Mashpi lodge

A few weeks ago we visited Mashpi Lodge. This is probably the fanciest lodge in the country and definitely out of our price range. We were there as consultants as they are looking into building a field research station and we could help them with ideas. Also, Lisa is thinking of doing some work there in January. I don't have many pics of the lodge itself, their website is better anyways. Here are some pics of things we saw/did while there. We spent three nights there and were there with my buddy, Rudy Gelis, who is a guide and researcher as well. You can read more about Mashpi and their research ideas here. The forest is amazing and our host, Carlos Morochz, was great!

Sleeping lizard that Lisa found the first night on a night-hike while the kids and I slept. She was only going our 'for a bit' but didn't return until midnight.

Snail-eating snake. Probably this guy, a snail eater!

Glass frog, what Lisa was looking for.

Metamorph of a glass frog.

Another frog.

They also had a cable set up over a ravine and the car was powered by a bicycle. This was an amazing way to travel as the ride is smooth and slow and allows a great view.

Here we are on our way. Note, it's the cloud forest!

Camilo and Carlos waiting for our return.

And now it was Lisa and Camilo's turn.

Amalia pinching the sky bike.

And back to the landing pad. The ride is like 200m each way.

Rudy looking up a waterfall for nesting birds.

A toadhead viper! This guy was a little baby.

A crazy grasshopper. Wouldn't want to try and eat this guy!

Tamandua! Otherwise known as an anteater. Not a great shot as he was up a tree and the flash I had wasn't great. But we saw him!

Cool frogs!

Giant snail!

Ocelot! This guy hung out around the lodge. In fact, one night he walked by our window and the kids freaked out. Camilo tried to pet it through the glass. Carlos thinks they were hand raised (not uncommon, especially if the mother had been poached) and then they were dumped at the lodge. They had been around a few months and were definitely not scared of people. They appeared healthy but were a bit scary nonetheless.

Lisa is a giant earthworm! These can get a lot bigger but this guy was still probably 2ft long.

Amalia was the one who found it in the butterfly garden.

They also had a feeder set up to attract some cool beasts. Mostly they just put bananas out and get stuff like this tyra.

and these toucans (actually aracari).

Camilo liked to play in the dirt...

and of course, lots of hummingbirds...

Truly a great place!

rarest lizard in the world?

This claim might actually be a fact, or close to it. About 5 years ago this lizard was 'rediscovered' in Mindo Ecuador. It had last been seen in the 1950s and many people had thought it had gone extinct. Then it was found again. This article is quite sensational but you can get the idea. In fact, I'm sure some locals knew of them but didn't report it. In any case, they are here, are rare, and are getting a lot of press. 

Read more about them here. 

In any case, they are here and we are trying to study them! I am getting help from some students at a university in Quito. Here we are the first night we caught one. Taking some measurements. Also got a lot of help from James Christensen. He is an amazing herper and found 8 in one night!

Amalia is also helping in the study.

Here are some pics of a male. We catch them at night when they are sleeping. Sometimes they are only a few meters up in a tree, sometimes as high as 10-15m!

Silly looking nose!

Even Camilo is part of the study. She the one on his arm.

Here is a female. Note, she has a normal sized nose. The red mark is one we put on her to mark her.

papagayos

A few weeks ago I got a message from my buddy Rudy Gelis. He had heard of a population of military macaws near Tena. Now military macaws (papagayo in spanish and guacamayo in quechwa) are the rarest macaws in Ecuador and here was a flock that was supposedly large and near a relatively big town, Tena. So we went to investigate. I took the bus to Quito, spent the night at Rudy's apartment and we left in the morning. We did the 4 hour drive to Tena with no drama. From there we drove another hour or so, much on a rock road. The gravel roads in this area are 'paved' with river rocks so are super rough. Then we parked and started hiking up a community trail into Quechwa territory. The hike was about 10km and went alongside a river. We got lost many times but kept the river in earshot. Eventually we found the place and found the macaws. More than 40 of them! We are keeping the coordinates kind of secret because poachers could find them and steal the eggs and chicks for the black market. Yes, there is a market for these things. An amazing adventure.

This is the Antisana volcano we passed on the drive.

Looking downstream from the site.

Near our camp. Swimming in the river was amazing and refreshing after a long sweaty hike!

I eventually spotted the first macaws. This was taken through my spotting scope at 60x! Yes, they were far away.

Rudy setting up camp. He forgot the tent poles in the truck so we rigged up the tent and hoped it wouldn't rain. Luckily it didn't!

Here are the macaws, again through the scope but at 20x. They use this cliff face for a clay lick and for roosting at night. They might use it for a nesting too, not sure about that yet.

In the morning they flew overhead, quite spectacular.

And here are a pair perched in a tree. This was as close as they got.

Found this fed-de-lance on the hike out. a little baby but still deadly!

and this is a VERY rare legless lizard. A super cool beast I had never seen before.

Another pic of the river.

more from the camera traps

I still have the camera traps set up around here. One is on the trails behind our cabin and another two are on trails being developed into a field station by a university in Quito (USFQ). Here are some recent pics.

Mama coati and her baby!

Finally got some pics of bears! Andean or spectacled bear. So named because they live in the Andes and have white rings around their face that look like eye glasses. This is the only bear in South America.

Some more pics of pumas. I a now convinced that there are LOTS of pumas around here. This one is pooping.

Collared peccary. This was a large group and were sniffing around where the puma pooped, a few hours later. Then the took off!

Red brocket deer. These are pretty small, like a medium sized dog.

Armadillo!

Some more bear pics. This guy was scratching his back. He visits this trail regularly and always seems to scratch his back on this tree. Apparently it's a good one!

Portrait of a bear at night!