This was painted over a week long stay with the Macuxi people, in Northern Brazil.  When I arrived at the home of the Macuxi it was the middle of the night.  The darkness obscured the sun-scorched plains and rainforest covered mountains of the region and also led to a case of mistaken identity when this little friendly creature scurried over to greet me.  Was it a wiry haired dog?  In better light I realised it was a capybara, the largest rodent on earth!

The local girls pictured here had rescued the capybara from a nearby river where it had been abandoned at birth. Saved from being prey for alligators or jaguars, this capybara became domesticated and would be taken for daily baths in the nearby river.