Field Notes: Whitewater and Monster Fish on Brazil's "River of Doubt"

I’m in Cacoal, Brazil, with National Geographic explorers Zeb Hogan (left), the world's foremost megafish expert, and Trip Jennings (right), an accomplished kayaker and filmmaker. Located 130 miles east of the Bolivian border, the town is just a few hours' drive from the where we’ll launch the first-ever expedition to study the aquatic life in the Rio Roosevelt, once known as the River of Doubt, tomorrow morning. If we're lucky, we'll get to document some of the huge fish Teddy Roosevelt described during his 1914 exploration.

—Text by Kyle Dickman; Photograph by Adams Mills Elliott

It just so happens that Cacoal is celebrating its 90-some-odd-year anniversary with too much sugarcane liquor. This occasion would normally merit grabbing a Cachaça and lime and hitting the streets to dance, but the only thing open in this jungle-frontier-turn-cattle town is the bars. The problem? We’re still trying to source gear we’ll need for our 130-mile float down the Rio Roosevelt’s whitewater. As I write this, my teammates are looking for the propane we'll need to cook during the trip.

Our eight-person crew has been in Brazil for three days now. The highlight so far was a 3 a.m. stop (that’s when it opens) at one of Brazil’s largest fish markets in the Amazon-riverside city of Manaus. This is where Zeb Hogan, a 35-year-old icthyologist, went to work. In two hours, he identified a handful of the 300 species of freshwater fish sold at the floating market throughout the year.

Hogan’s been globetrotting since he founded the Megafishes Project in 2006. His goal is to catch and document as many of the world’s two-dozen species of freshwater fish that grow larger than six feet as he can. Two-thirds of the giants are already listed as endangered or threatened. Our Brazil project’s different than the 40 other Megafish Projects Hogan's led. Not only is he rafting, which is new to him, but scientifically Hogan’s not sure what he’ll find during the ten-day research expedition. But then again, nobody is. The three other expeditions who traveled the length of the river, most notably President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1914 first descent that gave the river its name, researched and cataloged terrestrial species—insects, birds, mammals—while navigating the Class III-IV rapids studding the river. Hogan will be the first to focus on the Roosevelt’s aquatic life mostly because he’s teaming up with whitewater-expert Jennings to access the habitat. Come tomorrow morning, assuming we score a propane tank, we’ll see how these two explorers' collaboration works out. 

See their Spot Satellite Messenger posts here or follow the team on Twitter.

Comments

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That is a cool picture!

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wow what a big fish..

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Located 130 miles east of the Bolivian border, the town is just a few hours' drive from the where we’ll launch the first-ever expedition to study the aquatic life in the Rio Roosevelt, once known as the River of Doubt, tomorrow morning. If we're lucky, we'll get to document some of the huge fish Teddy Roosevelt described during his 1914 exploration.

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If we're lucky, we'll get to document some of the huge fish

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We’re still trying to source gear we’ll need for our 130-mile float down the Rio Roosevelt’s whitewater. As I write this, my teammates are looking for the propane we'll need to cook during the trip.

[temecula chiropractor]

This occasion would normally merit grabbing a Cachaça and lime and hitting the streets to dance, but the only thing open in this jungle-frontier-turn-cattle town is the bars. The problem? We’re still trying to source gear we’ll need for our 130-mile float down the Rio Roosevelt’s whitewater. As I write this, my teammates are looking for the propane we'll need to cook during the trip.

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As I write this, my teammates are looking for the propane we'll need to cook during the trip.

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If we're lucky, we'll get to document some of the huge fish Teddy Roosevelt described during his 1914 exploration.

[costamesa chiropractor]

As I write this, my teammates are looking for the propane we'll need to cook during the trip.

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Catching any real fish? /s

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Its funny that this big monster fish, definitely huge fish catch in the river called river of doubt, "doubt" i see its a little bit surprising. I think it can suck those two men besides his side.lols

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The three other expeditions who traveled the length of the river, most notably President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1914 first descent that gave the river its name, researched and cataloged terrestrial species—insects, birds, mammals—while navigating the Class III-IV rapids studding the river.

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That's a sushi supply for a year..

[Ange Wayne]

I love to see one of this monster fish for real. I mean like the size in that statue. You will surely have doubt to go to that River of Doubt if this monster fish really exist. I like to see it on my plate or in a stick. :-)

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Is it real that this monster fish lives on a river? Amazing fish, it seems that we have to catch that on a a giant hook.lols Is that monster fish eatable? Thanks for the picture of that, impressing!

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That fish is definitely monster.lols if catch a the sister of that fish, i will have a one month supply of meat from fish.

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what a huge monster fish!! i cant believe that theres a fish like that even if is only a statue.lols by the way i love your blog, we can talk about it forever. thanks a lot!

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Wow! Your picture with that super big fish is pretty cool! If that kind of fish exists, I think it would be really scary, but it still amazing if that happens. Anyway, thanks for sharing this article!

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What an amazing and weird fish! Looks like having a leopard skin and from prehistoric Age.

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How awesome it would be if they were to find a mega fish like that one in the picture, mega to the extreme.

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wow! what a huge fish, I certainly enjoyed the way you explore your experience and
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[Adrian Benitez]

I watched on TV this adventure in the Roosvelt River (Brazil).
In that film, they show a small fish as an unknown specie. I am not sure about that because in the Parana River (Argentina) there are a lot of them. We called it Mojarrita Cola de Fuego (Firetail mojarrita)or Hyphessobrycon anisitsi (Eigenmann, 1907)
Am I wrong?

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy/MLU-20984457-tertra-de-buenos-aires-mojarra-cola-de-fuego-_JM

Regards,

Adrian Benitez
Buenos Aires
Argentina