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The scientists hit the ground running, getting to know the area. As we wander, the monkeys that we see act still and secretive, a sure sign that local people hunt here. "River gets very low in the dry season," our boat captain Duane tells us. "Sometimes as low as ten inches. Then you have to walk the boat over the sand. Can take a few weeks to get through." Because low water makes travel long and hard, the
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Jacky and Jim Sanderson trace
animal tracks. |
locals have to stop to hunt during their boating trips.
SPECIES: Meet some of the small species found on the expedition.
I tromp after scientist Jim as he sets his camera traps along animal trails. There is movement ahead and our guide tenses with his bow and arrow. "Oy!" calls out Wilmer's group. As it turned out, we had gotten lost in our twists and had walked back to the camp where the botany team was working.
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| Bufo toad that lost his way. |
A collared puffbird is a far cry from the harpy eagle we hope to see here. This toad can't read directions so well – it hopped into one of Burton's small mammal traps he set out for mice and rats!
ACTIVITY: Learn more and discuss trapping.
"We don't have so many fish," Jan tells me, "because we are still looking for the best places to fish. Also, this should be a good time of year for finding small fishes, but the water is much higher than normal. Then again, we can travel faster from site to site because the water is higher." These are the ups and downs of research in the field.
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