Base camp in Cusuco National Park, Honduras. This piece of flat land used to be the campsite for loggers before the forest was declared a national park. This campsite is now the visitor centre in the Park, and many Hondurans visit the Park at weekends.
Located at an altitude of 1500-2000m, Cusuco National Park consists of cloud forests instead of rainforests. The altitude is so high that rain forms clouds and mists, creating a stunning sight.
This is a female Quetzal. Quetzals are the mascot animal of Cusuco National Park. Males have stunning long red tails, while females, as in this photo, have beautiful emerald green bodies. I was lucky enough to have seen both the male and female during my time there, right before I headed off to jungle training!
During jungle training, we hiked for hours deep within the National Park, and walked by a slope with serious deforestation. The soil erosion was further worsen by the constant downpour. This sight made me realise the importance of conservation, and that local education could be a way to solve the problem.
Making tortillas with Honduran guides during jungle training. Tortillas are staple food in the country and is a must-have in every meal. We managed to make over two dozens tortillas for our guides in one afternoon!
On the last day of jungle training, we were very lucky to see a kinkajou! Kinkajous are nocturnal mammals in the Raccoon (Procyonidae) family, so it is a rare sight to see one in broad daylight. This particular one had a nice nap up on a tree in our camp for the whole afternoon.
It was a gruelling 10-hour hike from the foot of the hill up to El Danto, a satellite camp on the west side of Cusuco National Park. Thanks to the hardworking mules, we managed to complete more than half of our journey without carrying our backpacks. Without them, it would be impossible to finish the hike before nightfall.
During our stay, we helped out in various ecological researches, such as setting up mist-nets to trap birds. After capturing them, we measured their weights, length of wings and check for signs of health. At the end, we released them back into the wild by placing them on our hands. This photo shows a Green-throated Mountain Gem waiting to take flight.
Chytrid fungi is a disease that has been wiping out amphibians over the last two decades. We were happy to find a lot of frogs right inside camp El Danto during our stay, and quite a few of them are endangered species!
Moth-trapping at night in El Danto, Cusuco National Park turns out to be a party for insects. Apart from moths, beetles and spiders are also attracted by the light and many interesting insects are found.
Marine researches took place on island Utila, which is an hour’s ferry ride from the mainland. The coral reefs are key habitats for fish and invertebrates. Can you spot a stoplight parrotfish swimming among the corals?
Before conducting any marine researches, we have to obtain certifications for diving first. This photo shows us performing a night dive for our Advanced Open Water certificate. The ocean at night is amazing as we saw bioluminescence, common octopuses, and also a spiny lobster!
Lionfish may look pretty, but they are invasive species in the Caribbean Sea. Without natural predators, they have been eating all other fish in the coral reefs. Lionfish are captured and dissected by researchers on Utila to check for their stomach contents. We found a damselfish in one of their stomachs, but the biggest prey ever found was actually a squid half the length of the fish!
This is a long-spined sea urchin, or Diadema antillarum. We weighed them, measured their mouthparts and body lengths. Adult Diadema antillarum has black spines while juveniles have white spines. It is interesting to find one with both black and white spines!
My dive buddy and I saw a spotted eagle ray on our last dive — turns out he’s Stumpy, a famous ray on the island known for his stumpy tail!
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