Happy new year!   I wanted to let you know I’m safe and sound on BCI (Barro Colorado Island) right smack in the middle of the Panama canal.  BCI is one of the Smithsonian’s oldest field stations and has sponsored researchers of all varieities including mammal peeps, bug folks, reptile-philes, botany babes, you name it, someone has studied it or will study it here…The reason I am here is to “get to know” spider monkeys- their vocalizations, sociality, foraging patterns- before I begin my thesis project this summer.  I will be working on the Azuero Peninsula doing a census and while doing so, I’ll note any behavioral adaptations the monkeys have made to habitat degredation.  I will also be working on conservation strategies with the local population such as creating living fences, and promoting reforestation.  So, this week trip to BCI is geared to introduce me to the “Sordid Lives of Spider Monkeys…”

I arrived in Panama on the eve of the December 30th.  Edgardo, my taxi buddy picked me up.  He was sweet man with kind eyes that reminded me of a younger, Latino Bob Hoskins.  We drove through Panama city together and I saw my first Panamanian “Party Bus”.  It’s awesome.  It’s a slow moving “Chicken Bus” filled with scantily clad Panamanian hipsters dancing to searing latin beats.  All I can say is, “Sign me up!” I’m all about “Chicken Bus” discoteques, how freaking cool is that?  I spent the night at the Holiday Inn outside of Panama City in a town called, “City of Knowlegde” (REALLY, it’s called that.  As for “knowledge”, I did learn that they make a mean Greek salad and that Panama really needs assistance in naming their towns).  I was picked up from my swanky hotel at 6am and whisked away by Edgardo to the Smithsonian docking station.  There i met a few of the game wardens who work on BCI.  They all were quite nice and tolerated my mildly pathetic Spanish.  We loaded up on a boat and headed to the island. While on board I was told that the canal contains both manatees AND crocodiles.  I guess I can save the swimming for when I reach the Auzero peninsula…

When I arrived on the island I was taken to my room .  The key word here is “MY” room, as in, not sharing it with any strangers nor having the pleasure of sharing a bathroom with 30 other students.   Just me and MY room.  It’s a great little room, complete with hot water (gasp!) and a fan.  It’s official; I’m in field site heaven.  There is also an amiable beetle (I refer to him fondly as “Jim”) that hisses and grumbles at me when I walk down “his” hall.  I often find him flipped onto his wee back (Jim should really lay off the booze) and I do my act of altruism and flip him over, so I can continue to hear him grumble and hiss at me some more…

Once I dropped off my luggage I headed to the mess hall and met up with Dr. Christina Campbell (my thesis advisor, and the spider monkey “guru”, seriously, she is awesome at finding these lil’ buggers!) and a cool PhD student named Stephanie.  We suited up into our field skivvies and proceeding to go on a hunt for spider monkeys.  Within the first ten minutes we can across 2 incredibly playful howler infants (a rarity, as howlers have the energy of a sea slug hopped up on ‘ludes).  I managed to get a great video of that precious discovery.  We then continued on looking for the spiders.  Chrissy does a great spider monkey call that will usually get a “whinnie” back.  That’s the easier way to find the spiders unless you know for sure where they are to begin with.  About two hours into the search we heard a slew of voices overhead.  They sounded like alarm calls as if the monkeys had seen a snake or a big cat on the ground (monkeys are delicious snack for such predators).  We continued to look overhead till we saw the most beautiful red spider monkeys screaming their bloody brains out.  There were two adult females and some infants.  No adult males in sight.  The females continued their panic screams and whinnies as if to say, “Where are the men when you need ‘em!?!”  We followed this group ALL day.  From 9am to about 4:30pm.  And during this time we happen to see not one, not, two, but THREE copulations!  A male, named Scotty (my professor named him after her grandfather), eventually showed up (way after the alarm call session) and proceeding to copulate, uh, excuse, “make love” with both the females throughout the day.  I should give some spider monkey “sex” ed/background:  Spider monkey sex is interesting for a few reasons.  1.  Females have long (2-4 inches) clitorides (plural for clitoris- strange, I know)  2. Males are hung like horse (really, I was SHOCKED when I saw what those bad boys were packing…I had NO idea) and 3.  Spider monkeys have sex for an average of 18 minutes- 18 MINUTES!  That’s way longer that the human average of under 5 minutes.  So, my first day in the field at BCI was more pornographic than I ever anticipated.  My professor, who has studied spider monkeys for 15+ years, had never seen more than one copulation in one day and only seen 18 in her whole career.  Therefore these spider monkeys were really going all out for the last day of the decade.  Good for them!  We also saw agoutis, peccaries, and capuchins (my beloved carablancos from Costa Rica last year).

That night we celebrated New Years Eve at the “Bar”  which is essentially the pet name of a balcony with a view of the canal that serves as a great lounge spot for BCI researchers.  There we sat and watched the barges and cruise ships pass through the canal under the full moon.  Had any of you told me 10 years ago that I would be here doing what I am doing, I would have had a good laugh.  But I am very grateful to have the opportunity to work with wonderful people in a wonderful place and with wonderfully amorous monkeys.  It was an AMAZING way to end the year and the decade.

I will be here till the 7th of January and then I head to the Azuero Peninsula to do preliminary fieldwork for my thesis.  I’m really excited to do this conservation work in the Azuero.  I send updates as they come along!

Thank you for being the best friends and family a monkey-chasing girl can have!

Love,

Natalia “Spidermonkey Woman” Reagan