From Zero to Eight Legs: Cloud Forest Creatures

 

One of the more interesting parts of my time in the clouds, had to do with the visitors we had, and I don't mean those with passports...  The reserve is host to many different animal species, and it was part of our work to monitor exactly what species frequented the area, what sort of areas they preferred, and what times they were present. 

Since most animals' senses are far more keen than ours, most animals preferred to steer clear of us (to an animal, humans are a pretty stinky and noisy bunch).  Our only hope of seeing them was by catching them unawares.  To accomplish this, we monitored camera traps.  In layman's terms, we retrieved images from sensor activated infrared cameras, logging the species recorded and the time and location.

There are 8 functioning cameras spread throughout the reserve (the climate is tough on cameras, knocking functioning devices down from the original 30).  The closest one is only a 30 minute hike from the lodge, but others are a strenuous 2-3 hour climb away. 

 

 

 

The cameras are attached to a tree, inside a water jug (a basic form of weatherproofing).  They are fastened at the right height to capture faces of the larger mammals for identification.

 

When we arrived to one of the 8 camera sites, our job was to remove the camera, check the battery strength, check the SD card capacity, clean the outside to assure sensors work properly and images are clear, then replace with recharged batteries and an empty SD card.

The camera is then return to it's housing, and firmly mounted to the tree again.

 

We also replaced broken or overgrown marking sticks.  These poles are placed directly in view of the camera, and are marked every 25cm in order to give scientists a better idea of the size of the animal  to aid in identification.  For example, many of the small cats look alike, and size is sometimes the main factor to identifying one species or another.

When we return to the lodge, we have the pleasure of reviewing the images, logging which species were seen, when, where, and also keeping track of human traffic as well.  In the time we were there there were many exciting data points!  We logged over 30 species!  Below are some of our stars caught by the paparazzi.

These first few are going to be the familiar faces.  These animals are pretty common throughout the Americas and most people would be able to identify, even though the specific species is different:

Opossums

 

Deer

 

 

 

Squirrels (even though they are pretty common, this is one of the only ones caught on camera!  Smile!)

Armadillo
Of course we don't have this guy at home, but certainly he is easily recognized!  He was a common sight on all of our camera traps. 

Then there are also a bunch of animals that look sort of familiar, or are somewhat reminiscent of species we have at home:

Coati
This little cutie, I would categorize as a mix between a mole and a raccoon.  He's about the size of a raccoon, with a similarly striped tail, but they have poor vision, and prehensile nose that they use to dig for insects.

We even had one visiting camp a few times, digging through our compost pile for something worthwhile.  Unfortunately, it happened to be on incredibly cloudy days, so this is the best of the images I could get.

Paramo Wolf

It's actually pretty awesome that we caught this guy!  He may look like a coyote, but really he's a wide-ranging wolf that lives above tree-line throughout the Andes normally.  He's just passing through to hunt.

 

Then there are the animals that are totally their own thing, different from anything we have:

Tayra
Known as the land otter, these guys are very versatile and range across South America.  We had one sloshing around in the waste pile behind our cabana one day, but it was gone before I could catch a picture.

 We saw a lot of evidence of these guys on the trails further away from camp.  Mainly in the form of scat.  Apparently there is a fruit that they love to eat which has large seeds.  So what you see in the picture is a pile of those seeds that passed through their system.  Interestingly enough, the small green plants to the left, are sprouts from those seeds...  from this we inferred that these little guys have apparently certain places where they prefer to "do their business."  Nearly every time, it was in the little crevice of an outcropping root as you see in the picture.

Agouti
This large rodent just kept reminding me of some mutation on a hamster, though of course MUCH larger. 

 I was psyched to find one agouti's stash in the pathway.  These are larger than fist-sized nuts.  Their sharp teeth help them slice through the tough outer shell, something like outside of yucca, to get at the waxy, dense meat inside.  I found about 4 or 5 empty shells, and what is left of one nut.

 

 

 

 Then there are the species that get most people excited: the cats.

"Tigrillo," Oncilla, Margay and Ocelot are all types of predatory cats.  They look similar, all sporting a tan coat with black spots and splotches.  Not a lot of research has been done on these guys, and so identification is still weak.  For now, they are sort of lumped into one category.  Just the Ocelot is easier to identify as it is much larger than the others (who are just slightly larger than a house cat).

 

I LOVE this picture.  You know he's wondering:  "What the heck is that?!"

 

Though it's hard to be sure from this picture, consensus was that this was in fact an Ocelot, due to its large frame.

 

 
White-Collared Pecary
An apparently aggressive and protective hog-like animal ranging across South America.

 
Puma
These photos were, of course, jewels in my camera trapping crown.  Having been obsessed with Pumas since I was a little girl, it was amazing to me to realize that they were all around us.  In fact, though it was most likely a few individuals with a wide range, they are among our most photographed animals.

 

 In addition to the exciting mammals caught on our camera traps, we also had lots of other exciting guests, too!

Yes, that is an earthworm.

One night, we lit up a sheet to observe all the different moths.  I was amazed to find such variety even in just their shape!  It was an interesting mini-study of evolution.

Some of us were visited more closely than others....

Definitely among the most beautiful butterflies I have ever seen.  No more than 2 inches wide.

Another lovely butterfly.  This one was fluttering around on the mucky edge of a stream.  Seemed to be taking a drink.

Easily confused with a regatta...

Lots of cool spiders

These guys were warming up on the sun-lit rocks be a stream.

And so was this guy...  nearly 4 inches across

This 2" beetle joined in our moth trap!

Apparently this kind of slug is biologically very significant!  Something to do with the way it digests.... 

The flies are fuzzy!  Almost makes you want to snuggle up with one....  almost

Gorgeous colors on this damselfly

 

We almost missed this little guy!  He's no longer than an inch, and perched high on some epiphytes!  So cute!

 So as you can see, there was no shortage of wildlife in the cloud forest.  With a better camera, I would have had even more images to share with you here, but I hope you enjoyed even just this little snippet!