Expedition Cyclops

The northern slopes of the Cyclops Mountains, a range in Indonesian New Guinea, are a pristine wilderness never explored by scientists. They are rumoured to harbour species undiscovered by science, and species lost to science. With illegal logging, mining, and hunting threatening to encircle the northern slopes, the indigenous communities that reside there have invited scientists - for the first time - to undertake biological surveys to discover the Mountains' secrets. In June 2023, an international coalition of scientists will travel to the Cyclops Mountains and launch Expedition Cyclops. The expedition is a collaboration between the University of Oxford, Royal Holloway University, the Indonesian Research and Innovation Agency, and the New Guinean Universitas Cenderawasih. Crucial logistical support is being provided by the inspiring New Guinea development NGO Yappenda, while the people of Yongsu Sapari at the base of the Cyclops will act as our informants and guides.

The expedition aims are three-fold. We hope to rediscover Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, a bizarre mammal that lays eggs and named after Sir David Attenborough, which has not been seen for 62 years and is feared extinct. Above 1000m, the rainforest of the northern Cyclops has been 'left to nature' by the indigenous communities, and it is hoped that the echidna will still reside here. We also hope to discover many new species to science. On the expedition team are expert entomologists and herpetologists who have the skills to identify and describe new insects, frogs, and lizards. Local people also speak of a bird-of-paradise, unlike any known to exist in the region, that could be a new species. Through our discoveries and rediscoveries, the final aim of the expedition is to raise awareness of the threats to the Cyclops Mountains and to therefore galvanise new conservation initiatives.

In December 2022, members of Oxford and Yappenda undertook a reconnaissance mission to the Cyclops to solidify relations with the local communities and assess the logistical difficulties of executing the summer expedition. This mission was a great success, with the people of Yongsu Sapari giving their blessings to Expedition Cyclops, and with potential base camps in the mountains identified.

The reconnaissance mission and preparatory work for the summer expedition has been funded by prestigious grants from the Scientific Exploration Society, Royal Geographical Society, and the conservation charity re:wild. However, to capitalise on the foundations laid for Expedition Cyclops, foundations which have been years in the making, the expedition team needs to raise £30,000. This money will buy the camera traps needed to find the echidna, will buy equipment for discovering new species, will train local students in camera-trap and ecological surveying so that they can continue to monitor the mountains in the long-term, and will support the Yongsu people assist the expedition with porters, guides, cooks, and navigators.

£20 will pay a Yongsu guide their daily wage to lead the scientists through the mountains,

£50 will pay for a Winkler Trap, crucial for discovering new species of subterrenean insect,

£200 will pay to train a local student in camera trapping surveys and analysis which they can apply for years to come

£500 will pay for an all-weather Reconyx camera trap that can be left in the field for months at a time to ensure that we find the echidna, and to ensure future conservation monitoring of the Cyclops.

Please help support this pioneering project that will reveal the enigmas of the natural world, and that will do service to their protection.

For more information, visit the expedition website here.