Michael Moens

Conservation Biologist. Love traveling and saving endangered species. National Geographic Explorer @insidenatgeo Coordinator EU cofinancing @natuurenbos

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Red-eyed Dwarf-Iguana (Enyalioides oshaughnessyi), a beautiful lizard species of the Chocó cloud forests🦎

Visit and support the following partners to help save their home, together with thousands other incredible species

@RainforestTrust
@jocotoco_org
@fundacionfuturo

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

While looking for frogs and snakes I regularly stumble upon tree tarantulas🕷, like this beautiful Yellow-banded Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia juruensis) from the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador.

#tarantula #tarantulas #spiders

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Paradise Tanager (Tangara chilensis), probably the most spectacular tanager on Earth.

After three weeks of bird research in the remote Cutucú mountain range, we were surprised by a mixed flock of tanagers in our mist nets.
Wisui, Ecuador

#research #birds #tanager #biology

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Dawn at Lago Sandoval, an oxbow lake in the heart of Amazonia, home to giant river otters🦦

Madre de Dios, Tambopata National Park, Peru

#dawn #amazonia #madrededios #tambopata #peru

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Meet the Tapichalaca Torrenteer (Hyloscirtus tapichalaca), one of the most incredible frogs of the Ecuadorian Andes🐸

Known from only two small streams in the world at the Tapichalaca Reserve, a protected area created and managed by @jocotoco_org

#frogs #herping #nature #frog

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Magical encounters in the Andes💫

The Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) is the only bear species of South America, and feeds mainly on bromeliads found in high altitude grasslands

Visit @jocotoco_org to help save critical bear habitat in Ecuador

#bear #spectacledbear #andes

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Odontoglossum wyattianum🌸, a spectacular orchid species, found in Peru in wet montane cloudforests in deep shade on solitary trees between 1500-2300 meters.

We found these during an expedition in Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park, Oxampampa, Peru

#orchids #orquideas #orchid

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Heading to the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal🇨🇦!

All eyes on experts and global leaders to agree on a Global Biodiversity Framework with ambitious targets to reverse biodiversity loss and to achieve sustainable planet for everyone!
@UNBiodiversity
@natuurenbos

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Today international leaders agreed to increased protections for glass frogs (Centrolenidae spp.) at the 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Yellow-flecked Cascade Glassfrog

#CITES

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Lost and found after 140 years!! Amazing footage of the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon!! @rewild

[Re:wild @rewild]

During the final hours of an expedition searching for the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon, camera traps captured photos and video of the bird, which had been long-lost to science for 140 years. #LostBirds https://t.co/701DV3Dokn

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Love is in the air for the Blue-footed Boobies on Isla de la Plata, Ecuador💙
Absolutely fantastic birds!!!

#bluefootedbooby #bluefeet #birdsoftheworld

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

A male Brilliant-thighed Poison Frog (Allobates femoralis) carries its tadpoles on the back in search of a nice pond🐸

Exploring the amazing Bigal reserve, Ecuador @reservabigalec

#tadpole #poisonfrog #frogs

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

These forests are home to one of the rarest hummingbird species in the world, the Black-breasted Puffleg (Eriocnemis nigrivestis), which roams the flanks of the Guagua Pichincha volcano (4784 meters)🌋

Yanacocha reserve, Pichincha province, Ecuador
@insidenatgeo @jocotoco_org

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Yellow-tailed Oriole (Icterus mesomelas), a striking bird inhabiting the valley of longevity, also known as Vilcabamba💫

Taken during research in the Rumi Wilco reserve, Ecuador

#oriole #yellowblack #shots #phd #research #ecuador #vilcabamba

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Twilight on the Sumaco Volcano, an isolated stratovolcano rising almost to 4000m in the middle of remote rainforest🌋

Sumaco-Galeras National Park, Napo Province, Ecuador

#volcan #sumaco #volcano #jungle #remote #offthegrid #unknown #explore #wander #nationalpark #ecuador

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

The Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) is one of the most iconic and famous mushrooms🍄🍄

It forms symbiotic relationships with many trees, including pine, oak and birch.

#mushrooms #amanita #paddenstoel #nature #beautiful

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

As solar storms are sending multiple waves of energy toward the earth, we can expect amazing northern lights illuminating the skies

Abisko National Park, Sweden🤩

#auroraborealis #aurora #northernlights #skies

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Ecuador announced at #cop26 that it will scale up the protection of the Galapagos Islands with an additional 60.000 km² of marine reserve!

Congratulations Ecuador🇪🇨!!
#galapagos #conservation #success #climateaction #biodiversity

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina), one of the prettiest and most common mushrooms in European forests

Its bright coloration fades with age and weathering and it becomes difficult to identify, hence the common name "deceiver". 
#mushroom #mushrooms #amethyst #fungi

[Michael Moens @MichaelMoens2]

Espeletia pycnophylla, the emblem of Páramo del Angel, Ecuador

I could wander off for hours in this magical landscape

#paramo #ecuador #landscape #wander #flora #plants #mountains