After a quick reshuffling of teams and a bit of boat-hopping, we’re back on the move with a revamped game plan.ĩ:20 a.m. We reorganize teams for treks that are closer to our campsite and can be finished within the hours of daylight left. Brian and Ellie decide that it’s time to reassess our plans for the day after making slow progress. Photo courtesy of José Cueva Santos.Ĩ:15 a.m. To go forward, Gleeson and her team relied on Maijuna experts to clear a path with chainsaws. Downed trees often block the river in the Amazon. We’ve been stopping every five minutes for a guide to get out and chainsaw a fallen tree in half that’s blocking our path. It’s been one hour of painfully slow movement by boat. Photo courtesy of Brian Griffiths.Ĩ:00 a.m. To traverse the criss-cross of streams and rivers in the Amazon, Gleeson and her team had to use small motor boats. Without a good dose of rain, navigating upstream to our designated trailheads becomes a bit of a challenge. A noteworthy detail: There’s been a dry spell for about a day, and everyone seems a bit nervous about the river’s water levels. Laden with gear and enthusiasm, we pile into peque-peques - traditional wooden motor boats - with our Maijuna leaders. We’ve just finished planning which camera traps will be placed inside the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area today. It’s a mix of genuine enjoyment from the challenging work and the great camaraderie, mingled with a hint of exhaustion-induced giddiness.ħ:00 a.m. I laugh while observing this quirky morning ritual. Meanwhile, Ellen’s perfecting her signature “Chunky Oat Latte,” adding a dash of instant coffee to soupy oatmeal. Josh is drinking instant coffee out of what looks like an old plastic takeout container. I look around to see my whole team fueling up for a long day of work. Protein is the name of the game while in the field. I fill my tupperware with a bit of each and top it with a hard-boiled egg. Rice occupies one, while another contains warmed canned tuna and a third houses a hearty helping of lentils. There is a lineup of four large metal pots.
Once I’ve thrown on some clothes, packed up my gear and slid into my knee-high rubber boots - my trusty venomous snake safety guards - I head down the hill to eat some breakfast. The excitement kicks in when I begin thinking about what kind of adventure today holds.Ħ:00 a.m. I roll off of my sleeping pad and start to organize my day pack. Leading a research expedition of 25 researchers, conservationists and Maijuna experts to the heart of the Peruvian Amazon demands exhaustive planning, and every morning I’m still amazed when the reality of where I am hits me. The air is hot and humid, maybe around 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and I hear chatter outside from the Maijuna who were awake even earlier to start breakfast. It’s still dark outside, but once I’m awake, it’s impossible to fall back asleep. Photo courtesy of Brian Griffiths.ĥ:15 a.m. A Day in the Life of Living in the Amazon Mae Gleeson (G’23) went on a three-week expedition into the Amazonian rainforest to conduct research on mammalian activity in the region. Read on to explore what her typical day was like in the Amazon. We asked Gleeson to recap her three weeks in the rainforest. She waded in swamps, rowed upstream through creeks and foraged through dense foliage hiding snakes, insects and other animals. Working side-by-side with the Indigenous Maijuna community, Gleeson trekked miles into the wilderness every day to set up cameras to record wildlife activity. In July, three Georgetown students joined a team of researchers from around the United States and Peru led by Brian Griffiths and the Maijuna, an Indigenous group in northeast Peru, to conduct research on mammalian wildlife activity in the Amazon. She’s laying on a one-inch sleeping pad in a cramped tent in the middle of the Amazon rainforest in the sweltering heat and humidity.Īfter months of preparing to survive in the Amazonian rainforest, Gleeson was finally in the thick of her summer adventure.įor three weeks in July, Gleeson and her team - led by Brian Griffiths, an assistant teaching professor in the Earth Commons, and in conjunction with the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research, OnePlanet, the Detroit Zoological Society and the Maijuna Federation - ventured into the rainforest to study mammalian species in the Amazon. When Mae Gleeson (G’23) wakes up in the morning, she’s not in her air-conditioned bedroom in Washington, DC.
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