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Critically Low Levels of Paraguayan River Threaten Wildlife

by Reuters

   GENERAL DIAZ, BOQUERON, PARAGUAY --

   In Paraguay, alongside the Pilcomayo River, black vultures flew over a
   shrinking pond where a group of crocodilian reptiles known as yacare
   caimans sought refuge.

   Water from the river, which divides Paraguay and Argentina in the area
   of the Gran Chaco, was scarce.

   This is not an uncommon sight in the region of General Diaz, about 700
   kilometers (435 miles) northwest of the country's capital, Asuncion,
   where the Pilcomayo's waters form lakes and streams that give life to
   capybaras, birds and caimans.

   Vultures sit next to the carcass of a yacare caiman at a dried-up
   artificial pond at the Agropil ranch in Boqueron, Paraguay, Aug. 14,
   2016.

   "The river's situation is critical. No water is forecast to enter the
   basin until December, as happens every year," said Alcides Gonzalez, a
   resident of the area.

   The Pilcomayo River, which descends from the Andes mountains in
   Bolivia, is at its lowest level of the past 19 years in Paraguay,
   according to the Ministry of Public Works and Communications.

   Mostly sediment

   "The river is 60 percent sediment and 40 percent water," said Gonzalez,
   who owns a cattle ranch that is also home to deer, capybaras and more
   than 8,000 caimans that consistently migrate in search of water.

   A yacare caiman eats beef offal in a pond at the San Jorge ranch in
   General Diaz, Paraguay, Aug. 14, 2016.

   "Animals are migrating naturally, but those that are weak no longer
   move," Gonzalez said.

   In the Agropil lagoon, north of Gonzalez's ranch, the once permanent
   layer of water has turned to mud, where the yacare caimans are
   attracted to humidity and feed on vultures and other birds that flock
   around dead animals.

   Livestock is also beginning to suffer from the scarcity of water.
   Roughly 100 cows have died in the lagoon area, where most farmers have
   small ranches and lack the resources to dig wells and pump fresh water.

   Cows stand in a saltwater pond to refresh themselves at the Agropil
   ranch in Boqueron, Paraguay, Aug. 14, 2016.

   Some cattle cool themselves in ponds of saltwater, but they are unable
   to drink it.

   "That's the problem -- those that have remained here dependent on this
   river will surely die as they become thin and weak," he added.

   The Agropil lagoon, which is fed by water from the Pilcomayo River, is
   surrounded by trees and dry, cracked ground.

   Wells necessary

   Residents around General Diaz say it hasn't rained there since last
   May, and that the river was already greatly reduced in 2015 and unable
   to fill lagoons and ponds as it used to. Therefore, they must resort to
   digging wells to find water.

   Because of the lack of water, the governments of Paraguay and Argentina
   have built canals to control irregular flowing.

   A woman bottle-feeds a calf whose mother had died, at the Agropil ranch
   in Boqueron, Paraguay, Aug. 14, 2016.

   Using social media, a group of volunteers organized a rescue operation
   to save the caimans in response to what they considered the
   government's slow reaction to the drought. They captured the animals
   and transported them in private vehicles from dry riverbeds to
   artificial lakes on local ranches.

   But efforts by the volunteers have not always panned out. One group
   took about 17 caimans to a pond that they did not realize was
   saltwater, and most of the animals died.