It is currently springtime at Embiara. During this time, we always see a lot of parent animals with their offspring. This is a good time for animals to rear their young as the rains have begun, and this brings with it lots of food opportunities. Here are just a few examples of animal offspring which we have encountered on our safari excursions.This first photo shows an adult jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria) (left) standing beside a young jabiru stork (right). The jabiru stork on the right is still too young to fly. The reason why this young jabiru stork is already on the ground and is not still in its nest is because the canopy of the mandovi tree in which its nest was situated, was blown down during a powerful storm. There was another youngster in the nest who sadly did not survive the ordeal. This young jabiru stork is still very vulnerable as its not being able to fly makes it prone to predation from animals such as pumas (Puma concolor) and ocelots (Leopardus pardalus)...

Beside the lodge, we have a large, open field area. We always have a number of pampas deer (Ozotocerus bezoarticus) grazing here. At the moment, three of the female pampas deer here each have a fawn. This photo below shows one of these mother deer standing protectively beside her fawn...

Tayras (Eira barbara) are a type of omnivorous mustelid. They eat a variety of different foods, including small mammals, birds and reptiles, carrion, or even eggs and honey. Tayras are difficult to see, and on the odd occasion when one is lucky enough to catch sight of one, it is normally just for an instant, as these shy and fast moving animals quickly disappear into the shadows of their forest home. On one occasion recently, we were lucky enough to watch an adult tayra and her youngster ambling down a forest road...

The photo below shows the young tayra looking inquisitively at us. The parent tayra was a little bit nervous about our being there, so we decided to reverse back down the road to allow the two of them to continue their stroll in peace...