I choose to volunteer at El Refugio because wildlife conservation has been an educational and career interest of mine. As an outdoor orientated person, the thought of spending time on a ecological park in a dry tropical forest of Mexico was very appealing. So far, the outdoor experience has been wonderful. The diversity of flora and fauna at El Refugio offers a wide diversity to any visitor, be it those who are interested in the species of host plants for butterflies or the reptile enthusiast who wishes to come face to face with a green iguana living in a closed, but still natural environment. For me, my interests are more broad and they have yet to develop within the scope of wildlife conservation and so for now, I am open to just experiencing the daily activities that go on at El Refugio.

Some of my daily tasks include: feeding and caring of the animals, guiding English speaking tours and helping with schools that come to visit El Refugio. Wild animals are constantly arriving to and leaving El Refugio so my exposure to new species is ever expanding. Being a tour guide has been an experience in itself. Public speaking is a great skill to master and guiding a tour is very different from doing a public presentation. Tours are more interactive, so this gives the visitors a chance to talk as well, which makes for a less formal environment. In addition to all this, I am researching possible grant opportunities that may offer funding to El Refugio in the future. This project, I hope, will give me some insight into the grant seeking process.

Not only is this volunteer experience beneficial to my academic goals, but it also offers the opportunity to experience a new culture and language. I had never travelled to Mexico before this summer, so everything has been new for me! And living in a rural area of Mexico has made for many exciting adventures. Taking the public buses from Los Achotes into Zihuatanejo was a daunting thought at first so I ended up going with a fellow Canadian who was more fluent in Spanish than me. Aside from needing to use the language to talk to the bus driver or ask pedestrians for directions to a bus stop, my prior experience with city transit paid off and the whole experience turned out positive. When I stayed in Morelia for two weeks to study Spanish at a language institute called Baden-Powell, a lot of Pictionary work was going on between my host family and I. Regardless, this home stay experience was a great jump start to learning Spanish and the Mexican culture, most specifically the cuisine. I generally prefer food with mild spiciness, but my taste buds are slowly adapting and I can now tolerate stronger chilies.

Signing off for now,

Karilynn DeWolff

The Mexican Hairy Dwarf Procupine or Mexican Tree Porcupine (Coendou  mexicanus  / Sphiggurus mexicanus) is found in  Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama.  They are a nocturnal and arboreal species and as such rarely seen. The species stability is classified by IUCN as of by ‘least concern’ however there is question as to whether this is a reliable classification.  The species is listed (as Coendou mexicanus) in Mexican legislation (NOM-ECOL-059-2001) as threatened based on its rarity, its relatively small overall distribution in the country, and the high rate of destruction of tropical forests along its entire distributional range (Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, (SEMARNAT  2002). Unfortunately for the Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine, they are used as a food-source for humans; though the collection and gathering must be done carefully.

These fascinating creatures range in size from 54.6 to 81.cms in length and come with a prehensile tail that is approximately one third to two fifths of total body length. Adults weight approximately 1.5 – 3 kg, with males being heavier. Their clawed, four-toed feet on short, strong limbs allow them to be excellent climbers.  Longevity is estimated at 17 years. Their dark fur covers most of their spines which in turn are present across the porcupine’s back. The belly is without spines. The head is usually marked by yellow or pale color spines that are visible through the fur itself, and also by light pale colored fur fuzz around the ears. The long tail has almost no fur and can be curled around a branch for security.
Porcupines are very territorial and males will not tolerate other males nearby. They will allow females to remain close. The reproductive biology is poorly known, it appears that female porcupines are generally either pregnant or lactating for most of their life. Gestation is commonly around 200 days and soon after giving birth, the female mates again. Solitary offspring (or, rarely, twins) are born fully developed, with open eyes, and are able to climb trees within a few days of birth.  They are fed by the mother for two to three months, and generally reach adult size in about a year, and sexual maturity at 1.5 to 2.5 years of age
Their famous weapon, the quill, is a primarily defensive one, in which the specialized hairs are extremely sharp and detach easily. The quill, once embedded in flesh, will continue to go inward, as each quill has microscopic fibers that are pointed away from the tip toward the other end. The quills themselves can reach up to three inches in length, and make for a painful removal due to their microscopically barbed nature. A common misconception is that a porcupine can ‘fire’ a quill’; this is not true as contact must be made for the quill to stick, and there is no mechanism for flinging a quill except for a minor shaking for grooming reasons.

Profepa recently brought a female Jaguarundi to El Refugio, the wild cat had been kept in captivity for years in a small cage: our intention is to teach her to hunt and release her to the wild. She is in good health and despite her years in captivity, she shows no sign of domesticity, so we are hopeful! Release of wild animals brought for rehab at ERP is one of our goals, even though many could be in danger as most locals do not appreciate wildlife in their backyards, so to speak.

The jaguarundi is a medium-sized wild cat related to the cougar and classified as genus puma. The jaguarundi is native to Central America and the northern and central countries of South America down to Argentina. It can be found, on rare occasions, in extreme southeast Arizona and Texas. It is one of six wild cats in Mexico; the others being the Jaguar, Puma (Mountain Lion, Cougar), Bobcat (Lynx), Ocelot, and Margay. The jaguarundi is a federal endangered species in the United States.

They appear to be relatively common over much of their range, but jaguarundi are quite rare in Mexico and Central America. Their habit of raiding domestic poultry and pets has not endeared them to farmers or families, and they are likely subject to hunting pressure around settled areas. Their fur has never been in demand for the fur trade because of its poor quality and lack of spotting, although they are undoubtedly caught in traps set for other species. Habitat destruction and human encroachment are the main threats to their existence.

It has a total length of 88–128 cm (35–50 inches) and a weight of up to 9.1 kg (20 lbs). It has short legs and an appearance somewhat like an otter; the ears are short and rounded. The coat is unspotted, uniform in color, and varying from blackish to brownish grey or from foxy red to chestnut. Unlike house cats, the jaguarundi has long powerful back legs and a tail as long as her body.

The jaguarundi hunts both at night and during the day. It stalks its prey and then pounces on it. It is a good swimmer and also eats fish. It will occasionally eat fruit. They are thought to hunt mainly on the ground and have a varied diet, including small rodents, rabbits, armadillos, opossums, quail, wild turkey, reptiles, frogs, fish and domestic poultry. They may occasionally eat leaves and fallen fruit as well, but this is probably only for the moisture content. The body shape would suggest terrestrial habits, but jaguarundi have been observed seeking refuge in trees, often moving from branch to branch.

Recent reports of a young female crossing the Los Achotes road with babies in tow have not been confirmed.

Wildlife Vet Jorge Guzman conducted initial necropsies on several turtles found on April 6^th and concluded that the turtles had most likely died from drowning, partly as they did not have other obvious injuries.

Original speculation and reporting by local press focused on commercial shrimp boats that use enormous nets. Given that the US recently banned the sale of Mexican wild shrimp because of turtle deaths resulting from nets without adequate turtle escape features, and the local arrest and impoundment of one shrimp boat, this seemed a likely possibility.

However, with the turtle death toll reaching over three hundred, shrimp netting seems a less obvious answer.  While dead turtles are often observed on beaches after large commercial fishing boats have been in the waters, locals report that they have never witnessed dead turtles washing up onshore in such numbers.

Mr. Guzman and the local, state and national environmental authorities from Semarnat and Profepa and the federal agency Semaren have visited the affected beaches and Jorge has performed more necropsies. It is difficult to determine the exact cause of death when the turtles are in a state of advanced decomposition. Biological tissue samples have been taken to be analyzed for evidence of infection or other pathogens and will be compared with tissue samples taken earlier this year from turtles rescued and brought to El Refugio de Potosi while still alive.  These rescued turtles ultimately died.

Mr. Guzman is hopeful, as are we all,  that answers can be found to explain this devastating and tragic loss of marine turtle life.

Link to article on Mexican Wild Shrimp Ban:

http://www.seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1533

The professor warmed up with some background on his objectives; creating sustainable tourism opportunities and fostering wildlife conservation. In order to meet these goals he and his students have created a biodiversity study of local habitats along with a diagnostic survey of wildlife here, with a focus on birds. For the past three years, once a semester they have tramped through salt flats and palm groves, swam and boated in the lagoon, climbed Guamilule, sweated buckets and looked everywhere for birds, butterflies, insects and any wildlife they can see and identify. They are the first to make any kind of study for this area and hope that their work will impact development planning here.

The lagoon is the most important habitat here, as it is home to many migratory birds as well as resident bird populations and provides an important source of local income; with tours, fishing and shrimping. Also considered specific habitat are the following: salinas (salt flats), swamps, palm orchards, selva baja, Los Morros, beach, town, and mouth of the lagoon.

In the lagoon we have the all important red and black manglar or mangroves which support both fish and bird populations. Manglar also provides protection from wind and flooding. Manglar is protected by law in Mexico, but sadly suffers from frequent exploitation.

Guamilule is considered selva baja or tropical deciduous forest. There is selva baja in many places here, you can tell it as it characteristically looks dead or at least very dry after the rainy season but is, in fact, living native vegetation and shelters many species of wildlife.

Palmar is the name the scientists use to describe the palm orchards, and though they are not native to Mexico they were planted many years ago and provide incredibly and surprisingly rich habitat and support abundant wildlife.

Los Morros are particular habitat for marine birds and provide important rookeries for nesting birds, especially the boobies. They provide a haven for many fish and are important fishing grounds for local and visitors.

The other habitats for birds, the salinas, swamps, gardens and the town have a lot of crossover with the other habitats.

Here are some bird population stats for the various habitats (the numbers don’t add up as there is crossover in some habitats:  (Birds are captured in mist nets and checked for health, migratory status, and ovulation status, then they are banded and released).

Professor Alejandro mentioned that we must be aware of the realistic actual situation here at Playa Blanca. Mexico has a special designation for important areas for bird habitat protection: AICAS. http://conabioweb.conabio.gob.mx/aicas/doctos/aicas.html Of the more than 70 areas designated for protection, there are only three in Guerrero: Coyuca-Tres Palos, Tlacoyunque, and Copala-Punta Maldonada, in the southern part of the state.

In Zihuatanejo and Petatlan there are no plans for designating areas for protection, no plans for protection of shore birds or lagoons, and no plans for any type of ecological conservation. This creates a precarious situation since there are many plans for development. Professor Alejandro feels that his intensive and in-depth study can provide the framework for conservation planning in this area.

In closing Professor Melendez pointed out that the area of Barra de Potosi and Playa Blanca, approximately 490 hectares in total area, is host to .25 bird species per hectare. This may not seem like a lot or important until you look at the comparison with some large well known areas that have been designated for conservation planning:

Tabasco: .046 species per hectare

Gulf of Mexico: .0001 p/h

Huatulco: .0257 p/h

Professor Alejandro is in the process of publishing his findings and will continue to bring students here to collect data and band birds. He left us with encouragement to focus on conservation and to help build a program for nature guides that will bring more interest in the fantastic diversity of wildlife we enjoy here and hopefully bring increased pressure for sustainable conservation alongside the plans for development.

Doña Mariposa

PS time to break out the binocs!

Mariposa is the Spanish word for butterfly, but in Náhuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the name for butterflies is papálotl. Butterflies are represented in the iconography and the myths of Mesoamerican civilizations, symbolizing movement, representing heroes or important people and gods. Papálotl were even paid as tribute, after all, they are indeed as lovely as jewels. If you visit Teotihuacán you can visit the temple of papálotl and enjoy the incredible friezes with carved Xochiquetzal mariposas, one representation of diurnal “beautiful flower” butterflies. This butterfly goddess symbolized love and movement, protected flowers and vegetation, was considered the mother of artisans as well as a representation of beauty. The nocturnal butterflies had their own god; Itzpapálotl. These dark butterflies symbolized movement too, the movement of souls in death and the god of human sacrifice. Today in Mexico, during the ceremonies honoring ones departed family members; the Day of the Dead, mariposas are considered representations of souls returning for their annual visit. Now I have to say that I always thought that the idea of butterflies as returning souls was related to the annual migration of monarch butterflies that gets underway right around Day of the Dead – October 31. Little did I know that butterflies as a symbol for souls was so ancient. Now when you see a butterfly in your garden, you might want to greet it warmly, you just never know who it might be!

Hasta la Vista!

http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/nest.php

• There are, according to the IOC, 338 species of hummingbirds. Only ten species of hummers have significant ranges north of Mexico!!!!
• Females find iridescent feathers attractive.
• Hummingbirds do not mate for life.
• Male hummingbirds do not help raise the young.
• Female hummingbirds do all the nest building.
• A hummingbird baby is about the size of a penny.
• Females will lay a clutch of two eggs.
• Baby hummingbirds cannot fly.
• Baby hummingbirds will remain in a nest for three (3) weeks.
• Most hummingbirds die in the first year of life.
• A hummingbird will take about 250 breaths per minute while at rest.
• A hummingbird’s metabolism is roughly 100 times that of an elephant.
• Hummingbirds have very weak feet and can barely walk. They prefer to fly.
• Hummingbirds do like to perch and spend most of their life perching.
• A hummingbird’s brain is 4.2% of its body weight, the largest proportion in the bird kingdom.
• Hummingbirds are very smart and they can remember every flower they have been to, and how long it will take a flower to refill.
• Hummingbirds can hear better than humans
• Hummingbirds can see farther than humans.
• Hummingbirds can see ultraviolet light.
• Hummingbirds have no sense of smell.
• Hummingbirds do not drink though their beaks like a straw A hummingbird will use its tongue to lap up nectar from flowers and feeders.
• A hummingbird’s tongue is grooved like the shape of a “W”.
• Hummingbirds have tiny hairs on the tip of the tongue to help lap up nectar.
• A hummingbird’s beak is generally shaped like any other bird beak, just longer in proportion to its body.
• The edges of the hummingbird’s top beak will overlap the edges of the hummingbird’s bottom beak.
• Hummingbirds will not get addicted to a hummingbird feeder filled with nectar. The hummingbirds will leave when they need to.
• A hummingbird can eat anywhere from half (1/2) to eight (8) times its body weight a day.
• A hummingbird can dive up to 60 miles per hour.
• Hummingbirds have an average life span of about 5 years.

This flying jewel, or joya voladora, as the Spanish explorers called a hummingbird, is indigenous to western Guerrero and Oaxaca with a possible range into western Chiapas. Once thought to be a subspecies of Broadbill, the Doubleday’s (Cynanthus l. doubledayi), male sports an forehead of iridescent turquoise blue, the throat is deeper violet-blue, the under parts are generally more blue than the Broadbill and the under tail coverts are black.

Why not drop by and meet this jewel of Guerrero?

Here are some tips to attract hummingbirds:

1. Plant native species and plants with flowers that attract hummers.

Some possibilities for the Mexican coast are; lantana, all ixoras, caesalpinias flor de mayo, mandavilla, shrimp plants, and more to come in a later post…

2. If your garden is new or doesn’t have many flowering plants, try placing a red plastic table cloth on the ground underneath your feeder. Anchor it with flowers pots or rocks. The hummers will see it from the air and come to check it out.

3. Make sure your humming bird feeders contain clean nectar. When it is hot or when you don’t have many hungry hummers visiting, you may need to change the nectar every day.

4. Use this recipe for hummingbird nectar:

1 part sugar

4 parts water

Mix together and bring to a boil – this helps prevent fermentation of the nectar

Cool before adding to your feeder

Store extra nectar in the refrigerator

5. Want a traveling feeder to see what the hummer traffic is in your vacation destination? Fill a small wine glass with sugar water and place it on top of a red cloth on an outside ledge at your hotel room.

I am off to check out the birds!

Doña Mariposa

Katie likes company.  Katie likes the company of us snow bird types, not the real birds who hang around the palapa bird roosts in front of the visitors center. So if you sit around here in the shade, you can be sure to have a visit with Katie. Just remember that she/he is known to nibble ears and leave greenish calling cards, so take care.

One afternoon not long ago I arrived at the visitors center to find fifteen parrots sitting on the backs of the presentation area chairs, all watching a nature video on our big screen! They were so engrossed in the program they did not even look over to great me! Now that is for the birds!

Seriously, ERP has become home to a great number of birds. Our resident birds include six Military Macaws, twelve Yellow Headed Amazons, six very endangered Lilac Crowned parrots, two White Fronted parrots, two Red Loreds, twelve Orange Fronted parakeets, two Red Crowneds, and a most adorable Emerald Toucanet. You can visit with many of our parrots just outside the visitors center where they roost and play freely during visiting hours. Some of our shy birds stay safely in the comfortable large bird houses and are better enjoyed there.

Our pair of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks love to waddle out in the morning and take their first plunge of the day in Turtle Pond. All four Chachalacas who were released to make their own way stick around and enjoy all the action at ERP.

Since El Refugio Potosi is the one of the only centers that is licensed to receive wild animals for rehabilitation and release we have a changing population of such birds all the time. Today we have two Caracaras, a Road Side hawk and a Grey hawk that came for rehab and who may never be able to survive in the wild.

Our newest resident bird, a magnificent Great Horned owl, came by jet from Toluca. We are not sure of his story, but rumor has it that he worked for some time as a hunting performer in a show. He came to us from a Humane Society and we hope he will be inspired to hunt again and be released to start a new life as a wild bird. Only time will tell, he may decide that the assisted living program of raw chicken every evening is more to his liking than living the wild life. Can’t say as I blame him, after all, life is for the birds at ERP!

Come join us birds,

Besos, Doña Mariposa