Persistence does not always pay off. But, it is often a great trait for its own sake. We all admire people who set out to do something, and stick with it long after there is reason to continue hoping for that something. And, if you are like me, you cheer the underdog, hoping they will at the very last minute get that something. That is the case with a guest who arrived earlier this week, very well prepared for the fact that our forest offers no guarantees, but determined to spend every waking moment in the forest with the hope, beyond all hope, of seeing a big cat.

She is now my hero of the moment. On her last day yesterday, I was trying to cheer her on at lunch time–the old “it ain’t over ’til its over” pep talk. She had planned an afternoon excursion and was once again signed up for the night safari. She had seen on the board that the same night she had first gone out on the night safari, another guest had seen two tapirs. That guest, whose photos were understandably sketchy, was just plain lucky. And the guest I am describing in this post now knew that. So her determination and effort increased, moving her daily 6am walks to 5:30.

My lunchtime pep talk had zero causality, but it was the prelude to an afternoon and evening of spectacular sightings. A mother puma and her cubs feasting on a fresh kill; followed in the evening by another mature puma (gender unknown) and miracle of miracles a margay sighting! It is kind of like when the Red Sox finally lifted that supposed curse…