Colombia's Savanna

The pond-side trees appeared to be turning red as flocks of scarlet ibis flew in to roost, brilliant from their bills to their toes. They dueled with egrets over the best perches, squawking raucously. A squadron of chubby capybara — the world’s largest rodents — idled in the muddy shallows before suddenly charging off, churning the water, lunging and splashing. As darkness fell, the birds settled in, the wind died and the place became tranquil. A caiman slipped quietly into the muddy water. The first stars appeared low in the eastern sky, and night fell over the Colombian llanos. This vast region — extending from the Andes to the Orinoco River, and Venezuela beyond, is known as the Llanos Orientales — or eastern plains. It’s a broad, flat savanna split by slow, muddy rivers lined with gallery forests. In the rainy season, from May to October, tropical downpours turn muddy trickles into rivers, plains to lakes, and dry ground to mud. In the dry season, lakes shrink, rivers drop and the land becomes parched and sun-baked. It all combines to create an otherworldly landscape, teeming with wildlife.

From “On a Colombian Savanna, Hawks, Caimans and So Many Stars” by Murray Carpenter for the New York Times; Photo by Federico Rios

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