from doing so.

We hope that Kaburi's resident Lontra pair will breed again next year and that this time they will be able to raise their cub(s) in peace. We recommend the development of an action plan to deal with orphaned or injured wildlife, including otters.

4. Human Use

The use of Kaburi Creek by the Washabo people and others has increased since the 1970s and now shows tell-tale signs of human use, new and old, over much of its length all the way up to Winana Creek 15 km upstream (see Table 2). Many of these campsites, both temporary lean-tos and more permanent structures, are in prime otter habitat, some even on otter campsites. The otters seem to shun these human campsites even after they have been abandoned.

Along the first kilometer where the creek is still wide there are two Indian settlements on the high northern banks. These are permanent camps that have been built using local trees and palm fronds. The camps were built when the soil of the kitchen gardens around Washabo became infertile, a normal occurrence when the thin layer of forest soil is cultivated. Five years is the normal length of fertility for these lateritic and clay soils that eventually become concrete-hard. The kitchen gardens of these two camps are not visible from the creek extending into the forest behind the camp. A few dug-out canoes are pulled out onto the river bank as the residents do not use outboard motors.

Three Washabo families now live in the creek permanently (Km 0.8, 0.3, 4.37) and six others have kitchen gardens which they visit regularly which have temporary camps (Km 1.59, 2.3, 2.48, 3.6, 4.5, 9.82).

Directly upstream from these permanent camps (Km 3) are several large clearings where the tall Mora hardwoods (Mora excelsa) were cut down or areas that were cleared for logging earlier. These logging concessions were granted to the Guyanese by the Indians in Washabo and the Indians provided the labor used to fell the timber. (By law, only the government can issue logging concession licenses but in this case, it seems, the Indians took the initiative.) These areas can be seen as denuded clearings along the muddy bank (Km 1.78, 2.2, 2.15, 2.83, 9.85)

The newest logging site (Km 2.15), still in use in September, had a large wooden barge tethered to the shore that was used to carry logs downstream and a partly submerged high-lift tractor that had fallen into the creek. It was extracted and removed, and the logging stopped. We did not inspect these sites farther inland but from the creek the clearings are visible and constitute an eyesore. Secondary growth will eventually mask the openings, however.

There is another logging site much farther upstream just north of Frenchman's Landing (Km 8) but it has only a narrow opening onto the creek. It was in use when we were there as evidenced by a fresh pile of small logs by the bank. This is of concern as it is located far from upstream and the transport of the logs down the length of the creek will cause disturbance.

The STINASU camp at Km 4.85 is also a large clearing with pole shelters. The site belongs to the Lingaard family of Washabo and also has a kitchen garden close by. This camp is masked by a stand of trees from the creek. It is ideally situated for eco-tourism purposes, just upstream from the more visible camps and logging sites, and it is in the middle of prime Giant otter habitat.

There are several temporary hunting camps farther upstream. One at Ayarina (Km 5.52), two at Awaraboo (Km 7.09, 7.26), two at Frenchman's Landing including an old logging site (Km 9.66, 9.85), and six more between Km 12 and 14.6., all used by fishermen and hunters at irregular intervals.

Finally at the top of the creek (Km 13.3) is a macaw smugglers' camp. We found a pencil-thin Euterpe palm with its fronds tied together. The smugglers hide inside the frond shelter and brandish a tame macaw tied to a pole through the leaves to attract wild macaws flying over. They catch the macaw attracted by the noise with a noose on another pole, quickly sever one of its primary tendons or pull out its primary wing feathers, and throw it down to their partner below who stuffs the bird into a small wire mesh cage. Scarlet macaws are the species of choice but other species of macaws are also captured. Experienced smugglers quickly catch many birds in this manner.

Later we met these Guyanese smugglers who were operating in the creek without the permission of the Washabo Indians, and we told them that they were breaking the laws of Suriname and Guyana by illegally capturing and exporting protected species without the proper permits. We asked that they return to Washabo to obtain permission from the Indians to catch macaws in the creek. They did not return while we were there but we cut down their modified Euterpe palm tree for good measure.