We give our clients the opportunity to join small expeditions organized to monitor the status of legendary animals; most of whom are endangered today. Each of these expeditions is organized around a specific field research project, conducted by our naturalist guides. We donate a portion of the revenues of each trip to help fund the research project.
Our Darien Gap Jaguar Expedition, scheduled December 10, 2016, will truly be a once in a lifetime experience. Working with Ricardo Moreno, our naturalist guide, our objective, over the course of the one-week journey, will be to trap a jaguar, in the wild, to outfit it with an electronic collar. Participants on this expedition will not only have the opportunity to witness scientific research, at an exceptional level - aimed at the conservation of an iconic animal whose population is near endangered today – they will also be directly involved in the research project whose overall process includes the identification of optimal sites to trap the feline, construction and installation of the traps, care and vitals of the animal during the collar fitting as well as testing of the collar and subsequent monitoring of the movement of the feline. This project represents one element of Ricardo Moreno’s ongoing jaguar research/public education program in both Panama and Costa Rica today. Over the course of the journey, we will explore the far eastern reaches of the Darien Gap, traveling to the Colombian border, and to the Pirre mountain range. Our base for this research expedition will be the Cana Field Station, located in Cana Valley.
We are also excited to announce our upcoming Nepal Snow Leopard Expedition. This 2-week journey will feature a 10-day hiking adventure through the Upper Dolpo region of far western Nepal. We will accompany our naturalist guide, Prabin Shrestha of Nepal’s Ministry of the Environment, who will be conducting camera trap research to assess the habitat use and prey abundance of snow leopards in Shey-Phoksundo National Park. This expedition is scheduled for May 2016. As is the case with all of our expeditions, we will offer participants on this journey the opportunity of first-hand involvement in a key wildlife conservation research initiative by directly assisting Prabin with his camera trap research. The Dolpo valley is one of the highest inhabited territories on the planet; a rugged mountainous region offering a varied landscape of high passes, turquoise lakes, fortified villages and Buddhist monasteries. The valley is home to populations of spotted leopards, blue sheep and wolves. The snow leopard, a carnivore of the high mountains of central Asia, noted for its rarity, is today an indicator of the ecological health of the high altitude ecosystem.
What we offer is adventure in its purest form. Our expeditions appeal to individuals who have a strong interest in the conservation of fabled wildlife and an equally strong interest in the challenge of a wilderness journey, on foot, by canoe and horseback, through isolated, untouched jungle and mountainous terrain.
Our voyages start where others turn back.
We are focused today on learning how to more effectively market our wildlife tours, whose individual itineraries are complex and custom designed, and we are eager to participate in and benefit from the mentorship and professional development offered through ATTA membership and at the 2016 ATTA World Summit.