Our talented field assistant and jaguar guardian Laqui Duarte fills many roles on the Northern Jaguar Reserve and Viviendo con Felinos ranches. Below he shares a glimpse of life in the field.

This is the road on the Northern Jaguar Reserve after a heavy rain. The arroyos swell and flood the road, and it is often destroyed and cannot be used until we bring the tractor for repairs.

This hillside is known as “Los Pilares” because of its shape. These tall rocks are beautiful pillars, and everyone in Sahuaripa knows them. They are formed by wind and water erosion over many years. I took this photo when I was at Rancho Los Pilares checking motion-triggered cameras for Viviendo con Felinos.

Mariposa de la noche, black witch moth (Ascalapha odorata): It is rare to see one of these beautiful moths on the Northern Jaguar Reserve. The spots on the wings look like eyes, and you feel as if they are looking at you. This moth was on the wall of one of our cabins at Babisal de Abajo.

Gecko de bandas, banded gecko (Coleonyx sp.): The banded gecko is one of the rarest reptiles on the Northern Jaguar Reserve, and this was not my first sighting of one. Its skin has fascinating colors. We saw this animal at night in one of the cabins at Babisal de Abajo.

Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum): The Gila monster is better known as “escorpion” by residents near the Northern Jaguar Reserve. It seems like a little dinosaur to me with skin that resembles grains of coarse sand. This animal spends most of its life underground or between rocks, which is why it is difficult to see an escorpion. I saw this one in the road near our main camp.

Cerro del Cubilete on the Northern Jaguar Reserve stands out with its characteristic rounded shape. It is also very high, higher than most of the hills on the reserve.

Venado cola blanca, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus): This deer was very close to the house at La Ventana on the Northern Jaguar Reserve, less than 30 meters. We were looking at him, and he was looking at us. He never tried to run or hide. Perhaps he was thinking about coming closer to drink water from the house.

Polluelo de Codorniz Moctezuma, Moctezuma quail chick (Cyrtonyx montezumae): I was walking to check motion-triggered cameras on the Northern Jaguar Reserve when I saw something moving in the grass. There were a lot of chicks of this species. I took some photos of this one and released it to join its family.