Gya: Rare bird in Guyana's forest

WHILE most young women opt for a career in an office with a reputable firm, Shenella Wiltshire has ventured into an arena that is not readily accepted as suitable for women. But she has held her own in an unusual location – the forest.

The elegant and articulate 25 –year-old, standing at a mere five feet and with just 135 pounds, rubs shoulder with her muscular co-workers, never backing down and never giving up.

The Sunday Chronicle caught up with the young woman - who is a Forester attached to the Forestry Training Centre (FTC) - and her colleges on April 1, at camp Charaberu, located near the Charaberu Creek leading to the Demerara River. The journey to that location takes about five hours by road and rugged trail from the Capital City, Georgetown.
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For Ms. Wiltshire, several nights in the forest sleeping in hammocks, reading by the light of lanterns and swatting mosquitoes is no big deal.
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Her reaction to people who question her sanity in embracing this job is simple: “It is just a perception people have that when you are out in the forest it is something scary.”

“It is not scary, like things are lurking behind the trees waiting to scramble you,” Ms. Wiltshire added.

She has no problem being in the forest all by her self, and when asked what she will do if she ever gets lost, she added that she is not sure, but will handle it when that time comes.

Standing amidst countless towering trees that obscure the sky and create an eerie effect on the forest floor is the environment where she spends an entire day until light fades on the canopy around 17:00 hrs

She has spotted the powerful Jaguar several times and can never forget the one that chose to cross the path of a vehicle in which she was travelling.

She has also seen several other animals including, deer, sloth, armadillos, caimans and a bird called Powis.

After partaking of delicacies of the forest, Ms. Wiltshire will tell anyone that the caiman’s tail tastes like shark and the Powis is just like chicken.