Lab Life and Various Info

So today was just a regular day in the field. However, we did have to sneak away very quietly from some more pigs this morning, but after that it was a very ordinary day. We were able to make our goal of 20 herbivore cups. T feels it is most important for us to focus on getting herbivores and chemistry samples.and today we did well in getting both. We did so well that we were working until the power turned off, so we had to stop. That meant that the dry samples from two days ago that were suppose to go into their permanent home did not all make it. Tom has decreed that because tomorrow is Saturday, we must finish early. That means we will head back to the station right after lunch, I hope we don't have a late lunch, that happens all to often. In the lab we are getting a system down, which is good. I am usually working on the database and that works out really well.

On another note, I finally was able to get some turtle pictures added so make sure you check out the little cutie pies on the original post. Just so everyone understands why it is sometime a few days between updates, the internet is only available sometimes. Honestly we only have power sometimes!  All the power for the station is provided by a generator.  The fuel for the generator has to travel hundreds of miles via the river to get here. Also, whenever it rains the internet can't seem to manage to work because we are unable to reach the satellite. Emails can take forever to send, if they send at all. I also have to be tricky about how I send pictures because they can overwhelm the system. Unfortunately, it is often the picture quality that is sacrificed in order to get the emails to go through. Fortunately, I think I have Dropbox working now so the picture quality should improve.

Additionally, have you ever wondered where exactly I am? Well here are my exact coordinates if you'd like to look them up on Google Earth. The Tiputini Research Station coordinates are   0°38'12.90"S   76° 8'58.85"W Check it out!

If anyone has any questions about anything, from bathrooms to botany or food to fungus, please feel free to send it to me and I'll be happy to respond! My email is AmazonBeyond@gmail.com.

Tree Climbing

After working in the field I came back to find some of the other researchers at the station having fun. They were using climbing ropes up into the top of the station fig tree. It looked very exciting, so of course I asked to have a turn. The way you climb is as follows: You are in a climbing harness with two rope grabbers attached to it and one loop for your foot. When you are not putting weight on the foot loop you slide the left grabber up. Then simultaneously you put weight down on the loop, standing, and pushing the right hand slider up. It is a little tricky at first to get the coordination down, but I soon found a rhythm that worked for me. The first ten feet are the hardest. I looked like, and felt like, a fish floundering on dry land. Part of the floundering was due to the buttress roots and not wanting to swing into them. Once above them it was great. It took more effort than I had thought it would, but it also used completely different muscles than rock climbing. Once up at the top I was able to see the rooftops of all of the lab buildings. I was not able to see completely over the canopy, but I could look right into it. The best part was the cool breeze that is almost always blowing in the canopy. The breeze was very refreshing after the hot climb. After I went others of my team went to. Most everyone but me got blisters on their hands for pulling on the rope. I am very happy that I did not get blisters!

Stampede!

Today we went on a long hike and it was great. We woke up early and went to the lake for breakfast. We had a another member on our team, a guy named AJ. Everyone was jealous because I got strawberries for breakfast. The strawberries were wonderful. At the lake we had to empty the boat before going out. So we hauled the boat out an tipped the water out. I took the back seat so I could steer. While out we were able to get some great pictures of bats that hid on exposed logs and dinosaur birds. Because we were slightly distracted and communication failed we got high centered on a stick. Yes we are that talented. We only got off once everyone shifted their weight more towards the back.

After the lake we worked hard finding a lot of Inga. We found over 54 herbivores, but ran out of cups to put them in. While looking for Inga I was able to spot a two toed sloth. Sloths are one of the more rare animals to find and I found one and was able to get some pictures of it. The sloth was sleeping and not active. Then a short distance away from the sloth we found a huge leaf cutter ant nest. That was really fun to see. We ate lunch on a log next to the nest watching both ants and a group of Wooly monkeys.

After lunch we continued on our hike just looking for chlorophyll samples. While looking them M.N. who was leading suddenly stopped. She then said "jaguar." Crossing the trail in front of us was a large yellow jaguar. It calmly walked in front of us then turned 45 degrees to us and leaped into the forest. It was way cool. Jaguars are extremely rare to see, especially if there are lots of people.

While the jaguar was leaving I heard a sound that I thought was a distant motor. Well, I was wrong. It soon sounded like a stampede with clacking teeth. M, M.N, and T. all recognized the sound and took off running looking for a big tree on their way away and up the hill saying "sainos". Once they realized that the other three of us were not running or understanding they shouted "pigs!" These pigs are known to be extremely aggressive and commonly travel in groups of 20 to 300 and are commonly known as White Lip Pig. They are big. They were about my waist height, and looked to be maybe double my weight. In all they look like what you'd imagine a wild pig would look like and they absolutely stink. After hearing them yell pigs we saw them come over the hill charging at us. There were about 30-45 of them and Z, AJ, and I turned and ran. Z found a tree and climbed up it like it was a fire pole. AJ was ready to do the same and he quickly found his own tree. As soon as I realized what the pigs were and that they were following me, I ran. I was trying to get away but I kept getting tangled into lianas, or vines on the ground. Three pigs ran to the tree Z was in then turned to follow AJ and I. I soon realized that I was very stuck in the vines and I prayed. Just before the pigs got to me they stopped chasing, turned around, and left. The pigs got within 12 feet, or 4 meters, of AJ and I. Once I stopped I did get my big survival knife out, and it made everyone feel better. I do love my knife!

After the pigs we continued at a fast pace because we could still smell and hear the pigs every now and then. Nothing of note really happened on the way back except we went through a swamp where the mud came up to my knees. It reminded me of the Dead Marsh that Frodo and Sam travel through in The Lord of the Rings.

And that was our day.

 

A sloth!

Predation in Action, Yummy!

While out on the trails looking for Inga I am able to see some really cool insects. Some of the time I am able to witness other insects preying on or eating other insects. I think seeing insect predation is very fascinating. I used to watch documentaries that showed things like this and watching it happening right in front of me is a lot better than watching it on TV. With that said, here are some pictures of insects eating each other or being eaten.

 This is a moth that has been killed by a fungus.

 This is a beetle sucking the insides out of a caterpillar.

 This caterpillar has parasites on it (those white grub things).

 This is a spider is eating a helpless bug.

 This is actually a spider eating a butterfly.

 This spider has succumbed to fungus.

 

This is a Red Ant fighting a Black Spider. Who will win?

Lunch in the Devil's Garden

Today we decided to brave the Danta trail and ended up eating in the devil's garden. Along our way to the beginning of Danta we had to travel down some of Lago. On Lago we saw a group Squirrel Monkeys. They are very cute, light brown with black tipped tails. While cute, they are very quick and hard to take pictures of. I was not able to get any pictures then, but I was able to notice the  group of Titi monkeys that were at the same spot. Titi monkeys are medium in size, with black coats and red shoulders and head. Their most notable feature is the white eyebrows that they have. I found Titi monkeys extremely photogenic.  I was able to get many pictures. Both groups of monkeys were about five feet or 2 meters above my head. I have never been that close to a monkey before! It was amazing. I can't help but think going to the zoo will not be the same anymore. After the monkeys we shortly began Danta, only to stop and watch some Wooly monkeys eat in a fig tree. When our necks began to ache we continued our search for baby Inga leaves. We were not very lucky today with baby leaves. Around lunch time we decided to eat at the next spot down the hill. So we descended down Danta into devil's garden. That was where we decided to eat lunch. A devil's garden is the term given to a clearing caused by ants protecting a certain tree that they live in. The ants kill all other plants but their tree. It was one of the best spots we have eaten lunch. Little bit of sunshine, small amount of bugs, nice view, and no plants that may or may not be covered in biting ants. After lunch we finished the Danta trail. It was surprisingly short, 525 meters or a little over five American football fields. We decided to go back along Danta as our way home. On our way back we say another group of Squirrel Monkeys and this time I was able to get a picture. I also found a cute frog. I was going to kiss him to see if he turned into a prince but decided not to, It might be poisonous. So I open my mouth to get a picture of me pretending to eat it, when it jumped and barely missed landing in my mouth. I laughed really hard thinking the frog was trying to kiss me!

 This is the frog I almost kissed.

 This is a Squirrel Monkey

 Lunch in the devils garden.

 The devils garden

 A Titi Monkey

My new "boyfriend"