Nature & Environment

'Virtually mythical' animal captured on video for the first time ever

By T.K. Randall
July 25, 2024

Image: Amazon Rainforest in Tena, Ecuador
Credit: Jay / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) Sometimes an animal is so rare that filming one in the wild is practically impossible without getting extremely lucky, which is why this particular footage is so significant.

Bolivian coffee farmer Eyner Eugenio Quispe had been outside on his property when he spotted a strange animal peeking its head up from a hole in a nearby embankment.

Curious, he picked up his camera and filmed a short clip of the creature.

What he hadn't realized at the time was that he had managed to capture the first ever footage of an incredibly rare animal known as the Amazon weasel.Not only that, but this was the first evidence showing that this animal even lived in Bolivia.

"This is an amazing example of the value of citizen science with an incredibly valuable audiovisual record for a virtually mythical carnivore from the Amazon basin," said Dr. Nuria Bernal of Texas Tech University.

"As more and more people register their own observations with smart phones and cameras, we are sure that this won't be the only scientifically noteworthy contribution from citizen scientists in Bolivia."

You can check out the clip for yourself below.


Source: Outdoors

Tags: Bolivia