Trail Cameras for the Amazon Rain Forest
Donation protected
The goal of this gofundme is to provide a method where people can donate money to assist the research team at Federal University of Amazonas, Madeira River Valley Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fishery Management (FUA). They need trail cameras and sonar fish finding equipment tools to help inventory the diversity of wildlife.
Man made fires aimed at clearing land for agricultural purposes are incinerating Brazil’s amazing and wonderful Amazon Rainforest. This activity has charred thousands of square miles. Even forests that have not been cleared, or fully "deforested," are rarely untouched. Only 20% of the Amazon Rainforest are not impacted by logging, mining, fires, roads or other human activities. This can happen undetected by the satellites that monitor deforestation. In 2017, I rode west from a town called Apui for about 50k on the Brazilian Trans Amazonian Highway. Trucks like the one shown, loaded with live cattle, passed us going east at top speed about every 5 minutes. Land in the Amazonian jungle that could be bought for $10 to $15 per acre in 2004 is now selling for $300 to $1000 per acre. The land is laced with rivers and perfect for agriculture. Beef production is extremely lucrative. A comprehensive documentation and analysis of life in the Amazon Rain Forest would be extremely helpful in assisting efforts to understand the total interaction between humans and the extremely diverse animal and plant ecology. Graduate students at the Federal University of Amazonas, Madeira River Valley Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fishery Management are doing research and analysis for publication in international scientific journals. The university is 100% enthusiastically supportive of the possibilities.
Trail cameras to be gifted to the Federal University of Amazonas, Madeira River Valley Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fishery Management.
$100 - $200 will purchase one camera.
$300 - $500 will purchase one state of the art sonar fish finding unit that is able to provide inventory fish and make contour maps of the river bottoms.
The equipment will be purchased in the U.S. and personally delivered to the FUA in Humaita, Amazonas, Brazil.
Raw data and photos from the cameras will be published for viewing.
In May of 2018, I placed two trail cameras in a very remote and seldom visited part of the Amazon rainforest. On the way home from my visit, I stayed overnight in a town called Humaita. While I was at the motel restaurant and struggling with the menu, a gentleman from another table offered to help with the translation. That person happened to be a professor at a local state university who invited me to join him and several other professors. There were four to start with and then about 7 to 10 joined the group.
I was glad to show them what I was doing with trail cameras. This was my first attempt so I did not have any results, but they were all biologists of one specialty or another and very interested. A year and one half later I was able to retrieve the cameras and replace them with new ones. The original cameras had been in the amazon rain forest for about eighteen months. To my surprise, the SD memory cards were intact and full of pictures. The students at the university were able to make copies.
When I put the cameras out, I had no idea what to expect.
https://youtu.be/fTNZhecbnaY
The two cameras captured over 700 still pictures and over 900 three second videos of wildlife in the area. The university laboratory did not have any trail cameras to work with and the researchers were trying to inventory the wildlife by following game trails and setting up trails that would show activity. They have very little funding. I donated the two used cameras I had with me and had already set out four new cameras in the same area as before. At home, I purchased six new trail cameras at discount online with plans to place them in the Amazonian rainforest in May of this year. It turned out that the two used cameras did not work because of corrosion. Travel to Brazil is currently difficult because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Students and professors (see picture) at the Federal University of Amazonas, Madeira River Valley Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fishery Management are studying wildlife activity in some of the untouched old growth rainforest in the Humaita area of Brazil. A comprehensive documentation and analysis of life in the Amazon Rain Forest would be extremely helpful in assisting efforts to understand the total interaction between humans and the extremely diverse animal and plant ecology in the Amazonian rainforest. This study will be a leading edge, breakthrough and an incentive, example for others to learn from and also make comprehensive studies of the wildlife in the Amazon Basin. One of the graduate students at the university is in the process of gathering information on the animal population in the area for scientific review. The completed paper will be published in an international scientific periodical.
Graduate students and university staff will manage the cameras and report results. All cameras and photographs will have records of GPS coordinates with date/time stamps. Expert biologists will identify wildlife captured in the photographs. Every effort to make the pictures available online to donors.
Here is a short YouTube of some of the 3 second video pictures from one of the cameras in 2019.
https://youtu.be/gXlze6vrZPQ
Title: Investors drop Brazil over destruction of the rainforest.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/28/investors-drop-brazil-meat-giant-jbs
I have seen the devastation first hand.
This is the first shipment of trail cameras resulting from donations.
This is the second shipment of a trail camera purchased with donations.
Our third shipment contains two cameras.
Here are some links to interesting articles about the Amazon today.
10 biggest dangers to the Amazon rainforest
https://thestacker.com/stories/3510/10-biggest-dangers-amazon-rainforest
Commodifying the Amazon | Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
https://columbancenter.org/commodifying-amazon
Amazon rainforest could be gone within a lifetime
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2020/03/11-amazon-rainforest-deforestation-future.htm
Ancient geoglyph destroyed by Amazon farming
https://chinadialogue.net/en/food/ancient-geoglyph-destroyed-by-amazon-farming/
What If the Amazon Rainforest Disappeared?
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/what-if-the-amazon-rainforest-disappeared
All Eyes on the Amazon
https://greenswrm.com/all-eyes-on-the-amazon/
AMAZON DESTRUCTION
https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html
The Amazon Rainforest: The World's Largest Rainforest
https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/
One of the biggest threats to the world’s forests and biodiversity is farming
https://scroll.in/article/973268/one-of-the-biggest-threats-to-the-worlds-forests-and-biodiversity-is-farming
The Living Ghost Dogs That Haunt the Amazon
https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-living-ghost-dogs-that-haunt-the-amazon-1844419814
Brazil: Wildfires threaten virgin Amazon rainforest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljLIv0wozUM
Explained: Why is an Amazon tribe talking to Indians about Blood Gold?
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/yanomami-blood-gold-explained-6583794/
Podcast: In the Amazon, women are key to forest conservation
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/podcast-women-are-leading-the-charge-to-protect-the-amazon/
Fires destroy home of one of the world's rarest birds in Brazil
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/americas/brazil-blue-macaws-wildfires-intl/index.html
The Ancient Shihuahuaco: the Amazon’s tree of life
https://amazonaid.org/the-ancient-shihuahuaco-the-amazons-tree-of-life/
How many species of tree inhabit the Amazon?
https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/amp/posts/how-many-species-of-tree-inhabit-the-amazon
40 Percent of the Amazon Is on the Brink of Transitioning to Savanna
https://earther.gizmodo.com/40-percent-of-the-amazon-is-on-the-brink-of-transitioni-1845274803
Wild and Wonderful Trees of the Amazon Rainforest
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/wild-and-wonderful-trees-of-the-amazon-rainforest/
The millennial pre-colonial cultural influence is evident in the Amazon forest
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/uoh-tmp062620.php
Goldmining having big impact on indigenous Amazon communities
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/07/goldmining-having-big-impact-on-indigenous-amazon-communities
How many species of tree inhabit the Amazon?
https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/amp/posts/how-many-species-of-tree-inhabit-the-amazon
Rare 19th-century photos show pristine beauty of the Amazon rainforest
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/amazon-photography-19th-century/index.html
Why is the Amazon Rainforest Important?
https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/09/why-amazon-rainforest-important-ncna1051401
Shipping of the cameras has been delayed in Brazil. A combination of COVID-19 and a postal workers strike has caused delays in shipping. However, two cameras have just arrived on October 1st from China at the University. They will soon be setup in the forest and we will keep everyone advised with the progress.
Five more cameras were shipped from the U.S. in August and September have passed Brazilian customs but not yet arrived at the University.
Unfortunately, none of the cameras arrived at their destination and all were returned to sender.
In the future, all equipment will be purchased in the U.S. and personally delivered to the FUA.
For more information.
Please call or text Art at:
1 [phone redacted]
Man made fires aimed at clearing land for agricultural purposes are incinerating Brazil’s amazing and wonderful Amazon Rainforest. This activity has charred thousands of square miles. Even forests that have not been cleared, or fully "deforested," are rarely untouched. Only 20% of the Amazon Rainforest are not impacted by logging, mining, fires, roads or other human activities. This can happen undetected by the satellites that monitor deforestation. In 2017, I rode west from a town called Apui for about 50k on the Brazilian Trans Amazonian Highway. Trucks like the one shown, loaded with live cattle, passed us going east at top speed about every 5 minutes. Land in the Amazonian jungle that could be bought for $10 to $15 per acre in 2004 is now selling for $300 to $1000 per acre. The land is laced with rivers and perfect for agriculture. Beef production is extremely lucrative. A comprehensive documentation and analysis of life in the Amazon Rain Forest would be extremely helpful in assisting efforts to understand the total interaction between humans and the extremely diverse animal and plant ecology. Graduate students at the Federal University of Amazonas, Madeira River Valley Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fishery Management are doing research and analysis for publication in international scientific journals. The university is 100% enthusiastically supportive of the possibilities.
Trail cameras to be gifted to the Federal University of Amazonas, Madeira River Valley Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fishery Management.
$100 - $200 will purchase one camera.
$300 - $500 will purchase one state of the art sonar fish finding unit that is able to provide inventory fish and make contour maps of the river bottoms.
The equipment will be purchased in the U.S. and personally delivered to the FUA in Humaita, Amazonas, Brazil.
Raw data and photos from the cameras will be published for viewing.
In May of 2018, I placed two trail cameras in a very remote and seldom visited part of the Amazon rainforest. On the way home from my visit, I stayed overnight in a town called Humaita. While I was at the motel restaurant and struggling with the menu, a gentleman from another table offered to help with the translation. That person happened to be a professor at a local state university who invited me to join him and several other professors. There were four to start with and then about 7 to 10 joined the group.
I was glad to show them what I was doing with trail cameras. This was my first attempt so I did not have any results, but they were all biologists of one specialty or another and very interested. A year and one half later I was able to retrieve the cameras and replace them with new ones. The original cameras had been in the amazon rain forest for about eighteen months. To my surprise, the SD memory cards were intact and full of pictures. The students at the university were able to make copies.
When I put the cameras out, I had no idea what to expect.
https://youtu.be/fTNZhecbnaY
The two cameras captured over 700 still pictures and over 900 three second videos of wildlife in the area. The university laboratory did not have any trail cameras to work with and the researchers were trying to inventory the wildlife by following game trails and setting up trails that would show activity. They have very little funding. I donated the two used cameras I had with me and had already set out four new cameras in the same area as before. At home, I purchased six new trail cameras at discount online with plans to place them in the Amazonian rainforest in May of this year. It turned out that the two used cameras did not work because of corrosion. Travel to Brazil is currently difficult because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Students and professors (see picture) at the Federal University of Amazonas, Madeira River Valley Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fishery Management are studying wildlife activity in some of the untouched old growth rainforest in the Humaita area of Brazil. A comprehensive documentation and analysis of life in the Amazon Rain Forest would be extremely helpful in assisting efforts to understand the total interaction between humans and the extremely diverse animal and plant ecology in the Amazonian rainforest. This study will be a leading edge, breakthrough and an incentive, example for others to learn from and also make comprehensive studies of the wildlife in the Amazon Basin. One of the graduate students at the university is in the process of gathering information on the animal population in the area for scientific review. The completed paper will be published in an international scientific periodical.
Graduate students and university staff will manage the cameras and report results. All cameras and photographs will have records of GPS coordinates with date/time stamps. Expert biologists will identify wildlife captured in the photographs. Every effort to make the pictures available online to donors.
Here is a short YouTube of some of the 3 second video pictures from one of the cameras in 2019.
https://youtu.be/gXlze6vrZPQ
Title: Investors drop Brazil over destruction of the rainforest.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/28/investors-drop-brazil-meat-giant-jbs
I have seen the devastation first hand.
This is the first shipment of trail cameras resulting from donations.
This is the second shipment of a trail camera purchased with donations.
Our third shipment contains two cameras.
Here are some links to interesting articles about the Amazon today.
10 biggest dangers to the Amazon rainforest
https://thestacker.com/stories/3510/10-biggest-dangers-amazon-rainforest
Commodifying the Amazon | Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
https://columbancenter.org/commodifying-amazon
Amazon rainforest could be gone within a lifetime
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2020/03/11-amazon-rainforest-deforestation-future.htm
Ancient geoglyph destroyed by Amazon farming
https://chinadialogue.net/en/food/ancient-geoglyph-destroyed-by-amazon-farming/
What If the Amazon Rainforest Disappeared?
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/what-if-the-amazon-rainforest-disappeared
All Eyes on the Amazon
https://greenswrm.com/all-eyes-on-the-amazon/
AMAZON DESTRUCTION
https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html
The Amazon Rainforest: The World's Largest Rainforest
https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/
One of the biggest threats to the world’s forests and biodiversity is farming
https://scroll.in/article/973268/one-of-the-biggest-threats-to-the-worlds-forests-and-biodiversity-is-farming
The Living Ghost Dogs That Haunt the Amazon
https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-living-ghost-dogs-that-haunt-the-amazon-1844419814
Brazil: Wildfires threaten virgin Amazon rainforest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljLIv0wozUM
Explained: Why is an Amazon tribe talking to Indians about Blood Gold?
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/yanomami-blood-gold-explained-6583794/
Podcast: In the Amazon, women are key to forest conservation
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/podcast-women-are-leading-the-charge-to-protect-the-amazon/
Fires destroy home of one of the world's rarest birds in Brazil
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/americas/brazil-blue-macaws-wildfires-intl/index.html
The Ancient Shihuahuaco: the Amazon’s tree of life
https://amazonaid.org/the-ancient-shihuahuaco-the-amazons-tree-of-life/
How many species of tree inhabit the Amazon?
https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/amp/posts/how-many-species-of-tree-inhabit-the-amazon
40 Percent of the Amazon Is on the Brink of Transitioning to Savanna
https://earther.gizmodo.com/40-percent-of-the-amazon-is-on-the-brink-of-transitioni-1845274803
Wild and Wonderful Trees of the Amazon Rainforest
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/wild-and-wonderful-trees-of-the-amazon-rainforest/
The millennial pre-colonial cultural influence is evident in the Amazon forest
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/uoh-tmp062620.php
Goldmining having big impact on indigenous Amazon communities
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/07/goldmining-having-big-impact-on-indigenous-amazon-communities
How many species of tree inhabit the Amazon?
https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/amp/posts/how-many-species-of-tree-inhabit-the-amazon
Rare 19th-century photos show pristine beauty of the Amazon rainforest
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/amazon-photography-19th-century/index.html
Why is the Amazon Rainforest Important?
https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/09/why-amazon-rainforest-important-ncna1051401
Shipping of the cameras has been delayed in Brazil. A combination of COVID-19 and a postal workers strike has caused delays in shipping. However, two cameras have just arrived on October 1st from China at the University. They will soon be setup in the forest and we will keep everyone advised with the progress.
Five more cameras were shipped from the U.S. in August and September have passed Brazilian customs but not yet arrived at the University.
Unfortunately, none of the cameras arrived at their destination and all were returned to sender.
In the future, all equipment will be purchased in the U.S. and personally delivered to the FUA.
For more information.
Please call or text Art at:
1 [phone redacted]
Organizer
Arthur Oslund
Organizer
Baltimore, MD
