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The Explorer’s Inn Newsletter by the Resident Naturalists: Luis
M. Diaz, Laura Otero, Albert Cámara & Pablo
Toledo
Explorer’s Inn
Newsletter
May – June 2012
Giant Otters in Cocococha Lake, photo by Pablo Toledo
In this issue: Rare sightings in the wet season
The hoatzin: not a simple bird Peculiarities and the eternal
debate of its taxonomy
La otra vida de las mariposas La oruga y sus geniales
adaptaciones
RNs con el Lobo de Rio 1º Censo Simultáneo de Lobo de Rio
(Pteronura
brasiliensis) en la RN de Tambopata
The little Soldier of the Jungle:
The Bullet Ant An unforgettable sting
The Resident Naturalist Program
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Rare Sightings in the transition to the hot
Season
A pick of the best from May and June 2012
The current transition to the hot season has not been as
theoretically expected. There have
been high rainfalls, with the consequents increases of the river
level. The cold period of times
called “friajes” have also appeared. However, in this transition
time, many rare sightings
species were seen and found. Here we emphasize which, in our
opinion, were the most
important sightings:
Red worn lizard (Amphisbaena alba). Order: Squamata, Family:
Amphisbaenidae
It is widespread in South America and it is
common in a wide variety of habitats including
altered and disturbed habitats. But however, it is
not easily spotted. Despite of it, RN Luís, while
walking through Terrace trail, he suddenly saw
something that looked like a snake. But when
glancing it closer, and after taking a few
pictures, he could identify this shy reptile.
Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja). Order: Falconiformes, Family:
Accipitridae
This eagle is the largest one all over the world, and it
possesses the hugest claws among all
the birds of prey. It is found in
tropical lowland forest, with
preference on large expanses of
uninterrupted forest, hunting in open
areas adjacent to forest patches.
Despite of its size, it is uncommon to
see it. But on May 20th, when coming
back from Collpita clay lick, 200m
away from Explorer’s Inn in
Tambopata River, RNs Pablo and
Luis had the privilege to see this
wonderful and uncommon adult bird
flying cross the river. It was such a
great sight, that the boat almost turns
upside down!
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Jaguar (Panthera onca). Order:Carnivores, Family:Felidae
Jaguars are usually found resting on
the rivers banks, and most of the
sightings are from the boat. But on
May 2nd
, Explorers Inn guide Lucho
and two Australian tourists had an
unforgettable experience. While
walking around Colpa Chuncho,
they first spotted about hundred of
White-lipped Peccaries. After a few
meters, they saw a group of Brown
Capuchin Monkeys. It was being a
great walk. But they were not yet
satisfied. After walking 200m away
from the monkeys, Lucho heard
again the monkeys, but now they were kind of altered. Once they
got back where the
monkeys were, they perceived a movement on a branches 7m far
from them. And suddenly it
showed up: a big majestic adult jaguar. It did not look at them.
Lucho felt really excited but
he stayed with machete. Their happiness was very huge, in such a
way they were not able to
take any pictures! When it left, they hug each other, since it
was one of the best sightings than
a single person can experience. As Lucho has recognized, “it has
been my 3rd
time, but this
time was with no doubt, the very best one!”
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The hoatzin: not a simple bird (by RN Albert Cámara)
In your visits to Cocococha Lake to see the famous giant otters,
other species might have required your
attention.
Maybe it was because of its characteristic and noisy
groan. Or maybe it was because of its outlandish
appearance. Or even because of its stinky smell. But
whatever the reason, I am sure you know what
species I am talking about. It is the hoatzin
(Opisthocommus hoazin), one of the weirdest and
peculiar birds in the Amazon.
It is a tropical bird which inhabits areas with slow-
moving water such as oxbow lakes or sluggish rivers
in Amazon and Orinoco basins. In suitable habitats,
they are social animals, forming groups of 25-30
individuals. Here, in the Tambopata National
Reserve, it is possible to see them all around the
Cocococha Lake.
As you read above, it
has a very outlandish
appearance: robust and big body, long tail, blue skin on
face
around red eyes and a long ragged “Mohican” crest on the top
of
its small head, which make it looks like a really special
bird.
The hoatzin is a noisy species, with a large variety of
calls,
including groans, croaks, hisses and grunts. Common calls
include
hoarse coughing and grunting sounds, which make them easy to
spot among the vegetation. Calls are used to maintain
contact
between individuals in groups: for warning off threats or by
chicks
begging for food.
This animal has a digestive tract which is unique among
birds,
with an enlarge gut used for fermentation of vegetable
manner,
like the digestive system of mammalian ruminants. It feeds
mainly
on leaves (about an 80% of their diet), but also on fruits and
on flowers. Its intestinal bacteria
make fermentation of the food up to four times more than most of
the birds. Hence, because
of this bacterial fermentation and also because of aromatic
compounds in the leaves they
consume, the bird has an unpleasant (and particular) smell. I
think that now you would guess
why this bird is called “stinky bird”…
But the rarest peculiarity of this tropical bird is the
presence, only
on the chicks, of claws on two of their wing digits. When
these
chicks feel threatened by a predator, they rapidly jump into
the
water, since they are actually good swimmers. In fact, adults
never
swim, and they do not possess these kinds of clawed wings,
which
are used by chicks to help them to climb up from the water back
to
the safety of the nest.
The taxonomic position of this bird has been greatly debated,
and
it is still far from clear, mostly due to the claws on the
wings. This
feature has not been present in any other animal since the
well-
known Archaeopteryx (one of the first existing birds, about
120
millions of years ago), in such a way the hoatzin has been
previously related to the first existing birds. However,
recently
studies have demonstrated that the presence of claws on the
Figure 1. Distribution map of the hoatzin
Picture 1. Detailed face of the hoatzin
Picture 2. Chick of Opisthocommus hoazín. The yellow circles
show the claws on the wing digits.
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wings is an independent feature, primitive
and unique, which has evolved separately
and it does not fit with the general believe
that the hoatzin is related to Archaeopteryx
or that it is a living fossil.
They have been also included in the orders
of the Galliformes and even in the
Gruiformes, Recent studies have related
them to the order of the Cuculiformes.
Some of these studies classified the hoatzin
in the family of the cuckoos (F. Cuculidae),
based on genetic analyses of proteins. This
theory has also been greatly discussed,
since the cuckoos have zygodactyls feet
(two toes pointing forward, two toes
pointing to the back), while the hoatzins have only one toe
pointing to the back and the
remaining three pointing forward. There have been other
cladystic hypotheses that suggest
that they are related to the same order than the cuckoos, but in
the family of the
Musophagidae. Anyway, nowadays, scientific community does not
agree on their taxonomic
classification.
However, because of its distinctness it has been given its
own family, the Opisthocomidae. Actually, in classic
Latin, Opisthocommus means something like “wearing a
long hair behind”, referring to its large crest.
As you can see, there have been a lot of controversial
about the taxonomic position of this tropical bird. Based
on this information, what do you think about it? Is the
hoatzin related to the first existing birds? Is it a living
fossil? Or is it related to other families like some studies
have recently suggested? And about the other
peculiarities: did you feel their unpleasant smell? Do you
think that the hoatzin really deserves to be called “stinky
bird”?
Next time you spot a hoatzin, you will know a lot about its life
story. And remember: it is not
a simple bird… it is such a special animal!!!
Picture 3. Couple of Opisthocommus hoazín resting on a tree.
Figure 2. Suggested taxonomic classification of the hoatzin.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phyllum: hordata
Class: Aves
Order:
Opisthocomiformes
Family: Opisthocomidae
Genus: Opisthocomus
(Illiger, 1811)
Species: O. hoazin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opisthocomidaehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opisthocomidaehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Karl_Wilhelm_Illiger
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LA OTRA VIDA DE LAS MARIPOSAS (por RN Laura
Otero)
Durante su estancia en el Explorer’s Inn no podrá evitar fijarse
en unas criaturas mágicas que revolotean alrededor del albergue,
los caminos, las orillas de los lagos y ríos. De hecho, el
Explorer’s Inn tiene el honor de contar con el récord de número
especies de mariposas en una
zona, nada más y nada menos que ¡1.200!
Las mariposas son unos insectos (Orden Lepidoptera) de una
belleza que no pasa inadvertida,
pero… ¿qué sabe sobre su otra vida?
El ciclo de vida de una mariposa incluye la
metamorfosis de larva (conocida como oruga)
a pupa y de pupa a adulto. En la primera fase
de su vida su único objetivo es acumular
comida y energía para poder completar la
pupación, por lo que básicamente, es una
“máquina de comer”.
La oruga generalmente se alimenta, con ayuda
de sus poderosas mandíbulas, de sólo una o dos especies de
plantas. En la selva, la mayoría de
plantas producen sustancias tóxicas, pegajosas o indigestas para
evitar ser atacadas por
insectos herbívoros. La oruga tiene una serie de encimas que
neutralizan las toxinas generadas
por las plantas, pero sintetizar dichas encimas cuesta mucha
energía. Es por esto por lo que
tiende a especializarse en unas pocas especies de plantas.
A medida que una planta va aumentando su defensa, la oruga
debe producir más y más encima, creándose así una carrera
armamentística entre ambas. Representando esta batalla
tenemos a la oruga de la subfamilia Heliconiinae, que
mantiene una interacción complicada con su planta
anfitriona,
la pasiflora. Las hembras de los helicónidos ponen los
huevos
en las hojas de la pasiflora, y ésta, para evitarlo, produce
una
serie de protuberancias en forma de huevos para que las
hembras crean que la planta ya está ocupada y se vayan a
otra.
Con esta estrategia la planta se libra de un ejército de
orugas.
La selección natural favorece a la planta que fabrica el
huevo
más realista, pero por supuesto no todas las hembras se
dejan
engañar y consiguen poner sus huevos.
Una vez que la oruga consigue encontrar una planta hospedadora
de la cual poder alimentarse,
debe enfrentarse a otro reto: no convertirse ella misma en
comida. Para ello utilizan dos estrategias. La primera es el
mimetismo, mediante la cual, intenta imitar a un objeto
natural en particular. Imitan desde ramitas para confundirse
con la vegetación a ojos u otras partes de animales más
grandes para intimidar a sus enemigos. Los depredadores
tienen que detectar cada vez mejor el engaño para poder
alimentarse y la oruga debe convertirse cada vez mejor en el
objeto que imita.Empezando así la segunda carrera
armamentística, entre la oruga y el depredador.
La segunda estrategia se basa en el uso de veneno y colores
brillantes como advertencia para defenderse, obteniendo a Foto
2. Oruga de Hemeroplanes triptolemus (Costa Rica)
Foto 1. Pasiflora imitando huevos de mariposa
Figura 1. Ciclo de vida de la mariposa
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menudo las toxinas de la planta huésped. Para no morir de
hambre, los depredadores mejoran
la manera de hacer frente a los venenos y, a su vez, las orugas
son cada vez más venenosas.
Esta guerra química es un laboratorio natural al que,
desafortunadamente, se le dedica poca
investigación.
Cuando la oruga ha conseguido alimentarse lo suficiente y
sobrevivir al ataque de
depredadores, busca un lugar protegido donde transformarse en
pupa. En este estado no se
alimenta, simplemente sufre grandes cambios metabólicos y
morfológicos que darán lugar a
la mariposa adulta, la misma que le deleitará con su presencia
durante sus días en el
Explorer’s Inn. Pero recuerde, antes de convertirse en vistosos
insectos alados, la mariposa de
su foto ha pasado por otra vida…
Foto 3. Oruga de Caligo spp. Foto 4. Caligo spp. adulto
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RNs PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN DEL LOBO DE
RIO
RNs DE EXPLORER’S INN CON
EL 1º CENSO SIMULTANEO DE
LOBO DE RIO (PTERONURA
BRASILIENSIS) EN LA RESERVA
NACIONAL DE TAMBOPATA
(por RN Pablo Toledo)
Foto 1. Kurt, lobo de rio de la laguna de Cocococha.
Como la mayoría de los lectores sabréis el lobo de rio
(Pteronura Brasiliensis) es una de las especies de mamíferos más
emblemáticas, y también amenazadas, de la
Provincia de Madre de Dios y del Perú.
Nuestro protagonista es un mamífero acuático de la familia de
los mustélidos que
puede alcanzar hasta los 2 metros de longitud, siendo así la
especie de nutria más
grande del mundo. Es también la más social de las nutrias, pues
se la puede encontrar
en grupos familiares de hasta 15 o 16 individuos cuya base
estructural consiste en una
pareja monógama y territorial acompañada de sus crías de años
anteriores. El lobo de
rio se distribuye en las Cuencas del Orinoco y el Amazonas donde
ocupa ríos y lagos.
Según recientes estudios no existen diferencias genéticas a
nivel subespecífico entre
sus poblaciones, tan distantes entre sí.
Es necesario mencionar a los lectores de este News Letter que en
el pasado esta
especie fue despiadadamente perseguida por su fabuloso y tupido
pelaje, causando
una dramática disminución de sus poblaciones. Tras cerca de 40
años de comercio
legal e ilegal de su piel la nutria gigante entró en CITES
(Convenio sobre Comercio
Internacional de Especies Amenazadas) justo antes de su total
extinción en 1972.
Treinta años después, aunque algo
recuperadas sus poblaciones, los lobos de rio
se enfrentan a otra serie de serias amenazas
presentes en toda su área de distribución,
como son la deforestación, la colonización de
las riberas por parte del hombre, la
sobrepesca, la minería, la contaminación y el
turismo no sostenible.
Foto 2. Extracción maderera en Rio Orinoco
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Es también de destacar que el lobo de río es una especie
altamente sensible a las
perturbaciones pues tiene preferencia por hábitats que por
desgracia son muy escasos,
como son las grandes cochas de aguas más o menos claras donde se
la puede
encontrar en números relativamente abundantes. Esto, sumado a
sus hábitos diurnos y
a su comportamiento social, permite que pueda ser observada
fácilmente en la
amazonía si se sabe dónde buscarlas. Sin embargo, ¿sabíais que
se estima que los
jaguares son hasta 5 veces más abundantes que las nutrias
gigantes?
Debido a su escaso número y a las graves amenazas a las que se
enfrenta, según la
UICN (Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza)
esta especie se
encuentra actualmente en peligro crítico de conservación. En el
Perú, la población
más grande se encuentra en el departamento de Madre de Dios,
concentrada en solo
24 grupos familiares que suman aproximadamente entre 120 y 180
individuos.
Una vez aportados estos pocos datos sobre nuestras queridas
nutrias gigantes os
relatamos a continuación los pormenores del “1º Censo Simultaneo
de Lobo de Rio
(Pteronura brasiliensis) en la Reserva Nacional de Tambopata”,
llevado a cabo el día
19 de mayo de 2012.
Los RN Albert Cámara y Pablo Toledo participaron en dicho censo
en el Lago
Cocococha, colaborando con las investigadoras Lucia Chunga-Lee y
Christine
Mumm, cuyos estudios se centran en bioacústica y etología de
esta especie, y por
supuesto con la inestimable ayuda de Elisban, !personaje sabio y
carismático donde
los haya!
Foto 3. Imágenes de Elisban, C. Mumm, L. Chunga-Lee, Albert
Cámara y Pablo Toledo en Cocococha.
La metodología del censo básicamente consistió por un lado en la
búsqueda, conteo
y fotoidentificación del mayor número posible de lobos gracias
al patrón de dibujo
único y personalizado que presentan en sus baberos o gargantas,
llamados manchas
gulares (¡como si de huellas dactilares se tratara!), visibles
durante sus frecuentes
periscopeos; y por otro, al recorrido por las orillas del lago
buscando y anotando
cualquier posible indicio de su presencia, como puedan ser
huellas, excrementos,
campamentos y madrigueras.
El día de censo transcurrió sin incidentes y nuestros lobos se
dejaron querer
prestándose varios de ellos a ser fotografiados; pudimos
fotoidentificar claramente
hasta un total de 4 individuos. Por otra parte, gracias a
Elisban, gran conocedor de la
selva y sus esquivos habitantes, pudimos dar sin problemas con
dos madrigueras y
uno de los campamentos de nuestra familia de nutrias.
Aprovechamos para aclararos
que normalmente cualquier grupo familiar de lobos de rio dispone
de varios
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campamentos y madrigueras repartidos por su territorio; en los
primeros descansan,
socializan, se alimentan y también defecan para dejar patente su
presencia en la zona;
y en los segundos pasan las noches y dan un refugio seguro a sus
cachorros. Y por
cierto que un servidor puede confirmar de viva experiencia el
fortísimo olor que
desprenden sus campamentos, ¡a decenas de metros de
distancia!
Los resultados del censo en Cocococha arrojaron un número de 9
individuos en
total, de los que pudimos distinguir al menos un cachorro y un
individuo que quizá
pueda vivir separado del grupo principal (en avistamientos
posteriores al censo se han
llegado a contabilizar hasta 10 individuos en el grupo, con
entre 2 y 3 crías). Estos
números convierten al Lago Cocococha en la cocha con el mayor
número de lobos de
rio del departamento de Madre de Dios, ¡dato que nos llena de
satisfacción y orgullo!
Además, Christina Mumm y Lucia Chunga-Lee han podido
fotoidentificar a nuevos
miembros de nuestra querida familia de mustélidos durante sus
largas jornadas de
estudio en Cocococha, mediante las cuales procuran obtener tanto
grabaciones de
video como de audio utilizando potentes micrófonos e hidrófonos.
¿Y sabíais que las
primeras grabaciones obtenidas parecen señalar que cada
individuo posee su propia
vocalización, individual y única? Asimismo, también han podido
identificar varios
tipos de vocalizaciones como son las llamadas para agruparse,
mendigar comida,
enfado, etc. Ambas investigadoras aún se encuentran en plena
fase de recolección y
análisis de los datos, pero desde luego las primeras impresiones
sobre su estudio ¡son
excelentes!
Los resultados de dicho censo pudieron ser presentados durante
el “Primer Congreso
Regional de Investigación y Monitoreo Biológico en Aéreas
Naturales Protegidas y
Corredores de Conservación”, celebrado los días 24 y 25 de mayo
en Puerto
Maldonado, al que acudimos
todo el equipo de RNs (Foto 4).
Por otro lado, Christina Mumm
fue invitada al congreso para
presentar los resultados
preliminares de sus
investigaciones en una
interesantísima conferencia cuyo
título fue “Comunicación
Acústica de los Lobos de Rio
(Pteronura brasiliensis) como
Herramienta de Conservación
Natural”. Foto 4. Investigadoras y RNs en el Primer Congreso
Regional de Investigación y Monitoreo Biológico en Áreas Naturales
Protegidas y Corredores de Conservación.
Para terminar os presentaremos a continuación a los 6 miembros
fotoidentificados
hasta la fecha de nuestra familia de lobos de Cocococha ¡Grabad
bien en vuestra
memoria sus características manchas y sus nombres! ¿Seréis
capaces de reconocerlos
cuando visitéis su fantástica cocha? O mejor aún, ¿podréis
fotografiar e identificar
algún nuevo individuo? Si lo consiguierais no dudéis en
comunicárselo a cualquiera
de los RNs de Explorer’s Inn ¡El nuevo miembro que consigáis
identificar será
bautizado con vuestro nombre! ¿Se os ocurre un reto más
emocionante?
¡Y aquí están los verdaderos protagonistas de esta historia!
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“KURT” dos puntos
“HELLEN” tres puntos “HEINZ” puntado
“TINA” V o N “PIERRE” Pie
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“HEIKO”
“KERI” hoja de trébol
Esperamos que hayais disfrutado y aprendido con nuestros
simpáticos lobitos de rio.
Recordad que son muy sensibles a cualquier perturbación asi que
respetad siempre las
normas cuando vayais a visitarlos a su hogar, ¡el lago de
Cocococha!
¡Un saludo y hasta pronto!
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The little Soldier of the Jungle: the Bullet Ant
(by RN Luis Manuel Díaz Cabello)
The bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) lives in humid rainforests
through the Amazon River
basin and in Central and South America. It is very easily
spotted in the rainforest because of
its unusually large size (up to 2.5 mm). These ants are famous
for their extremely painful
sting. In fact I would like to speak about this incredible ant,
since I had an unfortunate
encounter with this animal on my first week in the jungle: I
suffered his terrible sting in my
hand.
Their sting is the most painful of all ants,
bees and wasps, and, as you may have
guessed, their common name suggests the
sting is as painful as being shot by a
bullet! The ant is also known as the “bala”
ant or 24-hour ant (”hormiga veinticuatro”
in Venezuela), suggesting that the pain
lasts for this long!
The reason is because this ant is mainly a
predator, feeding on other insects but also
on nectar and plant parts.
Bullet ants attack preys biting hard and attaching themselves
using their jaws, then twisting
their bodies to sting the victim. The sting is also used as a
defense, as some unlucky hikers
including myself have experienced! The bullet ants venom is a
neurotoxin, which blocks the
prey`s central nervous system transmission.
To humans the sting is usually very painful, intense pain
lasting 3-5 hours and lessening over
the next day. In the Amazon region, bullet ants have been used
in traditional ceremonies,
especially when a boy enters manhood. These painful bites have
also been used medically to
treat rheumatism.
In my case I was 12 hours suffering the terrible painful because
I was bit by a medium size
bullet ant. I never thought that one small ant could produce
this incredible pain.
A bullet ant nest is usually built at the base of large trees,
and a colony consists in a few
thousands individuals. However, when away from the nest, the
ants are nearly seen alone,
climbing on trees as far as the upper canopy, looking for
suitable preys.
They are both arboreal and terrestrial but are most often
spotted climbing up a tree trunk or on
low branches. The ants are mainly active at night but are also
seen during the day. Workers
are 18-25 mm length and their bodies resemble that of a wasp
more than an ant.
One helpful advice would be that there may only be one more
thing you want to know about
the bullet ants: how to avoid them. This will be very easy if
you follow the general rules for
visitors to the jungle: PLEASE!!! Do not touch any trees or
plants in the forest, at least not
before looking first and you will avoid their unbearable
pain.
Fernadez, F.2003.Introduccion a las hormigas de la region
Neotropical.Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologicos
Alexander Von Humboldt,Bogota,Colombia.398pp.
KRICHER,JOHN. 1999. A neotropical companion: An Introduccion to
the animals,plants, and Ecosystems of the New world tropics (Second
edition).Princeton University Press.04pp
Picture 1. The bullet ant (Paparaponera clavata)
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The Resident Naturalist Program at Explorer's
Inn
Since the early 80’s, the Explorer’s Inn has offered young and
older graduates in natural sciences the opportunity to stay an
extended period of time in the rainforest, in order to
conduct research. In exchange for their upkeep, the Resident
Naturalists (RNs) provide lodge
visitors with information about the rainforest and the research
undertaken. The RNs also help
resident guides improve their knowledge on natural history and
foreign languages. In the 80s
and 90s, the RNs used to guide tourists, especially during the
high season, but later the
Peruvian Safaris decided to employ only Peruvian guides, in a
good eco-tourism tradition.
RNs in a congress in Puerto Maldonado
Pablo Toledo Monsonis, Spain (May - October 2012)
Pablo is a biology graduate who has coursed a Master’s degree on
Management and Healthy
of Wildlife in the University of Murcia, Spain. Moreover Pablo
is qualified as Technician on
Zoo Parks and Aquariums. He is from Canary Island, Spain.
Currently, he is the manager of
the Spanish ONG “Carthago, Asociacion de Estudios y Conservacion
de Naturaleza” .On the
other hand, he collaborates with the Toxicology Departament of
the Veterinarian Faculty of
Murcia University on the research of heavy metals and
organochlorine levels in cetaceans and
marine birds. He left all his work in Spain to come to the
National Reserve of Tambopata as
RN in Explorer’s Inn lodge. He really loves the jungle and all
his wildlife and he hopes to
work in something related with tropical biodiversity as soon as
possible.
Luis M. Diaz Cabello (April - October 2012) He studied Biology
Degree in the University of Extremadura 2009 (Spain) and Msc in
Biology and Biodiversity Conservation in the University of
Salamanca (Spain) 2011. One of
his dreams of his childhood now is fulfilled being in the jungle
of Rainforest. As a biologist,
he needs to spend some time to discover the wonders of the
jungle. In his opinion, taking part
of the RN program is a great opportunity for him to travel, to
work in the nature and to gain
refined knowledge about the Neotropics. He is enjoying his time
at EI thoroughly, and he is
particularly enjoying learning about medicinal plants, mammals,
amphibians, reptiles and so
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on, but actually, he is a big lover of the birds. Thus, he would
like working in a near future in
something related to biodiversity and birds.
Albert Camara Balestegui (May - October 2012)
Albert is a Biologist who cursed his degree in the University of
Barcelona. He has also cursed
a Master’s degree on Biodiversity Management in Mediterranean
Environments in the
University of Murcia (also in Spain). He has been working mainly
with marine mammals in
Azores Islands (Portugal) and in Spain, but he has been also
volunteering with sea turtles and
monkeys. He actually likes animals in general, with special
attention to mammals. He always
wanted to come over to the jungle to experience the feeling of
living into the wild. His most
precious dream is to spot some of the big cats existing in the
rainforest, specially the majestic
jaguar. In fact, Albert has started his own personal project in
Explorer’s Inn: he is trying to
monitor the presence of big cats around the lodge.
Laura Otero Rodriguez (May - October 2012)
Laura is a Marine Biologist who studied her degree in the
University of Santiago de
Compostela. Due to her interest in marine mammal she has been
collaborating in different
projects related to them in the Azores Islands, South of Spain
and Costa Rica. Despite of her
specialization, her passion is the study of the conservation of
the biodiversity; in fact, she has
a Master’s degree on Biodiversity Management. In the near future
she would like to work in a
National Park. In the Explorer’s Inn, Laura is enjoying living
surrounded by nature and
listening the song of the jungle every day. Furthermore, her
interest in butterflies and
amphibians has been increasing and she has started a project to
record and identify as many as
possible.
