Our team member Eleanor Flatt has been awarded the 2018 Elodie Sandford Explorer Award by the Scientific Exploration Society (@SES_explore). Amazing news that will allow the team to continue their great work that was started in 2015. This time with a new photography element focusing on indigenous stories!

The SES Elodie Sandford Explorer Award was created by Elodies family and friends in memory of Elodie, an honorary Vice-President of the Scientific Exploration Society and keen photographer. Our team member Eleanor is perfect for this award as she will be co-leading the 2018 Exploration Sira expeditions: adventurous, innovative and involving photography focusing on the stories of indigenous people living in a remote area and the plight of fauna and flora. All of which Elodie Sandford treasured.

Congratulations Eleanor and thankyou to SES and the Sandfords.

Follow our journey @ExplorationSira

This year is an exciting one for Exploration Sira. We have new team members, new supporters and we are venturing to a location in Sira we have not previously visited; Yuyapichis. This is where we will climb to the highest points beyond 2,200m and explore an area where a forgotten species was last recorded in the 1970’s. The team of Peruvian and British biologist is getting ready, and this year will be led by Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya (left) and Eleanor Flatt (right).

Exploration Sira 2018 aims to unveil indigenous stories and recover forgotten species. We will achieve this by deploying camera traps and carrying out amphibian surveys to investigate the unique biodiversity that Sira contains. With a special focus on finding the Sira Harlequin frog that has not been seen since the 1970’s and, creating better understanding of the habitat and distribution of the critically endangered and endemic Sira Curassow (see photo below). We will also be expanding our attempts to record the biodiversity of Sira by sampling the dung beetle and butterfly community present for the first time ever. All of which will surely lead to discovering new species to science.

The team has always worked with the local people, relying on their expertise and knowledge of the forest. As well as our scientific research our team will focus on photographing the indigenous cultures that surround Cerros del Sira and telling the story of how they are connected to their wildlife: unveiling never told before stories. Understanding how local people and wildlife live alongside each other in remote and special locations is essential to preserving areas around the world. This is especially true for the Sira region as it is a communal reserve (meaning that it should be managed involving to a great extent its local peoples). 

This year we have managed to grow our team and our expedition efforts which would not have been possible without our new supporters. A great thanks to the continued support of the Scientific Exploration Society and our new partner the American Bird Conservancy, who provided us with funding for field equipment, travel and expedition costs. Also, thanks to Hennessey hammocks who provided the team with hammocks and shelters to provide a little bit of luxury and comfort during the two tough expeditions. The support of our previous and new supporters has made Exploration Sira possible, so again a huge thank you to all of you.

A big welcome to our newest member of the Exploration Sira team; Eleanor Flatt, a 25 year-old wildlife biologist and photographer from Peterborough in England.

I have been working as a biologist in the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica for the last 3 years. Working with camera traps (on the forest floor and up in the canopy), sea turtles, dung beetles, birds and rainforest restoration. Here is where I fell in love with tropical field biology and exploring wild and wonderful places. As soon as I heard about the Exploration Sira team, I was immediately infatuated by their work. I became determined to help the team achieve their mission; helping to protect Cerros del Sira through scientific research and community outreach.

A hobby of mine is photography, ever since I got my first camera when I was a child I haven’t stopped taking photos and have been able to do so in many different parts of the world. Another passion of mine is to tell the stories of unique and wonderful places through photography, connecting its wildlife and people. This is what I plan to with the Exploration Sira Team. This is a new element to the Exploration Sira expeditions and something which I think will help generate greater global awareness for the remote and unique place of Cerros del Sira.

I am thrilled to become a part of the Exploration Sira family and excited to share all the photos and videos from our 2018 expeditions.

Follow us on Instagram and twitter: @ExplorationSira

The @ExplorationSira team are delighted to announce their new open access publication 'Terrestrial camera traps: essential tool for the detection and future monitoring of the Critically Endangered Sira curassow Pauxi koepckeae', available to download from the journal Endangered Species Research.

It was also fantastic to see international coverage of the research featured on popular tropical news site Mongabay. Below are some of the teams latest HD camera trap images of this Critically Endangered bird, and a photgraphic evidence of recent hunting right within its core habitat.