Tropical RainforestsFrench Guyana – South America

Flying over the rainforest….

Children playing in the water that is poisoned with Mercury

Market day in St Lauren, Guyana

Tropical fruits and produce grown in rainforest areas.

Devils Island. Where French criminals were sent to do hard labour. Sick and dead prisoners were fed to the sharks!

Swimming area off Devils Island. Shark scare here..!!

Mr Podbury

Upside down tree.

The hot & humid conditions on the forest floor promote the fast decay of leaf litter.

The nutrients are returned to the soil extremely fast and are used up by the rainforest vegetation.

The old prison cells.. Now overgrown with large alien like roots and branches of tropical trees

Above: The old canteen where prisoners used to eat.

Left: Tree roots searching for water and nutritious soil.

One of the monkeys on Devils Island.

Left: A monkey and a strange looking animal in the tree…

Above: Adult Monkey.

An Agouti. Like a large guinea pig. Taste good as well…!

On the way back to the mainland. Huge tropical storm getting ready to batter the boat!

Jungle clearing where locals make Carbets to live and shelter in from the heavy tropical rains.

Children have to be careful of the Anaconda, Kaman and Piranha fish that inhabit the rivers.

Mangrove Swamps

Swimming just under the surface – Anaconda. They are constricting snakes and squeeze the life out of prey….literally!

Even a Kaman doesn’t provide much of a problem for an Anaconda!

Sleeping arrangements in the rainforest! No 5 Star Hotels here..

Above: Fishing in the river.

Left: Cooling off with the Piranha and Leeches!!

Jungle Walk

Left: Extracting rubber from the Left: Extracting rubber from the rubber tree..rubber tree..

Top: Spot the deadly baby Top: Spot the deadly baby spiders..spiders..

Above: The husband and wife trees

Left: Turtle Liana climbing up towards the canopy of the forest

Left: Forest guide climbing a Left: Forest guide climbing a neighbouring tree to cut neighbouring tree to cut rubber tree to release rubber rubber tree to release rubber sap. sap.

Strange lesser spotted welsh monkey… Rare indeed…

Next to the buttress roots of a young rainforest tree. Large roots are required to support the enormous weight of the tree.

Spot the Chameleon…?

Giant Ants. One sting paralyses an adult human. Three stings will kill you within a day.

These aren’t just any old ants… these are Marks and Spencer ants.. DEADLY!!

Using the hollow buttress roots of the Cathedral Tree to make music. Tribes use this method to communicate with one another…

Strange..

Branchless, straight trunks of the tree. The trees concentrate all their energy on growing high in order to reach the sunlight.

Only the fittest survive!

Left: Using the Lianas to do a “Tarzan”

Above: setting traps to catch an evening meal!

Diseases such as Malaria and Yellow Fever can be transmitted by the mosquito. Mr Podbury managed to get a record 48 bites on one knee….lovely!

Another convectional rainfall storm brewing….

They left out the They left out the candirúcandirú, the Amazon’s most notorious fish, and the only , the Amazon’s most notorious fish, and the only known vertebrate to parasitize humans. It’s a fish that has no enemies, and is known vertebrate to parasitize humans. It’s a fish that has no enemies, and is more feared than the piranha. Particularly by men who are foolhardy enough more feared than the piranha. Particularly by men who are foolhardy enough to urinate in the river while skinny dipping. Attracted to the smell, to urinate in the river while skinny dipping. Attracted to the smell, Vandellia Vandellia cirrhosacirrhosa will follow the urine’s path, swim into the penis, and, with it’s will follow the urine’s path, swim into the penis, and, with it’s umbrella-like spines, lodge itself inside the urethra. Removal is grim.umbrella-like spines, lodge itself inside the urethra. Removal is grim.I first heard about this critter and it’s needle-like teeth in Redmond I first heard about this critter and it’s needle-like teeth in Redmond O’Hanlon’s 1989 book, O’Hanlon’s 1989 book, In Trouble Again: A Journey Between the Orinoco and In Trouble Again: A Journey Between the Orinoco and the Amazonthe Amazon, when he described an anti-candiru device he had fashioned before , when he described an anti-candiru device he had fashioned before embarking on his journey, essentially a jockstrap with a tea strainer dangling embarking on his journey, essentially a jockstrap with a tea strainer dangling from its end. Once the the litte fish enters, O’Hanlon wrote,from its end. Once the the litte fish enters, O’Hanlon wrote,““Nothing can be done. The pain, apparently, is spectacular. You must get to a Nothing can be done. The pain, apparently, is spectacular. You must get to a hospital before your bladder bursts; you must ask a surgeon to cut off your hospital before your bladder bursts; you must ask a surgeon to cut off your penis.”penis.”The thing is also The thing is also relentless..The candiru has a voracious appetite for blood and will parasitize fish, The candiru has a voracious appetite for blood and will parasitize fish, mammals, and humans. One scientist, while holding a candiru, accidently let it mammals, and humans. One scientist, while holding a candiru, accidently let it enter a small cut on his hand. It could be seen writhing under the skin towards enter a small cut on his hand. It could be seen writhing under the skin towards the vein.the vein.

Not for the men………………………….Not for the men………………………….

• Destruction of the Tropical Rainforest in French Guyana

• Development leads to destruction.

Cutting through the forest to create a new road linking the coast and inland reserves.

The numerous rivers provide problems and expense for construction companies.

Rainforest vegetation.

Construction of new routes through the heart of the forest.

Soil erosion along one of the main routes in Guyana.

Photo taken doing about 120km/h. Slash and burn to clear areas of rainforest for habitation and farming.

Taken from a speeding car.. Gullying and soil erosion as a result of land clearance and the heavy tropical rainfalls.

Hunters on bikes. Supermarkets aren't common in Guyana so people hunt and fish their own food.