July 2012

 

Photo by Rolando Zuniga Salaza

What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
Mahatma Gandhi

Volunteers planting oak up Sendero Montana

July Blooms

Orchids at Cloudbridge

July has been a very busy month, stretching our housing capacity and exploring some very exciting new topics and relationships.  In July we saw Marloes (Holland)wrap up her 6 month study on weed suppression techniques, Rick ( US ) ended his 2 month long bird inventory, Armelle & Sandrine from France ended the 2012 bio & photo monitoring data collection, and Yan of England continued her nightly frog hunt.  Every bed was in use including two bunk beds in the new cabina above the Giddy Environmental Learning Center which was near completion (who needs a door anyway) and one researcher was even sleeping in the new lab.

We were joined by Guillaume another student from Agrosup Dijon (National Institute of Agronomy, France) who wanted to study primates.  After 3 weeks of searching everyone else at Cloudbridge saw monkeys except for Guillaume.  Guillaume is now working with our GVI interns on the Biological Survey. 

 Guillaume

Ali (Colo. USA) came  to Cloudbridge to help out where ever she could.  In addition to helping researchers, Ali tackled some of the less glamorous tasks including installing new interpretive trail signage, translating a grant proposal, and filling in where ever she was needed.  Ali is a friend of Adam & Eliza Wicks Arshack who had heard their stories and wanted to help. 

 

                                                                 Yan and Ali

 

 

In July we were joined by our two new GVI (Global Vision International) interns Claire (Vancouver, Canada) and Olivia (Georgia, USA) who are continuing with the Biological Survey. Joining them for the first week was Stephen Meyer (Germany) the Director for GVI Costa Rica, who was assisting in refining the Biological Survey protocols.

Stephan, Claire, and Olivia 

 

 

Cloudbridge finalized an agreement with Dr. Mike Mooring, Professor of Biology from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA USA.  Cloudbridge will provide Mike with monthly monitoring of a series of 14 camera traps in Chirripo National Park over the next year.  The photo trap monitoring is now a part of our monthly biological survey up Cerro Chirripo.  We are excited to be working with Mike and his students giving Cloudbridge the opportunity to learn from their experience.  Photos from the first three weeks of monitoring included 7 species, Dice’s cottontail, tapir, red brocket deer, collared peccary, skunk, puma and oncilla.            

Oncilla

  

The oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), also known as the little spotted cat, tigrillo, cunaguaro or tiger cat, is a small spotted felid found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. It is a close relative of the ocelot and the margay, and has a rich ochre coat, spotted with black rosettes. The oncilla is a nocturnal animal that hunts rodents and birdsThe International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the oncilla as vulnerable.[15] The chief threats to these felines are deforestation and poaching.  The oncilla resembles the margay and the ocelot,[4] but is smaller, with a slender build and narrower muzzle. It grows to 38 to 59 centimetres (15 to 23 in) long, plus a 20 to 42 centimetres (7.9 to 17 in) tail.[5] While this is somewhat longer than the average domestic cat, Leopardus tigrinus is generally lighter, weighing 1.5 to 3 kilograms (3.3 to 6.6 lb).[6]

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncilla

 

Collared Peccary

Puma

Red Brocket Deer

Baird’s Tapir

 

                                                                                                   

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