Further Adventures in the Andean Cloud Forest of Ecuador

I returned to Mindo this spring, and almost over-stayed my 90 day visa. With time and with each footstep the secrets of the cloud forest began to be revealed to me. The colourful Anolis lizards that I'd rarely seen on my 2007 visit I was now able to find each day almost at will, having learned just where to look for them.  I concentrated much effort on documenting their lives and learned a great deal about their remarkably sophisticated behaviour in the process.  

A long-standing desire to capture and photograph the little known Ecuadorian Toad-headed Pit-viper (Bothrocophias campbelli) was also  amply  fulfilled.

And, perhaps most thrillingly, I came face to face with the elusive Andean or Spectacled Bear, finding a sow with two year old cub high in the mossy cloud forest.

I cannot thank La Familia Garzon enough for taking such good care of me during my stay.
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  • Armoured millipede (Polydesmidae), unusual colour, Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Cloud forest trees in the mist, Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Cloud forest in evening, Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Earth snake (Atractus sp.), a tiny nocturnal earthworm predator, Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Giant katydid (Tettigoniidae), Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Tree snail (Pulmonata), Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Gymnophthalmid lizard (Pholidobolus sp.), Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Tiger beetles (Pseudoxycheila sp.), postcopulatory amplexus, male guards female after coitus, preventing other males from mating with her, Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.
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  • Andean Anole (Anolis gemmosus), male displaying, Mindo, west slope of Andes, Ecuador.