Off to the Peruvian Amazon!

Hey guys! It’s been a while!

Exciting news… I will be traveling to Peru at the beginning of June to spend 2 months there to help do research on different kinds of Tamarin monkeys with a non-profit called Field Projects International!

Here are a few pictures to help you visualize what I’ll be doing:

These cute little guys have been followed by FPI for 12 years! Lots of cool research happening currently to help the science world understand more about these primates and how it can relate to humans. Some of the things that I will be helping with will include: conducting environmental DNA screening and DNA barcoding, identifying species using morphometrics, behavioral follows, taking blood, urine and feces samples (steroid hormone extractions), and working with the principal investigator on the endocrinology team. Tons of fun science things if you ask me haha.

The days will be long, the air will be humid, but I am very pumped to meet lots of like-minded people and learn a lot more about current field research and the amount of work it takes. I will keep you guys updated (hopefully) with a week-to-week blog post to fill you in on all the early mornings in the rainforest and late nights in the lab.

I hope everyone is doing well, and being safe by getting the vaccine so that things can translate over to a more ‘normal’ way of life. With the warmer weather in Wisconsin comes lots of people and even more smiles here at the Racine Zoo.

Remember, go take an adventure if you haven’t in a while! I know I miss being right by the Blue Ridge Mountains and driving on the parkway with my windows down.