Animal Welfare Peru Project #8348

Protecting Jaguars and Biodiversity in the Amazon

by Action Change (Formerly GVI Trust)

Project Report | May 20, 2013
Earth Day Litter Pick

By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust manager

Last month, the GVI projects celebrated Earth Day along with the rest of the world! Tortuguero National Park boasts a stretch of coastline that is the second biggest rookery for nesting Green Turtles in the world; the most important nesting beach in the Western hemisphere. Each year, hundreds of turtles including Hawksbills, Loggerheads and giant Leatherbacks, make nests on our sandy shores.

Soon the eggs begin to hatch. Turtle hatchlings, upon climbing out of their egg chambers, face a number of natural dangers. Once through the breakers and into the sea they face a multitude of predators, and as they mature they face fishing nets and hunters. However, long before this on our beach they must contend with vultures, crabs, raccoons, coatis and poachers just to name a few.

It seemed fitting that as part of Earth Day we would do a litter pick to make their lives a little easier. We removed a large quantity of litter that had washed up on the beach via the rivers that run through the area and a strong rip tide that brings debris to shore. This assortment of plastic and glass is a danger to turtles and hatchlings that may mistakenly eat it or even be prevented from getting to the sea by it.

Over two days in what seemed like the hottest weather in months, teams walked a three mile stretch of beach collecting bottles, shoes, and even old gas canisters and refrigerators. The first day yielded eleven 15lb bags and a soda bottle from Jamaica! The second day yielded eighteen 30lb bags that were removed with the aid of a quad bike and trailer. A total of 705lb or 320 kilos was collected; a joint effort between us and the park rangers from the Ministry for the Environment. The project could not have been achieved without their help. It was an incredibly hard day, but well worth it as it has made the beach a safer place for the little reptiles.

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Feb 26, 2013
Monkey Business!

By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust Manager

Spider Monkeys

The early morning air breaks with haunting howls, and the forest is filled with squeaks, chirps, barks and screams as the monkeys of Tortuguero National Park (TNP) begin to wake up. Apart from providing endless entertainment by jumping through the tree tops, socially interacting, or trying to pee or poo on someone (at which they have fairly accurate aim), these monkeys are key indicators of the forest health in this region. Three of Costa Rica’s four species of monkeys are residents within TNP, a protected area along the Caribbean coast. The white-throated capuchin (Cebus capucinus), mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata) and Central American spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) coexist in harmony due to their slightly different feeding strategies, and can be found foraging in the same locations. Due to its endangered status, the Central American spider monkey has been sighted by MINAE as a species of interest, leading GVI Jalova to create a pilot study to monitor their distribution and density in the park area as part of our current Incidentals project.

The extension to our Incidentals project was started in September 2012. The study consists of five line transects along pre-existing trails that incorporate most of the survey area. Each transect covers a 1km distance that is surveyed over the course of approximately one hour. During this time, if spider monkeys are sighted, information regarding numbers, age, sex, gender and location are collected. Since the project started, 57 surveys have been conducted, and 56 spider monkey observations have resulted from these surveys. Of the individuals identified 51% of them have been females, 17% dependent young, 7% independent young, and only 3% males. Over the course of observation time spider monkeys have been seen on all the trails, but their distribution range has yet to be determined.

So far the results show that our area of TNP appears to have a healthy population of spider monkeys. The hope, as data continues to be collected, is that it will become easier to ascertain group sizes of the residents in the area and their density. In addition to the current study the future goals include comparing the number of spider monkeys in relation to the white-throated capuchin and mantled howler monkeys, and better understand the species of their foraging trees along with fluctuations based on food sources. Future developments may include looking more closely at the social behaviour of commonly seen spider monkeys, thanks to the support of people like yourself for this program.

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Dec 27, 2012
Uncommon Sightings of Migratory Birds

By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust Manager

Red Knot - by Kate Holmes

We hope you are all having a fantastic holiday. Thank you for your support to this project in 2012, we are happy to announce we will be continuing into 2013 thanks to your donations.

This month has been an exciting and challenging month for birding at GVI Jalova. It is the time of year when migratory birds arrive, resident birds abound and juvenile individuals present difficult plumage succession. Staff enjoys the challenge and volunteers marvel at the variety that Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast has to offer. There have been two noteworthy sightings for this month. The first is a relative of the gulls who breed on Arctic coasts - the pomarine jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus; pictured). This aggressive aerial-master harasses other seabirds, forcing them to disgorge their food which they snap up on the wing. They are rare and sporadic to Costa Rica, and most records are for the Pacific coast. It was with great pleasure then that we watched this aerial acrobat move in with stealth and swiftness to the great distress of a mixed flock of terns and gulls. In the air the juvenile jaeger was incredible to watch. Academically, it is an exciting record for Tortuguero National Park's coastline.

The second notable sighting has been a very thrilling one. We were very delighted when we discovered that the ‘new bird’ recorded on one of our regular shorebird surveys was a red knot (Calidri scanutus; pictured) – the first record for the Caribbean coast! Somewhat more reserved than the jaeger, the knot moved slowly through the driftwood on the high-tide line feeding on invertebrates. It was almost as though he was thinking.

Rare bird reports have been sent to both the iNaturlist website (used by the IUCN to maintain up-to-date conservation threat status’) and to the Asociación Ornithológica de Costa Rica. Without the hard work and enthusiasm of dedicated staff, volunteers & donors it is likely that these rare bird sightings would go overlooked. Range shifts & extensions of migratory species are important, not only for the conservation of the species themselves, but also for considering habitat conservation within their summer breeding grounds, and also when considering the effects of climate change.

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