In today’s post we are talking about the new project we are starting this year to review the distribution and habitat available for the Colombian squirrel monkey (Saimiri albigena) and its limits with the Humboldt’s squirrel monkeys (Saimiri cassiquiarensis). Colombian squirrel monkeys is a Vulnerable species that live in large groups with several females, males, juveniles and babies. In this new project we are recording locations of the two squirrel monkey’s species in mostly all the departments in which Colombian squirrel monkeys live, except by Arauca department.

Our first sampling was in Casanare department, where road census takes us to new areas, sees interesting landscapes and we discover new things. Red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) give us surprises as they have small babies, and squirrel monkeys give us new data. New areas are always exciting as we discover new possibilities. It’s also a challenging project where new threats appear and very long sampling hours in the sun and rain.

Despite the long hours, fieldwork is always rewarding and gives me more questions than answers, which is what I love about science. Science is about curiosity and asking questions about the things and patterns we saw, and fieldwork never disappoint me on that…so for now more questions are arising and hopefully some answers in the process.

We also had the opportunity to meet incredible people from a private reserve “La Reserva” in Barranca de Upia, where howler monkeys and squirrel monkeys allow us to see them and black-capped capuchins just let us hear them. A reserve with an incredible process of natural regeneration that is starting to attract birds and monkeys and giving them more need it habitat.

We continue with our monitoring of squirrel monkeys in Villavicencio as we see babies born this year to grow up…and we had the opportunity to present our work in a local forum organized by a local NGO where several organizations share their results with a general public, including school students.

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