Here´s the amazon, or oriente as it´s called here in ecuador. this is at tiputini biological research station along the tiputini river, south of the napo river. we were really out there, a plane ride, two chiva (open bus) rides, and two canoa (motorized canoe) rides after leaving quito we arrived there. the biodiversity was outrageous! i added 108 new birds to my life list in just one week. there are apparently more than 630 species of birds there, just nuts. and the diversity of insects, plants, and mammals was just as abnormally high. this area has the highest concentration of jaguar in the world, and it shares a border with Huaroni territory. the Huaroni are one of the last ¨ unthouched¨ civilizations left out there. the whole trip was quite inspiring. if you want some really sweet photos of the area, check out nov. national geographic, there´s a photo essay of the fungus of tiputini towards the beginning.
oh yeah, it was really, really, really humid there. my backpack molded and it was just sitting in the hut.
just kicking it in the canopy as my prof Xavier, or Xavs or Dr. X as we like to call him, looks on. this was the during the canopy trip, not at the tower, which is following.
oh, those beautiful zebra bromeliads! as seen from where i´m sitting in the previous pic.
the morning fog from the tower before the sun burned it off. we would head up there for some great birding, as it protruded from the canopy.
the largest and most prehistoric looking grasshopper i´ve seen. yeah, that´s a full sized bic pen in the shadow
don mayor, this man knew everything about this forest. quite a brilliant fellow.
a frog encountered when we were floating the river at night to find caimen. we saw numerous caimen, a couple from just feet away.
the flower i watched for two hours, as i was trying to get a better understanding of the pollination of it. small ants were robbing the nectar, getting it through a small hole at the base and avoiding the pollen. nothing else came by for a visit.
the army ant bivouac. up to 600,000 ants will join hand in hand to create a temporary home for the queen as they are nomadic ants. i spent numerous hours tromping through the understory following a line of ants, two or three wide, in hopes of finding the foraging front (where they have a massive attack on insects) or the bivouac. i didn´t find either until the last day of the trip when i happend upon the bivouac 12 ft from the trail. pretty sweet to see a mass of ants like this.
after the last hike of the trip, around the perimeter of the reserve, my buddy and i climbed a ceiba tree. these are the largest, and stick out of the canopy. a couple of vines made for a great route until the first branch forked off. we stayed for the sunset before sliding down and running back to class (on the camera traps around the reserve)
oh yeah, it was really, really, really humid there. my backpack molded and it was just sitting in the hut.
just kicking it in the canopy as my prof Xavier, or Xavs or Dr. X as we like to call him, looks on. this was the during the canopy trip, not at the tower, which is following.
oh, those beautiful zebra bromeliads! as seen from where i´m sitting in the previous pic.
the morning fog from the tower before the sun burned it off. we would head up there for some great birding, as it protruded from the canopy.
the largest and most prehistoric looking grasshopper i´ve seen. yeah, that´s a full sized bic pen in the shadow
don mayor, this man knew everything about this forest. quite a brilliant fellow.
a frog encountered when we were floating the river at night to find caimen. we saw numerous caimen, a couple from just feet away.
the flower i watched for two hours, as i was trying to get a better understanding of the pollination of it. small ants were robbing the nectar, getting it through a small hole at the base and avoiding the pollen. nothing else came by for a visit.
the army ant bivouac. up to 600,000 ants will join hand in hand to create a temporary home for the queen as they are nomadic ants. i spent numerous hours tromping through the understory following a line of ants, two or three wide, in hopes of finding the foraging front (where they have a massive attack on insects) or the bivouac. i didn´t find either until the last day of the trip when i happend upon the bivouac 12 ft from the trail. pretty sweet to see a mass of ants like this.
after the last hike of the trip, around the perimeter of the reserve, my buddy and i climbed a ceiba tree. these are the largest, and stick out of the canopy. a couple of vines made for a great route until the first branch forked off. we stayed for the sunset before sliding down and running back to class (on the camera traps around the reserve)
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