“Is it a lizard?” “No I don’t think so, maybe it’s a frog..?” No! Actually it’s a Bolitoglossa peruviana!

Week one and the new volunteers are in full-on training mode. They’ve got presentations aplenty on butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, taxonomy, mammals and much more, not to mention their first forays into the forest both day and night. And of course, let’s not forget the all-important ID test where everyone learns to identify some of the most commonly found species on the reserve, and where some extra-studious volunteers may even correctly identify the mystery species cheekily added in as a last-minute surprise!

Training week is a big deal on base camp, as it is really important that volunteers receive this science training when they first arrive. Being able to identify these species means that volunteers will be able to understand more of what they see in the forest and be more helpful when out on a survey. Not to mention that it’s just generally pretty cool, and makes you sound quite clever, when you see a lungless Dwarf climbing salamander and know that it is neither a lizard nor a frog but rather the fabulous “glossy Peruvian sausage” known as Bolitoglossa peruviana!

Caroline Acton, GVI Amazon Field Staff, April-June 2011

“Is it a lizard?” “No I don’t think so, maybe it’s a frog..?” No! Actually it’s a Bolitoglossa peruviana!