** PIC FLASH - New 2007 Pictures just in from Africa! (posted by her dad)

From September 18 until December 7, 2002, after a four day stop in Spain, I lived in Equatorial Guinea on the island of Bioko with 5 other students, all of us participating in a new study abroad program for conservation biology run by Arcadia University's Center for Education Abroad and the Universidad A 'No Hunting' sign bordering one of Bioko Islands protected areas Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (UNGE). Bioko Island is home to 7 different monkey species, most of which are endangered due to bushmeat hunting, making it an ideal place to study conservation. We lived a few miles outside the capital city of Malabo at the Atlantic Methanol Production Company (AMPCO) compound. All of us took four classes, conducted in both English and Spanish, related to the field of conservation biology with 5 other Equatoguinean students that included several weekend field trips and excursions all around the country to learn firsthand about several issues and methods of conservation. The pages that follow contain some of the photographs, information, research, and experiences I took with me from my first visit to Equatorial Guinea.

I arrived in Malabo once again on February 12th, 2005 on my way to the village of Tagete on Equatorial Guinea's mainland. I will live there for 6 months, this time as a field assistant helping to conduct research on the socio-economic factors surrounding the bushmeat market.

Not long after having completed an animal behavior study of Bali mynah birds at the Philadelphia Zoo, I learned of a travel abroad scholarship that would grant money to travel anywhere in the world based on a written proposal of where the student was to go and why. My proposal to study the highly endangered Bali mynahs in Bali won me the scholarship, so off to Bali I went for five weeks from May through June of 2002. A particularly friendly Bali Mynah birdI was able to visit and study at all three official breeding locations in Bali including the Begawan Giri Estate, the Bali Bird Park, and the Bali Barat National Park, which contained an impressive release facility and the only remaining free-flying population of 5 recently released Bali Mynahs. No truly wild birds were to be found. The Island and the culture of Bali were also fascinating, and the people I met there, both locals and fellow travellers, were some of the kindest I have ever known. Check out my Bali pages for more pictures, information about Bali, the plight of the Bali mynahs, and some of the research I conducted there.

All images and content © 2002 - 2004 Jessica Weinberg