TIMOR-LESTE 2010

Victor Valley College Tropical Research Initiative
Herpetofauna of Timor-Leste
Phase III


Logo of Victor Valley College Tropical Research Initiative
and
Crest of República Democrática de Timor-Leste.

June 18th to July 10th 2010

Map of Timor-Leste
(click to enlarge and view Phase III fieldwork locations)

 

The Victor Valley College Tropical Research Initiative comprises the first ever intensive herpetofauna survey of Timor-Leste, the second youngest country in the world. For more information on the background to this project visit the Phase I home page.

Phase III took place during June and July 2010 and included seven of the members of Phases I & II.
A list of participants for Phase III follows:

Hinrich Kaiser (Instructor and Expedition Leader, Victor Valley College)
Mark O'Shea (Guest Researcher)

Victor Valley College and other American students:
Caitlin Sanchez
Eric Leatham
Andrew Kathriner
Dominique Fallas
Christy LeDuc

Timorese students (Benny and the Jets):
Venancio Lopez Carvalho (Benny)
Luis Lemos
Agivedo Ribeiro (Laca)

VVC Expedition 2010/2 at Hard Rock Cafe Oecussi
UN compound, Pante Macassar,
Oecussi District, Timor-Leste
L-R: Hinrich Kaiser,Caitlin Sanchez,
Agivedo (Laca) Ribeiro, Mark O'Shea,
Venancio Lopez Carvalho (Benny),
Dominique Fallas, Eric Leatham,
Andrew Kathriner,
& Davut Gol (Turkish UNPOL)
Missing from photo: Luis Lemos, Christy LeDuc.
click to enlarge


Our original plan for Phase III included a second visit to Ataúro Island and our first visit to the Oecussi exclave, surrounded by West Timor (Indonesia). In the event the limited accommodation of Atauro was fully booked so the island was scratched from our plans and we decided to head for the south coast instead. The locations in Timor-Leste visited during Phase III in 2010 were:

1. Dili District:
a) Comoro River, Dili District

2. Viqueque District:
a) Dili to Viqueque District
b) Loi Huna, Viqueque District
c) Viqueque, Viqueque District
d) Beacu, Viqueque District
e) Viqueque to Same

3. Baucau & Manatuto Districts:
a) Baucau to Dili

4. Oecusse District (via West Timor):
a) Dili to Oecusse District
b) Pante Macassar, Oecusse District
c) Rio Abanat & Cutete Aldeia, Oecusse District
d) Oecusse to Dili

5. Dili District:
a) Dili, Dili District
(includes photographs from our third meeting with President José Ramos-Horta)

Expedition Results - a full life-list for the 2010/2 expedition to Timor-Leste.