It is no longer new to see animal selfies over the web, but an expedition showing a new series of wildlife selfies captured in the Amazon forest reveals stunning biodiversity.
A team of scientists from the Field Museum trekked and explored the unreached parts of the Amazon forest. The team of 25 scientists spent 17 days in Medio Putumayo-Algodón, Peru to conduct a social and biological inventory of the location.
The team found an astonishing number of species, some of which are believed to be new to science.
To gather in-depth information of the wildlife and biodiversity of the Amazon, the expedition team set up 14 motion-sensored camera traps in different locations within the area. They also used a drone to capture aerial images of the forest that only helicopters could see.
The images captured by the camera traps are undoubtedly remarkable. The cameras recorded stunning biodiversity of the forest, which include giant armadillos, anteaters, peccaries, currassows, ocelots and many other species.
The drone captured a breath-taking, never-before-seen landscape of the major part of the forest.
"No scientists have ever explored this area, let alone document it with cameras and drones," said The Field Museum's Geographic Information Systems specialist Jon Markel.
Markel added that the images derived from the trek are the first to record the species and wilderness for science.
The scientists recorded an amazing number of species inhabiting the area. The inventory recorded 1,820 species of fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds and plants. Nineteen species are believed to be new discoveries.
The expedition team also discovered a huge number of snakes, frogs and peat deposits in the area. Clay licks were also seen in the forest, which serve as the source of salt vital to the health of the area's wild animals.
The team coordinated with nine ethnic groups residing in the area to be able to know the group's dreams for the forest and how they use the landscape.
"You can't argue for the protection of an area without knowing what is there," said The Field Museum's rapid inventory program director Corine Vriesendorp.
The ethnic groups residing in the region have expressed their desire to protect the lands but find themselves against several threats of illegal logging and mining in the forest, plus a plan for road construction.
Vriesendorp added that indigenous people have been for centuries occupying a forest that is abundant in wildlife, and the team wants it to survive even after their cameras are taken out of the forest.
