The crazy thing is, that view is just the tip of the iceberg! What lies within the scenery is just as spectacular, if not more so! Seriously.
Before I go on, here is some background. Guyana (pronounced Guy-awn-uh) is a small country located in northern South America (see map). Historically, Guyana was a British colony, meaning the vast majority of people speak English, as opposed to Spanish or Portuguese. The majority of people are Indo-Guyanese (Indian descent, as in India), Afro-Guyanese (African descent), and Amerindian (native people). The general vibe is more Caribbean than Latin America, from the way people talk to some of the foods they eat. Sports-wise they even tend to prefer cricket over football (soccer). In essence, Guyana as a whole is wildly different from any of the places previously mentioned in this blog.
Anyway, I spent a few days with the boss, James (more on him later), doing errands in the Guyanese capital of Georgetown before hopping in a little 10-15 person plane with some tourists. Before I knew it we were cruising above a flat mesh of green treetops, with networks of streams divvying it up. Giant mines left noticeable sandy scars, but we can ignore that part for now. Near the end of the hour-long flight into Guyana's interior the topography changed significantly (see above map). As if out of nowhere, green hills and flat-topped mesas appeared on the horizon. It was official: we were flying into the land of the tepuis! Tepuis (pronounced "teh-poo-eez") are part of a super-ancient geologic formation that is unique to the Guiana Shield, which includes parts of Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. These "islands in the sky" are the thing of legend, and a fitting landscape for roaming dinosaurs. So yeah, we are flying through this crazy place when suddenly, we see it! The namesake of the national park I am to work in: Kaieteur Falls! The Potaro River's Kaieteur Falls is the tallest single drop waterfall in the world, at a staggering 741 feet (226 meters)! I was glued to my window as the pilot made two passes by the mass of falling water and landed the plane on what might as well have been the moon.
White-collared Swifts roost on the cliffs around and behind the waterfall - a sight to behold!
This is where things become harder to describe. The environment at Kaieteur varied between bare rock, small meadows, semi-dense rainforest, and patches of Giant Tank Bromeliads (Brocchinia micrantha). Virtually all of my time at the park was spent at the "top" as opposed to the valley below, through which the Potaro River crashes and meanders. The Guesthouse where we stayed is located a very short hike from the top of the waterfall itself. And yes, there is a trail that leads you to the edge!
The edge is rather abrupt
But keep in mind that I was not there to just gaze at a waterfall and prance through the forest. What brought me to Kaieteur was a job opportunity. My title was Research Assistant, and PhD student James Tumulty (University of Minnesota) was in charge. Our goal was to complete a behavioral experiment involving the Kai Rocket Frog (Anomaloglossus kaiei), a close relative of the more iconic and charismatic Golden Rocket Frog (Anomaloglossus beebei).
Kai Rocket Frog singing away
Golden Rocket Frog hanging out in a Giant Tank Bromeliad, as always
Golden Rocket Frogs are only found in the Giant Tank Bromeliads at Kaieteur (as far as anyone knows) and Kai Rocket Frogs are found on the forest floor throughout much of Guyana. Males of both species guard the territories they occupy. That way they can reduce competition for females. Like most frogs, males of both species produce a mating call to lure females into their territory. When a female gets close they often change to a more seductive "whispering sweet-nothings" kind of tone. When a fellow male encroaches on their turf, the response can be either an aggressive twitter of beeps or a physical confrontation. I apologize if this seems like a lot of random frog behavior information! But this knowledge sets the stage for the research we were conducting. James is a behavioral ecologist, after all.
What we came to investigate was the idea of "recognition," as in, "Can these tiny frogs discern who is who?" Going into his fifth summer of fieldwork at Kaieteur, James was very familiar with the cognitive abilities of male Golden Rocket Frogs. They can discern neighbors from strangers, meaning they show aggression toward newcomers, not old Frank in the bromeliad across the way. But what about Kai Rocket Frogs? That was the question we set out to answer!
If this research seems (at best) loosely applicable to your life, then you might be right. But please consider this: these two frog species are VERY closely related, yet they evolved differing capacities to process complex information. Most people would not expect frogs to have such complex interactions. But most people are wrong. If you pay close attention you might be surprised - I was! James could give an entire TED Talk on why his research is intriguing and meaningful, and I think he should!
Umbrellas are for protecting expensive field equipment, not hardy researchers
On to the work part! Being a research assistant, my job was to first help James conduct a few trials of his latest experiment as a team. Once he felt comfortable sending me off on my own, well, that is exactly what he did. So picture this: you are walking on a trail through a weird moonscape/forest environment at 6:30 AM, and you are listening for a two-note "beep beep" of a frog that is about the size of your thumbnail. Once you hear it, you must determine where the frog is and get a visual on the damn thing without disturbing it too much. Easier said than done. To get a visual you must go off-trail, so watch out for an endless tangle of vines, leaves that will crinkle loudly when you step on them, and whatever else your imagination comes up with that could hurt you or make your sneaky approach go wrong. Once a visual is achieved you must choose how to set up the experiment. Yes YOU get to choose! The equipment you need to set up includes a speaker for playing some antagonistic frog audio, a microphone to record the frog's sonic responses, and a chair to sit in for the next 0.5-4 hours while you bask in a cloud of mosquitoes and take careful notes of frog movements. It should be plenty clear that if you do not love frogs with all your heart then this job is not for you. Sure, hummingbirds come and hover in your face some mornings. But most mornings you are trying to move as little as possible while battling mosquitoes, wasps, and maybe even a termite colony that claimed your raincoat and backpack. That last one truly sucked. Same with the cockroaches in the fridge, the ants on the toilet seat, and the surprisingly large poop that Kitchen Frog would leave steaming in the shadows of the early morning.
Work was usually over by late-morning or early-afternoon. At that point we would escape the heat in the Guesthouse, which lacked air conditioning but provided shade and some food. Some days I took afternoon naps, read a book, or sweated myself to oblivion on a long hike. If I did not hike in the daytime, then after dinner I would venture out. I felt guilty if I did not do a little wandering every day. It was during my many solo hikes that I saw the most unexpected and fascinating creatures. Those hikes also took me beyond the postcard-worthy viewpoints and into the heart of Kaieteur's true identity. Some days were pretty low-key, with nothing to see but the most impressive mass of falling water encircled in a rainbow (sarcasm). Other days were out of this world, almost to the point that I do not believe they happened. Of course I took a zillion pictures, as shown at the end of this post.
I am tempted to blab on and on, yet once again I am going to lazily let the pictures and their captions tell the story. Please just remember this: working for James at Kaieteur was the ultimate honor. We found that Kai Rocket Frogs are not able to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar calls (HOORAY). I feel so privileged to have been afforded such a unique opportunity. This experience was the type that shattered all expectations. I arrived feeling weary from an emotional move from Wyoming, and as I left Kaieteur I could not grapple with how those five weeks came to occur. I am such a lucky guy. Thanks for reading! Sorry for getting all sappy about it!
Scinax boesemani getting jiggy with it
One time I looked down and saw the trees shaking below me. After some time I caught sight of a Brown Capuchin atop the canopy. Then it looked up at me. Since when do people get aerial views of monkeys?! I think it was thinking the same thing.
Bare rock giving way to bromeliads, giving way to a recently burned stand of trees. This is the moonscape stuff I was talking about.
These butterflies are tiny! And just look at that eyespot!
The rare occasion when I spotted a tiger beetle sitting still.
How does this even exist?
Female Golden Rocket Frog. Only the females are golden. The males are much more drab in color.
Male Kai Rocket Frog being a good dad! They carry their tadpoles to safe pools of water, sometimes in bromeliads.
The "twisty tailed window-winged dragon moth" was the best name I could come up with. It was in the Guesthouse.
I see you little dude!
The valley beyond. I could stare out there for hours.
I think this is an aquatic caecilian. I saw 9 or 10 of them. Caecilians are a type of amphibian found only in the tropics.
Adelophryne gutturosa. Proof that the little guy can be quite loud.
Little bromeliads growing as epiphytes on a tree! This was a common sight higher up in the canopy.
Tepuihyla talbergae! They are very naive and have the softest trilling call.
Imantodes cenchoa. The snake that appears to be made of wax and can stretch its skinny body to great lengths in search of its next perch. A real treat to see.
Male Leptodactylus rhodomystax. His weird nipple things are well, weird. But I think they are for gripping onto females during amplexus (mating). Correct me if I am wrong!
One of the two Hybsiboas treefrogs that were basically identical. Imagine finding a wetland lined with plants, all covered in these guys! I found that. It was nuts.
The waterfall created a lot of mist...
Possibly my favorite caterpillar ever.
Hypsiboas sibleszi. A real beauty.
Centrolene gorzulae. The only glass frog I found. It was awesome to watch it swivel atop its leaf perch and call. These guys remain a favorite of mine.
Synapturanus salseri. The most ridiculous nose I have ever seen on a frog! It might be half tapir.
Side-necked turtle! This guy was just bumming it in the ditch by the airstrip.
Hypsiboas boans. These ones get HUGE. I love their big sticky feet!
Gueshouse and satellite phone (foreground).
Some trails passed through dense forest.
Some trails did not.
Some trails included bare rock that readily became a flowing waterway during storms.
Giant Tank Bromeliads are very giant. In some areas there were groups of them several feet taller than me. I had no idea that such places existed.
Chironius fuscus (nonvenomous). It was pretty bummed when I woke it up. Sorry!
The waterfall obscured the views a lot sometimes. Some of the day tours never see the falls at all!
More moonscape wonderland!
"Dagobah system. Yoda..." The misty forest reminded me of Yoda's home turf.
You know you have reached the pinnacle of existence when...
Okay, seeing this was the pinnacle of existence. Stefania evansi of Family Hemiphractidae. So this is a mama frog carrying her babies on her mucus-covered back! The fertilized eggs were placed there, and developed directly into froglets. No tadpole stage required! This is one of those things you hear about but assume you will never witness firsthand. After this night I was almost ready to go home. For a herpetologist there are few things more spectacular than this. I will be the luckiest person alive if I ever see something cooler.
James and I giving a rare pose for the camera ourselves. I cannot thank him enough for giving me the opportunity to work alongside him at Kaieteur! It was an honor to be involved in his research.
Omg Stefania evansi carrying babies!! You lucky...
ReplyDeleteThe most exotic location with the most exotic amphibians. You are one lucky guy. Who know such things existed? Thanks for sharing your adventures.
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