Coati Mundi © Bart van Dorp

Tayra © David Cook

Marmoset © Francesco Veronesi

Camera traps have captured the secret life of threatened mammals in one of the Atlantic Rainforest’s most important reserves.

Within its 17,500-acre reserve, Rainforest Trust’s Brazilian partner REGUA protects a vibrant piece of the Atlantic Rainforest, an ecosystem even more biodiverse than the Amazon Basin.

The reserve is the confirmed home of 72 mammal species and their numbers show strong signs of recovery as the protected area continues to expand and connect forest fragments in the Guapiaçu Valley, 40 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro.

During a recent biological study, Steve Morgan, a volunteer at REGUA, captured a series of videos that provide a glimpse into the hidden lives of the reserve’s rare mammal species. The 11 species recorded by Morgan represent some of the reserve’s most charismatic and elusive mammals, including Pumas and Ocelots.

Due to the area’s legacy of intensive hunting, REGUA’s mammals are extremely wary and hard to see. Hunting, however, has been drastically reduced with the adoption of an innovative strategy of recruiting hunters as guides and park guards. As a result, some of REGUA’s best guards are now former hunters.

Over time, the behavior of mammal species in REGUA is expected to normalize as human threats diminish and animals now confined to the deepest parts of the forest will begin to recolonize new areas.

REGUA’s forests are of particular importance as a refuge for wildlife in the Atlantic Rainforest. Over 92% of the rainforest has been destroyed to make way for farms, towns, and roads. The results have been catastrophic for wildlife populations throughout the region.

Because of its proximity to Rio de Janeiro, the Guapiaçu Valley is an attractive site for the construction of vacation homes for the city’s wealthy residents. Increased development, however, poses a serious threat to the reserve’s endemic mammal populations.

Rainforest Trust is working with REGUA to quickly purchase 1,128 acres of forests in the Guapiaçu Valley while time remains.