To get to the swamps, first you have to ditch the canoe and hike through tropical forest. The leeches aren't too discriminating, and they're hungry. Grazing cattle usually provide the juice, but you'll do. They'll be vigorously searching for their favorite meal: fresh mammal blood. Its kind is just emerging from the bottom muck, where they dug themselves in to wait out the three-month dry season. It's a great time of year to meet with the giant Amazonian leech. See those clouds ahead? It's December, the start of the rainy season, and each afternoon usually ends with a downpour. You're heading into unspoiled marshes near the country's tropical coast. Its generic name-from the Hellenic haema, meaning "blood"-is a nod to its exquisite blood-drinking ability. An Italian naturalist named Vittore Ghiliani discovered the animal in 1849, hence its species name. French Guyana is also known for Haementeria ghilianii, the giant Amazonian leech, which occurs only here and in nearby parts of Brazil.
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Featured in the movie Papillon, it's a former penal colony, from which escape was reputedly impossible. French Guyana is infamous for Devil's Island (seen in the distance here). You're in French Guyana, a steamy tropical country sandwiched between Surinam and Brazil. How big? Well, it's the world's largest bloodsucking leech-by a good bit. As he smiles and guides you off the verandah, you consider what you'd urgently like to know about the giant Amazonian leech, the near-mythic creature he's seeking. But those "fingerlings" are like minnows to the sturgeon Mark will be seeking out momentarily, thigh-deep in a nearby swamp, with you at his side. Yes, those are leeches on his arm, 12 of them. He introduces himself: Mark Siddall of the American Museum of Natural History. You open your eyes and find yourself sitting across from this man. The text to the right is provided for printing purposes. We recommend you visit the interactive version.
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