It was an interesting, busy year, which explains in part why I have been neglecting this blog recently. I am not going to give a month-by-month account of 2014 but thought that a few highlights might be in order.
Early in the year I made a brief visit to Quirimbas National Park in northern Mozambique where I found Pardalota karschiana, one of the most remarkable and beautiful katydids in the world.The most important event of 2014 for me was, unquestionably, the opening of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory in Gorongosa. This facility, which I now direct, is quickly becoming a hub of renewed scientific and educational activity in Mozambique. Here our technician Ricardo Guta is teaching kids from nearby schools about insects of Gorongosa.I have my first encounter with the African lungfish. This animal appears to be more resourceful than I ever suspected. Here a PBS cameraman John Benam and producer James Byrne witness its amazing ability to escape.In April E.O. Wilson and I published “A Window on Eternity“, a book on the biodiversity of Gorongosa and the efforts to restore this unique place on Earth.During a BugShot macrophotography workshop on Sapelo Island in Georgia I find my first zorapteran!Back in Gorongosa, with the help of our mammalogist Jen Guyton, I learn how to shoot bats in flight.A short trip to Belize in September gives me a chance to meet Uo, the mythical rain caller.A successful sting operation leads to the rescue of a pangolin and her baby from a poacher – I finally get to see and touch the animal I had been dreaming of seeing all my life.The internets go batshit crazy over a single specimen of a common arthropod collected for scientific research.
That’s about it – I am looking forward to 2015, which promises to be even more exciting. Watch this space and thank you for reading!
Happy New Year and may it bring good health and many more wonderous encounters with the natural world. I look forward to seeing more of your superb photos and stories during the coming year.
The Smaller Majority 
Happy New Year and thank you very much for this blog. It is inspirational, educational, and a joy to read.
Reblogged this on Mark Solock Blog.
Happy New Year……………keep the photos and stories coming………..for those of us who cannot travel and explore as you do.
Happy New Year and may it bring good health and many more wonderous encounters with the natural world. I look forward to seeing more of your superb photos and stories during the coming year.