In November 2025, Alanis Flavia Cruz Flores visited our protected areas in Peru as part of our scholarship programme and is sharing her experiences to mark this year’s “International Day of Women and Girls in Science”.
From the rainforest to Bielefeld and back
Whenever I was asked as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always the same: I want to save animals. No more, no less. The great heroes of my childhood were Jane Goodall and Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, and I devoured one wildlife documentary after another.
As I got older and began to make my first plans for the future, I came to the conclusion that studying biology would be the perfect path for me. However, after studying for a few years in my home country of Peru, I realised that my university’s academic focus didn’t quite match my expectations. Whilst looking for an alternative, I came across Bielefeld University in faraway Germany, as it offered a biology degree programme specialising in ‘animal behaviour’. Without hesitation, I learnt German and applied for a place at the university – and was accepted!
I completed my Bachelor’s degree a few months ago and am currently studying for a Master’s degree in ‘Ecology and Environmental Change’. My plan was slowly taking shape, but I was still missing a crucial piece of the jigsaw: I didn’t have much practical experience of working with wildlife. My long-term goal is to return to my home country, Peru, and get involved in research and nature conservation there – so the research grant from Wilderness International was the perfect opportunity for me!
Initial experiences in fieldwork
As I already had experience of working with birds in Europe, I decided to spend more time with other teams during my stay. That’s why I mainly joined the Mammal Research Team. I’d never worked with mammals before, and it was a truly wonderful experience for me! Seeing the animals living freely in their natural habitat made me so happy and reminded me why I’m studying what I’m studying: to ensure that wild animals can continue to live freely and peacefully in the forest.
Our days with the Mammal Research Team started very early. We usually set off at around six in the morning to carry out transects, during which we search for mammals and their tracks, identify them and record them in an app. At first I found it quite difficult, but after just under a week I was able to recognise almost all the mammals we came across straight away. Over time, I also learnt to interpret tracks and other signs of their presence, and my ‘ethnologist’s instinct’ began to recognise differences in the behaviour of the individual species when they encountered us.
Transects are defined survey lines or strips used in environmental research (e.g. ecology, geography, biology). Observations or measurements are carried out systematically along this line – for example, which plants or animals are present and how frequently. This allows changes across an area (e.g. from the edge of a forest to a meadow) or differences between locations to be compared.
Thanks to my previous experience of tree-climbing in Germany, I was also able to help set up camera traps higher up in the trees, and I learnt how to tie various knots and install terrestrial cameras as well. In the afternoons, I helped to identify the species in the videos recorded by the camera traps, which also allowed me to learn more about species that we were unable to observe during the transects.
During our night-time transects, we also came across herpetofauna – that is, amphibians and reptiles – and I learnt to identify the most common species and handle them with care. Interacting with researchers from different countries was an incredibly enriching experience for me. Not only did I learn from their experiences in the field, but I also gained much more confidence in using English and in working within an international team.
Of Monkey Pee and Tapir Tracks
Many moments from my time in the rainforest will stay with me for a long time to come, but some of them are particularly vivid. One of the most unforgettable moments occurred during a transect survey, when we came across a group of at least ten squirrel monkeys. They were incredibly close, began to surround us, and one of them even urinated on us! It was as unexpected as it was wonderful, and yet another reminder of just how alive and unpredictable the rainforest is.
Another moment that has stayed with me very vividly was the discovery of my very first tapir footprint. It was much larger than I had ever imagined, and knowing that this animal had been walking there just a few hours earlier made me feel incredibly lucky. I also remember walking through the forest very early in the morning, surrounded by the sounds of birds and insects, and realising at that moment that this was exactly the sort of work I’d been dreaming of since I was a child. Even during the night-time transects, despite my tiredness, I was simply incredibly grateful to be there and to be able to get to know and experience the rainforest in such a direct and intense way.
These moments – both the small ones and the extraordinary ones – reaffirmed my belief that this is the path I wish to continue following in the future.
A glimpse into the future
Since returning to Germany, I have been thinking a great deal about going back to the Amazon as soon as possible to contribute to research and nature conservation there, on the ground. I would be delighted to continue working on projects like this and to further my career in this field.
Conclusion and Acknowledgements
A huge thank you goes to the coordinators of the teams on the ground, who were always on hand to answer questions and very patiently taught us everything they knew. I am deeply grateful to Wilderness International for giving me the opportunity to learn how to conduct research in the Amazon – in a place I have dreamt of visiting since I was a child. This dream has now come true, and I hope that this experience is just the beginning of a long-term collaboration.