Mariza Epicentro kept several species of domesticated animals including pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cats, ducks and Geraldo the goose.

Chickens eagerly awaiting a feed

The juvenile pigs enjoying food leftover from the kitchen. The wooden contraptions around their heads are designed to stop their heads getting stuck in fences

Geraldo the goose is one of the most moody and irritable things I’ve come across. He attacked people who came near him, managing to bite the cook

The farmers and volunteers inspecting a sheep and goat trough at Mariza Epicentro’s secondary property

One of the cats eyeing off cake

Geraldo the goose bossing a duck. Cashew leaves frame the photo

Cats at the food bowl

The billy goat showing disdain

Volunteer Marcio feeding the goats and sheep lower grade corn cobs

Two sheep, one with wool and the other without. Like the pigs, one of the sheep has sticks around its neck to stop it from getting its head stuck in the fence

Goats running around with a neighbouring property in the background

At the start of December I spent 9 wonderful days at Mariza Epicentro, Marsha Hanzi’s permaculture farm in the Tucano province of Bahia state, north-eastern Brazil.

This, the first of several themed posts, contains photos of wild animals from or near the farm.

A monkey eating watermelon. A group of monkeys regularly visited and hung around the property

A toad enjoying the cool water in Geraldo the goose’s bowl. Toads were also regular farm visitors, with signs on buildings requesting people to keep doors shut to stop them from entering

A dragonfly, one of various insects encountered at Mariza Epicentro

One of the monkeys walking on a wire fence

A ~2 metre long iguana resting in a tree above the chicken cage, likely waiting for an opportunity to eat some eggs

Many, many species of birds visited the farm including two species of hummingbirds. This is a silhouette of the larger hummingbird

Another of the larger hummingbirds having a rare rest on a branch during the hot afternoon sun. Most of the time hummingbirds hovered from flower to flower and plant to plant making good photos difficult to take

A juvenile monkey looking sideways for food

Lizards were common sights around the property, particularly away from the cats

This birds nest containing two white eggs is not very high off the ground but relies on the cactus plant’s spines for protection from predators

Another toad, this one on the road at dusk

On the farm I also saw pretos, animals that looked like a cross between a rabbit and a rat. Unfortunately they scampered away too fast for a clear photo.