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EspañolOur friends at Fauna & Flora International have spotted a rare albino howler monkey baby on Nicaragua’s Ometepe Island. Yes, they have a photo on their website!
Last week, we told you the OceanGybe crew was in Ostional to do a cleanup with local kids. Now that folks are back from the field, we have photos to share from the event.
You may recall we were involved in rescuing six spider monkeys. We’re still looking for donations for the spider monkey sanctuary at the Domitila Wildlife Reserve, including the following items:
- kongs
- balls
- rope
- dog-toys
- plush animal
- non-electric infant or toddler toys
- metal bowls
They can be mailed to our office: 872 E. Front, Suite 200, Ventura, CA 93001
Cash donations can be made on our website.
A question via Twitter:
“Is it true that Nicaragua is home to the world’s 2nd largest bat?”
– Tours To Nicaragua (@NicaGuide)
The answer is a qualified “yes.” Nicaragua is home to the spectral bat, the largest known carnivorous bat, and a member of the megabat family.
The largest of the “megabats” is the Giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), a rare fruit bat whose wingspan can be almost six feet. Nicaragua’s spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum) generally has a wingspan just under three feet, and is believed to be the largest carnivorous bat in the megabat family. There may be other fruit bats, in addition to the Giant golden-crowned flying fox, which are larger than the spectral bat, but the spectral bat is larger than all other carnivorous bats.
Pictured above is our director of conservation science, Dr. Kim Williams-Guillen (R), with the famous bat expert Merlin Tuttle (L), Nicaraguan biologists, and a spectral bat found at Nicaragua’s Volcan Mombacho during a 2008 workshop on methods for surveying bat populations.
Let us know if you have other questions about the flora and fauna of Central America!
Including this adorable sloth!
The full slideshow, courtesy of Suzanne Hagel and Liz Mering, is on Flickr.
We are working with various partners, including the Stones & Waves Vet Clinic, to establish a new monkey sanctuary for six rescued spider monkeys.
If you are interested, please consider making a donation to help us build enclosures to protect the monkeys in their new habitat at Domitla Wildlife Reserve, located in the foothills of Mombacho Volcano.
Check out our latest slideshow of photos from the field.
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is profiling a different species every day.
Today they’re featuring the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle, a creature with which we’re very familiar. Check out their awesome species fact sheet.
A couple nights ago, our turtle rangers met a Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) in Ostional, and gathered some data.
