After six hours of hiking through the jungle-covered mountains of central Vietnam I had had it. In spades. I was on my last legs, and I let out an audible whoop of joy when we finally came to our destination. We stumbled into the remote Katu village of Aur and I let my backpack fall—thud!—to Read more
What follows is a firsthand account of a 2014 expedition in search of lost and rare salamanders in Guatemala’s Cuchumatane mountain range by GWC’s Conservation Officer, Robin Moore. “We called it the golden wonder,” says Jeremy Jackson, reminiscing about a salamander that he was the first, and last, to find in the wild 38 years Read more
By Andrew Tilker, GWC associate conservation scientist Imagine that you are a wildlife biologist and you’ve been given a dozen pairs of eyes that you can place anywhere in the forest to watch wildlife for you. All you have to do is find a good area, put them down, then walk away. These eyes are Read more
The common names of the species that likely inhabit the remote Xe Sap National Protected Area in Southern Laos sound almost mythical: Chinese Serow, Annamite-Striped Rabbit, Saola, Annamite dark muntjac. These species’ elusive nature also lends credence to their folkloric status. GWC Associate Conservation Scientist Andrew Tilker set out to capture photographic evidence of the Read more
The Star Mountains, located in southwest Papua New Guinea, are rich in botanical species: during February and March this year, the intrepid research team identified around 700 plant varieties, of which 28 were new species, including rhododendrons, myrtles and orchids (there are more species of orchid in New Guinea than any other region). There were Read more
Shrouded in mist and drenched by regular rains, the tropical montane forests of Papua New Guinea’s remote western interior offer an unforgiving domain. Concealed by the thick, entangled undergrowth, a pioneering biological survey along the Hindenburg Wall – possibly one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth – has revealed dozens of species new to Read more
Leeanne Alonso – While the team was now closer to Palumeu, they still had to get around several dangerous rapids on the Palumeu River to get back. The now 29 men from Apetina and Palumeu bravely spent several days carrying and dragging the large dugout boats along the trail 3 km through the forest from Read more
Leeanne Alonso – The next day, scientists from CI-Suriname and nine men from Palumeu arrived at the small village. The men immediately set to constructing a base camp for the RAP team along the river on the side of the Kasikasima Mountain. They constructed two large tents for sleeping, a kitchen tent, and a laboratory Read more
Leeanne Alonso – Thus on March 18, the RAP team evacuated the first base camp and set off toward the next camp near the Kasikasima Mountain. The botany, water quality, and fish teams, along with all the Amerindians and most of the support crew headed out in boats. They were able to sample a third Read more
Leeanne Alonso – The RAP scientific team of 16 scientists, accompanied by a journalist and photographer from National Geographic Magazine, two game wardens from Nature Conservation Division, and a medic flew from Paramaribo to Palumeu on March 8. They brought along with them about 2000 kilos in food and scientific equipment! The RAP team and Read more