Photos courtesy: Carlos Morochz (Scientist at Mashpi Reserve)
During my recent visit to Mashpi Lodge in the cloud forests of Ecuador I had the pleasure of meeting the resident scientist Carlos who showed me how the camera traps work. These are automatically triggered by animal movement or at night by heat. Surprisingly just a couple of hundred metres from the lodge was clear evidence of visits by pumas, ocelots and other large mammals which are almost impossible to see in the day time. the presence of big cats and their prey is a clear indicator that the surrounding primary forest are in a very good state in deed. Cloud forests are one of the richest areas of biological diversity on the planet and Mashpi Reserve is part of the Chocó region known for its unique species.
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