These colorful frogs live only in the Loreto region of the Peruvian Amazon and they don’t currently have a common name. It’s hard to imagine just how small they are. A fingernail is often given as a reference. Although a pinky nail on a rather small hand would be more accurate. They live inside bromeliad plants like this one here, often multiple frogs in one plant. Their upper parts are a brilliant yellow with black spots or stripes. The underside is a pale blue. I saw quite a few of this species. More posts to come. For this image, I used a wide angle macro lens to show more of the environment, rather than my traditional macro lens. Nikon D850 with Laowa 15mm wide angle macro lens, ISO 1600, 1/25th of a second, no f stop recorded with the Laowa lens, Godox V860iii fill flash.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was disappointed by not finding certain targeted species of monkeys and frogs while in Peru, but that was all made up for with this unexpected encounter with an ocelot. We were at the end of a night excursion by boat, searching the trees along the river banks for snakes, frogs, nocturnal birds and whatever else we could find. It was getting late and my guide let the driver know it was time to get back to the lodge. About halfway there, he suddenly motioned to stop and turn around. He had spotted the eyes of the ocelot deep into the forest. He proceeded to hop out of the boat and scrambled up the bank. I thought for sure, I’d never see the wild cat as it would undoubtedly disappear into the darkness. About five minutes later, my guide reappeared and excitedly called for me to follow him. I couldn’t believe that the ocelot was still there but sure enough, as soon as I got to the top of the bank there it was staring back at me through a window in the thick foliage. I was able to grab several shots before it slowly turned and vanished back into the rainforest. Ocelots are widespread from southern Arizona and Texas all the way into Argentina. That said, they are rarely seen and prefer to stay far from any human settlement. Most images of wild ocelots are caught on camera traps, or baited stations. It was a thrill to see one eye to eye in its natural habitat. If you notice on the ocelot’s right shoulder, he/she must have had an encounter with a porcupine and picked up some unwelcome accessories. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second, Godox 860iii flash with Better Beamer attachment.

Just back today from a week in the Peruvian Amazon. Per usual with these trips, a great deal of disappointment (many targeted species of primates and frogs were more elusive than expected) as well as some amazing surprises (a face-to-face, late night encounter with one of the most secretive and sought after wild cats in the rainforest). But more on the latter later this week. The species I was most eager to see was the pygmy marmoset. And I saw a lot of them. This is the smallest monkey in the world. They’re about the size of a chipmunk, if that. They’ve been nicknamed finger monkeys or pocket monkeys because they easily fit into a human hand. They’re typically about five inches long, not including the eight inch tail. And they can be quite playful. This particular pygmy marmoset kept putting its head down on the tree branch while watching me snap a few photos. Much more on these guys in future posts, but for now, some much needed rest. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/80th of a second, -2 stops of fill flash with Godox V860iii.