One Year in Paraguay

In January 2013 I packed my bags and headed to Edinburgh Airport, ready to embark on one of the biggest adventures of my life. I was moving to Paraguay – a country I knew almost nothing about, where everyone spoke two languages I didn’t know – to start my new job as the Primate Project Leader for Para La Tierra. Looking back at the last year, wondering how the time could have passed so fast, I am finding it hard to choose my highlights. One moment I will never forget is the first time I ever saw the monkeys. Walking down the road in the Atlantic Forest and realizing that there were two capuchins sitting in the trees at the side watching us. As we ran into the trails I tried to jump a fallen tree, covered in vines. I failed – miserably. My feet got caught in the vines and I instinctively grabbed my camera, meaning that I flew head first into a bush. Thankfully I am far more surefooted in the forest these days! One of the most challenging parts of my job is finding the monkeys. As we have not yet fitted any individuals with GPS collars we search the forest each morning hoping to come across the group. One of the best parts of my job, and something that has not changed at all over the course of the year, is the feeling of awe and excitement that I feel when we finally find the monkeys. To watch these incredibly intelligent creatures, free in a small island of their natural habitat makes me feel so privileged. This feeling was completely overwhelming the day we discovered the Black and Gold Howler monkeys. After walking through the forest in the cold and the rain for two hours and looking into the trees and seeing a species that everybody told me had not been seen in the reserve for years was one of the most breathtaking moments of my life. I burst into tears and had to lean against a tree to be able to stand – if the volunteers hadn’t thought I was crazy before this definitely confirmed it!! Two more moments that stand out for me was the day that we discovered that the forest has far more monkeys than we originally suspected. I had been told that there was a group of around 8 individuals and 2 extra group males. This was all I had observed until one day in the North Atlantic Forest with Anna. The forest exploded with capuchins. As we ran down separate trails, all thoughts of wasps and spider webs abandoned, we shouted breathlessly down the phones the numbers we could see. I had 9 in my sight, Anna had 11. This included mothers carrying infants. The second day was the day we discovered that there is two separate groups in the reserve and at the same time confirmed that the howlers were still present. It is not just the work that has made the last year so special. I have made friends that I know I will have forever. With experiences ranging from all floating the lake because it is too hot to even sit out of the water to huddling together round a fire under piles of blankets trying desperately to warm up, from driving an hour in the middle of the night to pick up and deliver a coffin to learning how to drive a motorbike for the first time wearing flip flops and shorts with Jorge sitting on the back holding three machetes every moment – good or bad, easy or hard – has been incredible. I have learned new skills, the biggest being that I can now speak Spanish, something I never thought I would be able to do. I have been fortunate enough to have been able to witness and embrace an entirely new culture that I could never have even imagined and still don’t know how to explain to those who have never visited rural Paraguay. As 2014 began with watching fireworks on the beach before dancing barefoot in the red dirt until 5 30am with a group of the best people I have ever met, I thought about how much has changed over the last year. I am bubbling with excitement thinking about what this year holds for the Primate Project. Take the risk, try something new and come down to Paraguay and share this amazing place with us. Happy New Year everyone! Until next time, Becca

Life as a Monkey-Person by Johanna Wahlbeck (Sweden)

I have now spent more than one month at Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca as a volunteer for the primate project and would like to share some of my experiences: Every weekday I get up in the dawn, make breakfast and eat while I watch the sun rise above the beautiful lake. This morning it was the most beautiful sunrise I’ve seen yet with the sky colouring the whole lake pink. When you start a day like that it doesn’t matter what time it is or how tired you are, you’re ready for the day to begin (cheesy but true) and it begins with a walk in the Atlantic forest in the search for monkeys. When I first arrived here I didn’t see the capuchin monkeys for a couple of days but when I finally saw them it was amazing, they were quite close, looking at us, threatening us and feeding. We stayed with them for about 20 minutes before they disappeared in the forest. The second time I saw them was even better, Becca suddenly turned and pointed at something among the trees and there they were travelling towards the road. We hurried the same direction to get a better look at them and when reaching the road we saw them cross from one forest fragment to another. As we were approaching them a juvenile was about to cross and hesitated when seeing us. It was all fuzzy without any tufts and looked at us without making any alarm calls. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. After seeing the monkeys for a while a couple of days goes by without seeing them, even though intense searching is being performed. And when you’re on the edge of getting really frustrated about not knowing where the monkeys are Becca will suddenly point and exclaim “There they are!” and all the hours of searching is rewarded by a quick and exciting sighting that makes it all worth it. The primate project is very new, we only recently were able to identify the monkeys, something that I found really rewarding. I and Anna, a fellow volunteer, looked at all the pictures we had of the monkeys and looked for characteristics in the face and body. Then we named the different individuals after Greek gods and mythical characters. During this time I discovered a favourite monkey of mine, the one named Cupid, name being based on the fact that his face is shaped as a heart (I’m romantic like that). Being here has taught me a lot about work as a biologist and about scientific work. Not only do I now know what it may be like to work as a primatologist, I’ve also had an insight in the fields of ornithology and herpetology. I’ve learnt how to use a GPS in the field and I’ve improved my sense of direction to the level that I now know every trail in the forest by heart. Some body work is also needed when working in the fields. We’ve been using machetes to cut trails in the forest to walk on when looking for the monkeys. This part always makes you feel like Rambo, Lara Croft or some other hard-core fictional character. When I’m not searching for monkeys, or getting in character as Rambo, I am enjoying the company of all the amazing people I am sharing this experience with, swimming in the lake, kayaking, learning Spanish, watching a movie or just hanging out. Some weekends there are parties to go to and a couple of weekends ago Para la Tierra hosted a party to raise money for the Female Empowerment Project. It was so much fun, great atmosphere with loud music and good food, drinks and company. I ate very good empanadas, drank beer and danced until I couldn’t dance anymore. The evenings at the reserve are as magical as the mornings and the sunsets as colourful as the sunrises. The other night I stayed up with two of my friends and fellow interns watching the stars. In fifteen minutes I saw five starfalls. However, I didn’t know what to wish for since I am so fully satisfied and happy with my life here. I couldn’t wish for more and I wish for everyone to feel the same way as I do being here, so come join us as a volunteer and see for yourself what I’m talking about. Love Johanna.

Our flagship species the enigmatic White-winged Nightjar

The area around Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca is home to some very special animals. One of these is the critically endangered White-winged Nightjar. This nocturnal bird is restricted to the Cerrado belt of the Neotropical region and it only occurs at three breeding sites in the world. One of these populations can be found in Brazil and the other two are within Paraguay. There have been two additional sightings at a location in Bolivia in 1987 and 2003, however, a breeding population is yet to be found. The habitat that the Nightjar prefers is a type of Cerrado (Savannah) called wet campo. It is dominated by grasses and small shrubs with scattered trees and anthills. The Nightjars have a preference for sites near wetlands as they use them for hunting insects. Males set up territories around the anthills and can be found perched on them or on a nearby small shrub. In the bright evenings of the breeding season they take to the skies and display to attract females. They show off the white on the wings that gives them their common name. Females and juvenile’s wings and tails lack this white coloration. Unfortunately, the transformation of the White-winged Nightjar’s natural habitat has it battling for survival. Some of the threats they face are; habitat conversion to plantations, uncontrolled fires, over grazing, habitat disturbance by cattle and invasive grasses. The Cerrado is the second largest biome in South America and it is rapidly disappearing. More than two thirds has been altered in the last 50 years, and the situation has been described as ‘one of the greatest ecological disasters in South America’. In Paraguay, this biome is restricted to small patches of the north east corner of the country. Most of the Cerrado habitat is found on private farmland, and there are only several Cerrado sites that are protected. Our population is found on a property just north of the reserve. There are approximately 30 individuals on site. Unfortunately the land is being converted into Eucalyptus plantations, and it is a race against time to prevent the population from being wiped out. On a brighter note, the recent discovery by the PLT team of a second population on a nearby property gives us hope for the future. In the last two weeks we have made two trips to go and see the Nightjars. On both occasions we were fortunate to see a number of both sexes. They are very approachable with a spotlight and this is another reason why they are vulnerable to extinction. They share their home with other threatened species and we were fortunate enough to see some of them on these trips. Three species of threatened birds, the Lesser Nothura, Black-masked Finch and Cock-tailed Tyrant also rely on this habitat for their survival, and face the same fate as the White-winged Nightjar if the habitat destruction continues. We were very fortunate to come across a Maned Wolf on the first trip, which was a first for everyone who was present. These elusive and rare mammals are threatened throughout their range, so it was a privilege to chance upon one. The one thing all these animals have in common is that they are habitat specialists and do not cope well with unnatural changes to their environment. We recently got some very good news that one of our team members Joseph Sarvary has received funding from the Rufford Foundation to conduct a study on the Nightjars in the area. He will be looking to answer four questions. The exact population size, home range and foraging behaviour, mating and fledgling behaviour and a complete census of the bird species in the area. This work is vital for our understanding of the bird and its habitat. The data will build a case for the future protection of the area. If you would like to take part in helping Joe with his project to save this endangered species, you can contact us on www.paralatierra.org. Until next time. JP

UPDATE: Primate News

The 20th November 2013 turned out to be a very exciting day for the Primate Team at PLT. We are very happy to confirm for the first time that there are two separate groups of Azara’s capuchins (Sapajus cay) living in the reserve’s Atlantic Forest fragment and there are still Black and Gold howler monkeys inside the reserve. The Primate Team right now consists of two volunteers (Anna, Ireland and Johanna, Sweden), one intern (Christina, Denmark) and myself. We had been searching without luck for just over a week but this is the nature of working with such small, fast, arboreal animals so we didn’t loose faith and we persevered. And it was worth it! As we walked through the forest I looked up. There they were: three adult capuchins in the trees about 250m to our left. As we ran to the next fork in the trails a small juvenile scuttled up the tree right in front of us. Christina and I took one trail and Anna and Johanna circled round on another. After following the monkeys for about half an hour we walked back to find the others, heard a rustle and saw the silhouette of a monkey off to our left. As we watched, the monkey began to move from behind the branches and my suspicions were raised – it was enormous. Then as it walked out onto an exposed branch I realized why: we were looking at a female howler monkey! Then just when I thought the morning couldn’t get any better I received a phone call from Griselda. She asked me if I had found the monkeys because she was watching loads of them (6) cross the road. I said yes we had found them to which she replied “ok so you are in the south forest”. We weren’t. We were in the north, roughly a kilometer from where she was watching more capuchins. Confirmation for the first time that there is more than one family group living in Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca!! Come and join us in Paraguay and learn about primatology through field work with these amazing creatures – www.paralatierra.org/volunteer

Party Time for Chickens!

One of the main aims of Para la Tierra is to support the communities closest to Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca. The biggest community outreach project that we run is the Female Empowerment Project. Funded by the Rolex Award for Enterprise, this project provided three communities surrounding the reserve with chicken houses (gallineros) and incubators. The purpose of this project is to give the women of the communities a chance to financially contribute to their families through raising and selling chickens. To raise money to push the project forward PLT and the communities of San Jorge and San Fransisco threw a party in San Jorge. After two weeks of careful planning Saturday the 16th of November finally arrived – and it was pouring with rain. We patiently waited out the morning, fingers and toes crossed that the rain would stop. By 1pm the rain seemed to be beginning to fizzle out and Karina, JP, Jorge and myself headed out to San Jorge to begin to set up for the football tournament. After dropping off Karina and JP, Jorge and I began the first of several runs to collect everything necessary for the party. The first stop was San Fransisco to collect the women and lots of ice! Then it was back to the reserve for the cool boxes for the beer. While waiting for the guards to load the boxes I received a phone call for Karina. Due to the rain no one had turned up for the football and it was time to call up the troops! Mike, Greg and Nathan were loaded into the back of the car with the cool boxes and we raced back to San Jorge. Teaming up with JP the boys began the football tournament. Slowly but surely people began to show up. Karina and myself headed back to the reserve to bring the girls and by the time we returned there was a small game going on. Karina and I set up the bar while Jorge and Antonio began the beer sales at the side of the football game. After an hour of playing in the heat and humidity the boys had attracted a crowd of 20-30 people and when the game was over they returned to the bar extremely red-faced, dirty and sweaty but having had a great time! The boys left to shower and we were hit by hurdle number 2 – the man we had hired to bring a giant speaker system and run the music for the party refused to come because of the rain. With the party teetering on the edge of cancellation Karina came to the rescue and negotiated that a man from the neighboring house bring his small speaker system and we use that. When this wasn’t loud enough Griselda and I raced back to her house to bring her sound system. Everything was set. The rain had stopped. We held our breath and waited for people to arrive. As we waited we noticed motorbikes pulling up, and then leaving again. Now the volunteers really stepped up and saved the day. With no-one else on the dance floor the group got up and started the party! Anna, Kath and Vicki stood at the door selling beer to attract people inside, Johanna, Nathan, Greg, Christina and Mike danced with the local children and by 10pm the party was bouncing. The volunteers and JP danced the night away while Karina, Jorge and myself ran the bar and Conce DJ’ed. Bingo and a raffle broke up the party and gave everyone a much-needed chance to sit down and cool off. Just when we thought the party was starting to wind down around 2am Mike made the night of the Paraguayans by doing “the worm”. Not to be outdone this quickly escalated into a dance off. Girls vs boys. Karina and me against Mike and one of the Paraguayan guys. The boys went first and as we watched we knew we had no chance but we went for it anyway! As we hit the floor, the music stopped! A rather embarrassing but hilarious end to what had been an amazing night. Though the final figures aren’t in yet it is looking like the party was not only a great success in that everyone had a fantastic time but each community has also raised enough money to push the project forward. Thanks again to all our amazing volunteers who made the night. If you want to come out and join in the fun and make a difference while doing it check out www.paralatierra.org. Becca

Encarnacion and Tirol

This past week Greg and I spent a few days in southern Paraguay in the city of Encarnaciόn. The reason for our trip was to visit Paul Smith, PLT’s scientific co-ordinator and founder of Fauna Paraguay. We had collected a few interesting species of frogs at Laguna Blanca that needed DNA analysis to determine their species status. While we were in the area we also wanted to explore the city and visit a nearby large tract of near pristine Atlantic Forest at Hotel Tirol. Greg is our new butterfly intern at RNLB. He is full of enthusiasm and has an outstanding gift to draw illustrations of wildlife from photographs. He decided that it would be great to join me on the trip to firstly meet Paul, and secondly to try find some interesting wildlife at Hotel Tirol. Encarnaciόn is a growing city that is on the north shore of the mighty Rio Parana. This is a beautiful river that unfortunately was dammed in the past, destroying a lot of biodiversity. Never the less the city is moving forward and has a lot going for it. The recent development of a promenade and beach is a major attraction, as well as some fine dining and amazing architecture. Once a year in February the city holds a major carnival that attracts people from all over the world. The first two days were spent with Paul. After analysing our frogs with a local Argentinian professor, we decided on a whim to explore a religious sanctuary on the east of the city. The sanctuary has some great views over the river to the Argentinian side. It was a very warm afternoon so wildlife was not plentiful. We did manage however to see lots of Eastern Collared Spiny Lizard (Tropidurus torquatus) on the walls, and a few birds including Hook-billed Kite, Dark-billed Cuckoo and Rufous Gnateater. That evening we were taken to a local marsh to try and find some frogs. The marsh was unfortunately polluted, but even so two species of adaptable frogs called from the reed beds. We watched males of the Dwarf Tree Frog (Dendropsophus nanus) and Purple-barred Tree Frog (Hypsiboas raniceps) trying to attract nearby females. It’s a sad story though knowing what the eventual outcome for this population will be. After getting our fill of the city, it was time to visit Hotel Tirol. Paul accompanied us for a few hours on our first evening. Our main target was to find and photograph the Schmidt’s Stream Frog (Crossodactylus schmidti). This species is only known from a small, fast flowing stream at this one site in Paraguay. We wasted no time, signed into our room, put our bags down and headed for the valley. We were very determined to find this species, and our efforts paid off when three were found within the first hour. These frogs are very sensitive to change. Without the fast flowing, clear water they would have disappeared a long time ago. The next day we spent time searching the grounds around the hotel. There were plenty of butterflies out that kept both of us occupied for hours. We lifted a log along one of the many well defined paths to find a very rare worm lizard (Amphisbaena darwinii) lying beneath it. These worm lizards spend most of their lives beneath the ground surface only getting pushed up after heavy rains. We spent time on the stream trying to find more Schmidt’s Stream Frog’s with no success but we did happen to come across a Sepia Snake (Thamnodynastes strigatus) probably also hunting for the frog that was eluding us. The following morning it was time to pack our bags and prepare for the long journey back home to Laguna Blanca. While waiting for the bus outside the hotel entrance, I saw a teenager across the road throwing a stone into the grass. I instantly ran towards him to see what the boy had found. To my surprise he picked up a huge Black Tegu lizard (Tupinambis merianae) and threw it onto the road. The lizard was badly wounded from the rock, but still tried to get away. I watched as one of my beloved reptiles got kicked continuously and then put under the boy’s bike to finish him off. The whole time the boy had a smile on his face, he seemed proud of his achievement. He tied the Tegu onto the back of his bike and went to show some nearby people that congratulated him. Unfortunately this ioccurs here in Paraguay and in a lot of other places around the world. Many wildlife populations have dropped significantly because of habitat destruction, pollution, overhunting and needless killing. I am not sure what the teenager did with his prize, but it is a scary thought knowing that the dwindling populations of wildlife within the country lie in the hands of youngsters like this. Para La Tierra’s mission is to protect threatened habitats and its inhabitants. We are working hard to try to educate the future generation about the plight of nature and how we can try conserve it in the interest of the local people. Come join us to help us understand this beautiful country that much more so we can make Paraguay a better place for the future. Until next time. JP

The Big Brained Primates of Laguna Blanca

In terms of intelligence, capuchin monkeys (Sapajus and Cebus spp) pretty much trump every other primate species (apart from humans!) on the continent of South America. The resident monkeys found in Laguna Blanca’s 414ha Atlantic Forest fragment are no exception!! There are thought to be between 12 and 14 individuals living within the reserve. There is one family group who are currently being habituated by the primate team volunteers and myself. Until recently when the monkeys were located within the humid, winding trails of the forest observers were treated to elaborate displays of alarm calls, fear grimacing (when the teeth are exposed like a smile and the eyebrows raised) and branch shaking. Encounters with the monkeys are brief but still breath taking and leave your heart racing with excitement. Last week the PLT Primate Team, right now consisting of Anna (a long term volunteer from Ireland who completed the same Primatology MRes as me) and myself, experienced the most exciting two hours of my 9 months chasing monkeys in Paraguay. The day began at 5 45am with the 30-minute walk to the South Atlantic Forest. Normally we take the motoloco (the bright red, incredibly fun, temperamental trike) it had died the day before so we began with a walk. We entered trail 1 and began to walk extremely slowly, taking extra care not to make too much noise on the carpet of dead, crunchy leaves. Usual procedure when we find the monkeys is to immediately make our presence known, if the monkeys don’t see you it is impossible for them to become habituated to researcher presence. On this day (and I couldn’t tell you why) I decided I wanted to sneak up on them and try and watch them for a while before announcing our presence. We reached the junctions of trails 1 and E – and heard a loud crash to our right. Monkeys. Painfully slowly – when every part of me wanted to run after the sound in case we missed them – we crept towards the crash. We didn’t hear another one. As we arrived at trail G and turned down a loud, hollow knocking sound greeted us. My heart sank thinking the monkeys had gone and all we could hear was a woodpecker. As we stole down trail G we looked up. Monos. The family group was in the tree in front of us. I quite literally stopped breathing as I realized what we were seeing. The hollow knocking sound was the monkeys. They were holding hard fruit in their hands and smashing it off the tree trunk in order to open it. Anna and I nearly fell over each other in desperation to get the camera out of the bag and start filming. This remarkable behavior not only perfectly displays the capuchins remarkable dexterity but also their incredible problem solving ability. For two hours we crawled around the ground trying to find the best view of the group, at one point I sat on a nest of biting ants but refused to move as I had a particularly good spot to film from!!! The next day we went out again the next day, this time with Emma as well. As we walked quietly along trail 3 towards the tree we had seen them feeding in before we heard the knocking. This time not only did we manage to film and photograph the fruit cracking behavior but also begging behavior from the younger monkeys!!! After about 45 minutes we were rumbled. The alarm calling began and the group vanished. We went to the bottom of the tree to collect some of the fruit that had been dropped. As we stood under the tree discussing what we had seen we heard a chirp and a crash behind us. Ka’i. Turning around we were faced with the sub-adult male of the group. Sitting about 3 feet above our head he was calling and displaying, generally making a grand show of himself. This is decoy behavior. I’m ashamed to say I fall for it a lot. As one member of the group comes close and displays loudly to draw observer attention, the others make a stealthy get away. Sometimes I think these monkeys are too smart for their own good!! Until next time, Becca