Watching dolphins in the sea is an incredible spectacle, something beautifully unmatched. It makes you feel peace, excitement and joy at the same time.
On April 7, the FLAAR Mesoamerica team made an express fieldtrip to Livingston. It was on this trip where we had the opportunity to watch this incredible moment, we were heading to Tapón Creek crossing Amatique Bay when suddenly we observed that the dolphins jumped next to our boat, they could be seen to the right and to the left.
The species that we observed in Amatique Bay is Tursiops truncatus, commonly called bottlenose dolphins or locally called “Toninas” in Livingston. Dolphins belong to the order CETACEO of the mammalia taxonomic class, this means that dolphins are certainly marine mammals.
Video by Victor Mendoza. April 7th 2022. iPhone 11. Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) sighting in Livingston.
Bottlenose dolphins are social animals known for their playful behavior. Many times, they are found living in groups called pods. These groups can contain just a couple of members, or hundreds of members when different pods join. Bottlenose dolphins hunt in groups, taking turns chasing schools of fish or catching fish against mud or sand banks (NCEAS, 2004).
FLAAR Mesoamerica has had the opportunity to document several sightings of these amazing marine mammals. This time it was possible to observe them on the coast of Punta de Cocolí around 10 in the morning. Regarding their physical appearance, they were approximately 8 feet long, so we deduced that it was a pod of adult dolphins. Alexander Cuz, our boat captain told us that they were feeding according to their behavior. They were light gray in color and we could see how one dolphin jumped on its back and we appreciated its white chest.
If you are very lucky you can live this incredible experience if you visit Livingston, Izabal!
Bibliography
Centro Nacional de Análisis Ecológicos y de Síntesis: NCEAS
2004
Delfín Nariz de Botella. Mamíferos merinos del Proyecto: Kids Do Ecology
During May 2022 field trip in Peten, Guatemala, we found a black insect wandering around the fresh open flower of a wild Vanilla insignis orchid vine. This insect was not a bee. Since wild vanilla orchid flowers bloom only 3 hours once a year, to have an orchidologist or entomologist in front of the flower and see this insect is statistically unlikely.
We are preparing FLAAR Report on this orchid where the insect can be seen on the outside and on the inside of the open flower. By late June the report should be ready.
I saw this “owl face” while hiking along a dirt trail through the seasonally inundated bajos that surround the tasistal savannas we are searching for. Fortunately seasonally inundated also means seasonally bone dry, so hiking these many kilometers was realistic in late March this year. FLAAR has a 5-year project of cooperation and coordination with CONAP to study flora, fauna and ecosystems of the entire Reserva de la Biosfera Maya. We are focusing on studying all the varieties of savanna: low grass savanna, high sawgrass savanna (cibal), and tasiste palm savannas (tasistal). Also are making lists of all of the wild plants in these habitats that are edible (which means the Classic Maya had these plants available as food thousands of years ago).
Is this a buho or lechuza or tecolote? Those are the words in Spanish to distinguish between kinds of owls. Tecolote is derived from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Lots of towns including in Guatemala are named Teculutan (which I assume means place of the tecolotes). I drive through the town of Teculutan (Zacapa, along CA-9) a dozen times each year to reach where we are doing field trip research to find interesting flora and fauna. (ps, the shape of the area around the eyes is more like that of a buho than a lechuza).
Next step is to learn what causes these tumor-like growths to form on this particular tree. I usually see galls on trees in the Maya Highlands. On this trail we are in the Maya Lowlands. Hope this “owl face” was entertaining for you.
Join us for our "Livingston Biodiversity Documentation" where you can learn more about our projects and the achievements obtained by our team during our field trips.
This presentation will be in Spanish starting 6 PM on Thursday, 17 March.
The adventure of Biotopo Protegido San Miguel La Palotada El Zotz begins when you leave Flores, Petén. On the way you cross several communities, municipalities and towns which are very curious to know. Dos Aguadas is the last place you pass before arriving.
The Biotopo El Zotz staff was very kind and directed us to the entrance of the area, then we transferred all our luggage to the PickUp that they gave us and a 6x6 PickUp, since these cars are modified for this type of road. The camp where we were based is 20 kilometers from the main entrance. Just minutes after we arrived we saw the sky. Lots of bats were flying! They came from El Peñon de los Murciélagos. The whole team was amazed.
Our main goal on this visit was to get to Peñon de los Murciélagos to document the bats. This is an incredible place for its greatness and what lives in it. The Peñon is part of the natural escarpment that limits the Buenavista Valley. It is a limestone formation that has a large number of cracks and fissures. Bats inhabit these, most of which belong to the Pteronotus genus and 39 species have been identified.
CHIROPTERA order. Bats on El Peñón de los Murciélagos, El Zotz. Photo by David Arrivillaga. February 17th.
Did you know? The shape of the cracks causes air currents called chaltun, which contribute to the erosion of the rock.
It is worth visiting this place, since every evening thousands of bats go out in search of food, causing an impressive ecological phenomenon.
El Peñón de los Murciélagos – El Zotz. Drone Photo by Haniel López. February 16th