Uploaded May 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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The Amazon rainforest is a dense, seemingly impenetrable place. Before our scientific team can accurately document the biodiversity of an area they need a map to follow and clear trails on which to walk. Enter Alvaro del Campo, the Rapid Inventory logistics guru!

This is a segment in a series about The Field Museum's Rapid Inventory No. 27, a journey through the forests between the rivers Tapiche and Blanco in Peru. Every year, the Museum's conservation group [the Action Center!] gathers together leading scientific experts across a number of disciplines (botany, zoology, geology, and anthropology) in order to gain an understanding of little-known areas of the rainforest. They work with local communities and their governments to help inform decisions made for conserving these unique, precious, and threatened parts of the world.

To learn more about the Rapid Inventory program, check out the other Amazon Adventures!

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL8_5VpX9TxqmGwqyDGzSg0EXLiFo-c7D

Read more about The Field Museum's Rapid Inventory programs: fieldmuseum.org/science/blog/rapid-inventories

This expedition would not have been possible without the generosity and help of Corine Vriesendorp, Nigel Pitman, Alvaro del Campo, Tyana Wachter, Ernesto Ruelas, and the rest of the Rapid Inventory team. Thank you for allowing us to join you on this journey, and for giving us the trip of a lifetime.


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Facebook: facebook.com/thebrainscoop
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Producer, Writer, Creator, Host:
Emily Graslie

Producer, Writer, Editor, Camera:
Tom McNamara

Theme music:
Michael Aranda

Created By:
Hank Green

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Supported by:
The Field Museum in Chicago, IL
(http://www.fieldmuseum.org)

Filmed on location between the rivers Tapiche and Blanco in Peru.

All the love for Martina Šafusová for providing English closed captions on this video. +1 to you, Martina!