Marty Capron is well known to the herpeto-cultural and herpetological communities as an illustrator and wildlife artist, and also as a dedicated field biologist. Marty first traveled to the Costa Rican rainforest in 1977 at the age of 17 with a Milwaukee Public Museum team radio-tracking green basilisk lizards, parrot snakes and fer-de-lances. Since then, he has traveled extensively in Central America, the South Pacific and Australia researching the animals and environments he illustrates. His specialties are snakes and crocodilians, though he prides himself on an appreciation of the "big picture" - how herps fit in and interact with other elements of their environment. Jill Hege-Capron is a registered nurse in addition to being an avid kayaker and naturalist. Jill, Marty and Jill's brother Jon are pictured at right atop the canopy observation tower at the Madre Selva Biological Station in Peru (from left to right). The Capron's share a 240 acre farm on the Arkansas River in southern Kansas with a menagerie of horses, wiener dogs, turtles, caiman and other creatures. They can be contacted directly at capronart@embarqmail.com. Below Marty models some of the latest in Amazon "must-have" accessories! (Yes, the accessories on the right and the left ARE alive and well!)

George Fear
George Fear is a professional aquarist and fish importer, whose businesses are based in New Jersey. Since his first collecting trip to Peru in 1987, Mr. Fear has traveled extensively throughout Venezuela, Ecuador, and remote areas of Brazil, in addition to Peru. He is particularly interested in the many species of piranhas, cichlids, and catfish that are found in the region. Many of these fish have not yet been described, and he works closely with the scientific community whenever possible, supplying specimens to researchers and to public aquaria. One of Mr. Fear's passions is tracking down new fish species in remote and ichthyologically unexplored areas. In addition to his passion for aquarium fish, Mr. Fear is also a dedicated sport-fisherman. Pictured is a medium-sized red-tailed catfish that he has landed and is about to release. Mr. Fear can be contacted directly at geofear@comcast.net

Devon Graham
Devon Graham is a tropical biologist with a degree from the University of Miami (1996), Florida. He has been fascinated with the tropics and with animals all of his life, and has lived, studied and worked in several countries in Africa and Central and South America, as well has having visited tropical areas of Australia and Asia. Devon's specialties are in ornithology and botany, but he is also interested in many other aspects of tropical ecology. Since 1994, he has spent extensive time each year in the Peruvian Amazon, and is currently President and Scientific Director of Project Amazonas, Inc., a non-profit humanitarian, conservation, and research organization which operates four field stations in the Peruvian Amazon. When not in the Amazon, Devon teaches in The Honors College of Florida International University, writes, and does consulting in the fields of tropical ecology and biology in Florida and elsewhere. No word yet on when he'll grow up - he is pictured here draining the water out of his boots, trying to outstare a marmoset, and imitating a smoky jungle frog. Devon can be contacted directly at mionectes@aol.com

Ruston Hartdegen
Ruston Hartdegen is currently the Curator of Herpetology at the Dallas Zoo, and a Research Associate with the University of Texas at Arlington. He has worked with numerous species of amphibians and reptiles during the nine years that he has been at the Dallas Zoo as a keeper, research biologist, and manager. Ruston has conducted field research in Costa Rica, Peru and the Philippines, and has also studied reptile behavior in laboratory settings. This work has resulted in the publication of several scientific articles, including his thesis examining the population dynamics of an urban population of Texas rat snakes. Ruston can be contacted directly at ruston17@yahoo.com

Jim Lovins
Jim Lovins is a senior aquarist/naturalist at the St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been an avid aquarist for over 30 years, with extensive research experience in keeping and breeding fresh water tropical and marine fishes. Jim has led annual fish and natural history study trips to the Amazon since 1991. At the St. Louis Zoo, Jim is responsible for the aquatic collection and displays, and for the breeding and research laboratories. Since 1990 he has been involved with a zoo program to breed and stud rare and endangered fishes from every corner of the globe, including the endangered cichlids of Lake Victoria, Africa, desert fishes of the American southwest and deep sea Meilostigma fishes from off the Oregon coast. An "Amazon hat" specialist, the picture at left shows him taking water quality measurements at a fish collecting site. Mr. Lovins can be contacted at jimlovins@charter.net

David Schleser
Dr. David Schleser has made numerous trips to the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon over the past 20 years. A former curator of the Dallas City Aquarium, David co-founded Natures Images, Inc., a company specializing in natural history photography and writing. His nature photos have been used in many field guides, museum and zoo exhibits, and in his own books, including a hobbyist book on the natural history, taxonomy, care and keeping of piranhas. David has a wide range of natural history interests. In addition to being an expert on Amazonian fishes, David is also interested in arthropods (insects and relatives), tropical plants, cacti, bonsai, amphibians and reptiles, and the care and breeding of chickens and lories. At right, he is pictured with Victorino, a red uakari monkey (no relation!). Pictured at left is Aphyolebias schleseri, a new species of killifish Dr. Schleser discovered on the Rio Napo, and which was named in his honor. David can be contacted at natimg@flash.net

Lorrie Smith
Lorrie Smith officially joined our "family" in 2004, though she had been coming to the Amazon with Margarita Tours as a client for many years. Just goes to show that anyone can aspire to, and achieve greatness! A die-hard herper at heart, Lorrie is particularly fond of snakes of all types, and regularly road-cruises in search of reptiles in the southwest US where she resides, as well as in adjacent areas of Mexico. Ms. Smith's strong business background is a great asset to Margarita Tours, and her sense of humor also livens up any expedition! For Ms. Smith, getting away to the Amazon is a welcome and necessary break from dealing with the pressures of the modern business world. Lorrie can be contacted directly at trakracer@aol.com.

OUR EXPEDITION STAFF

Fernando Rios
Fernando Rios is a native of the Mazan area (Rio Napo) of the Peruvian Amazon, and has been working with Margarita Tours for some 20 years. Previously, he worked in fisheries management for the Peruvian government and in forestry. Fernando is a man of many capabilities, from boat piloting, carpentry, and plumbing, to expedition organizing and outfitting and dealing with local bureaucracies. Having spent many years working in the forest and on the rivers of the region, Fernando also has a keen knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region, and is always willing to share his knowledge and love of the forest with others. Fernando oversees expedition organization and outfitting, as well as ground facility and boat maintenance and development. He is pictured with "Ferruquito", his youngest child.

Segundo Rios

Segundo Rios is one of our riverboat captains. He follows in the footsteps of his father (Fernando Rios) in being a multi-talented, capable and hard-working individual. A favorite among passengers, Segundo enjoys participating in fish collecting, herp searches and other activities. His keen eye and extensive experience in finding creatures generally ensure that he comes up with more "good" stuff than anyone else. His skills as an expert tree-climber often come in handy as well, such as when he was able to obtain this yellow-tailed cribo (left) which had climbed 20 feet up into a vine tangle. In addition to his other talents, he is also a master with the chainsaw, and personally cut most of the timbers used in the construction of our riverboats, as well as building materials for various of the ground facilities that we utilize. Segundo has worked with Margarita Tours since 1995. Often to be found at the wheel of one of our vessels, Segundo occasionally needs expert assistance from "professional navigators", such as these two orange-winged amazon parrots that we rescued from a hunter and rehabilitated.

Cesar Peña

Mr. Peña has worked with us as a naturalist guide and interpreter since 1996. He is always in demand among expedition participants for his knowledge of the natural history of the Amazon, as well as for his skills in interpreting for non-Spanish speaking clients. Mr. Peña is always ready to explore the waterways and forest trails with clients, and maintains a running competition with Segundo Rios to see who can find the most or best creatures. Mr. Peña accompanies our regularly-scheduled expeditions, as well as many of our private charters. In particular, he is in high demand for kayaking charters. His low-key but highly competent and pro-active approach to guiding make him a valuable asset on any expedition. If Mr. Peña doesn't know the answer to a question, he will say so, unlike some guides in the region who have been known to make up answers on the spot. Nevertheless, he rarely has to admit to not knowing something, and works hard to fill in any gaps in his extensive knowledge of the natural history of the Amazon. He's also a good fisherman!

Eugenio Huaman

Mr. Huaman is a riverman with many years of experience working on boats and navigating the rivers of the Peruvian Amazon. He has worked with Margarita Tours since 1992. When not piloting one of the larger boats, Mr. Huaman often operates auxiliary boats during excursions by both day and night. He is always ready to head to a new exploration destination - rain or shine. In his spare time, Mr. Huaman can often be found working on bloodwood carvings of dolphins and other Amazonian wildlife.

Emerson Torres

A relative newcomer to the Margarita Tours family, Mr. Torres has been working with us since 1999. Mr. Torres serves as the steward aboard the M/V Tucunare, as well as assisting in virtually every other capacity. He is an expert at anticipating passengers needs and wants, and makes a killer 'ronsoco' drink. With Mr. Torres aboard, one can be assured that there will be laughter coming from some corner of the boat! In his spare time during expeditions, Mr. Torres enjoys accompanying clients into the forest or out on the waterways to look for various denizens of the Amazon rainforest.

Danilo Amasifuen

A master Amazon chef, Mr. Amasifuen (at left and right) takes great pride in making food attractive, as well as tasty. His decorative salad creations in particular often become the subject of photography by expedition participants, and he regularly caters to passenger requests, including whipping up birthday cakes. What does he use to color the frosting? Well beet juice makes a great red!! Mr. Amasifuen lives and works in Iquitos, but we are fortunate to be able to lure him away from the big city to cook for various expeditions.

Raul Viena

Another master chef, Raul Viena enjoys spending time at field stations and away from Iquitos because he likes the lack of stress and the peace of the rainforest. One of his specialties is making different kinds of salsa, and his BBQ chicken (barbequed over a slow wood fire) topped with a zesty green sauce always has diners asking for the secret recipe!

Julio Sinofara

Visitors to Madre Selva Biological Station will soon meet Mr. Julio Sinofara, the permanent caretaker of this working research station on the Rio Orosa. When our expeditions visit Madre Selva, Mr. Sinofara will have already checked out the trail system to ensure that trails are clear and that there are hand-rails on the bridges, and will have cleaned the station buildings and grounds. His hard work and attentiveness before and during visits help to ensure that visitors have a safe and comfortable stay at this wonderful field site. A native of the Rio Orosa, Mr. Sinofara became the permanent caretaker of Madre Selva in 2001 when the previous caretaker retired. Prior to 2001, he served as occasional temporary caretaker at the site.

Eloisa Napiama

Mrs. Napiama is a life-long resident of the Rio Orosa, and a neighbor to the Madre Selva Biological Station. She is also the mother of Julio Sinofara, caretaker of the station. She assists in the kitchen when larger groups visit the station, and also helps out when researchers are resident for extended periods of time. Mrs. Napiama also operates the laundry service for visitors to Madre Selva. When not working at the station or in her garden, she and her other children often stop by to socialize, see what creatures have been recently found, and to catch up on local and not-so-local news. Her children have been some of the best "creature-finders" in the area, and have been responsible for a number of rare finds, including the first Crocodilurus lizard recorded from Peru in over 100 years. We are currently subsidizing one of her sons as he attends high school in Iquitos - we first knew him as an enthusiastic yet shy 10-year old with bags full of frogs!