Improvisation a.k.a Indian "jugaad"!...update #3
Hello once again from Agumbe Rainforest Research Station! It’s Steve, the Field Assistant, with another update to keep you all posted on our progress here in the beautiful Western Ghats.
Of course, the challenges of filming these quick, agile, clever and unpredictable lizards remain, but we continue to adapt and refine our approach to achieve promising results.
Most recently, we have successfully overcome our biggest challenge – the problem of the cameras overheating, and subsequently shutting down while filming. With massive thanks to ARRS staff member (and electronics wizard) Shankar, each of our seven GoPro cameras now has its own fan to cool it off. They are small computer fans which fit in the palm of your hand, and they work an absolute treat. We have mounted them on the tripods using a bracket, with the fan pointing directly at the back of the camera from a few centimetres away. They are powered using the power bricks, which are also mounted on the tripod, pole or tree. These power bricks also charge the GoPro batteries as we film, and as a result they are all we need to charge at the end of every day. Shankar’s clever creations are a saviour for us – the overheating issue was a massive one, and we have gone from only being able to continually record for five to eight minutes at a time to now having the luxury of running for over an hour (or longer) straight in the heavy Indian summer heat. We are stoked on this development!
Our daily schedule has started slightly earlier, as we are continually finding that the Dracos are far more active from 9 am to around 10:30 am, so we need to ensure we are set up and ready to film before 9. We are still catching them every night while they sleep, which remains the safest option for the lizards and ourselves. It’s not always the easiest process, as they do like to sleep quite high on their chosen tree, but we have a new tool to assist us in catching them. Once again, a creation of Shankar’s, we now have a Draco Catcher. It’s essentially a long pole with a horseshoe-shaped wire at the end, which is wrapped with thick, soft padding and a cloth hanging down from it. When we find a lizard that’s out of reach from our ladder, we climb the ladder and place the end of the Draco Catcher above the position of the sleeping Draco. The horseshoe shape enables the padded wiring to wrap around the tree. There is also a wire attached to the long pole which, when pulled, secures the open end of the catcher closed, almost completely sealing the circumference of the tree. We then, slowly and gently, drag the catcher down the tree toward the Draco. When the thick padding bumps into the sleeping lizard they wake up, and start running down the tree to avoid the catcher coming from above. We continue to slowly and steadily drag the catcher down as the lizard continues to run down the tree, until it’s within reach and we can catch it by hand. Sometimes they glide to ground to avoid the catcher, which also works fine for us. Sometimes they escape up the tree through the gap on the opposite side, but we usually succeed within a few tries using this device. It’s a safe and gentle way to catch Dracos, and we have had multiple successful catches using it, and no injured lizards.
As usual, we have made some adjustments to the flight arena. We now have a camera mounted on the landing tree, facing down to capture the landing section of the glide from above. The other landing camera, which is on a tripod very close to the landing tree, has been flipped on its side to capture a wider view of the landing area, as it’s tricky to predict where on the tree the lizard will land. We have missed a few landing shots due to the Draco gliding and landing much lower than usual. The three cameras placed on the ground to capture the entire glide remain, as do the two take-off cameras. One is mounted on a pole which sticks out from the launch tree, facing down to capture the take-off from above (a beautiful view as the patagium expands for flight), and the other is on a pole, positioned high and pointed at the top of the tree to capture the take-off from a side view.
We have some incredible footage so far, and we continue to evolve our approach and learn the habits of these truly magnificent animals as we continue to capture their mesmerising glides. With the main hurdle of the overheating cameras now crossed, we are extremely excited to continue filming for the remainder of our time here and achieve optimum results. Thanks for reading – stay tuned for the next update, coming soon!
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