Mirror Image Stimulation Study (M.I.S.S.)

About the project

Mark Fernley, director of the Mirror Image Stimulation Study had the idea of putting large mirrors in the Rainforest in hopes of learning something every specific about particular species in the lowland Peruvian Amazon.  There have been plenty of studies to prove or disprove self recognition of specific animals around the world including gorillas, chimpanzees, dolphins, and many more, but this study is far different. Fernley is not looking at self recognition here, rather competitive recognition of solitary Neotropical big cats.

Mark Fernley

Bats in Motion

About the project

Deep in the lowlands of the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, trees fall at an extraordinary rate, allowing new ones to grow in their places. As Fernley was trekking through the forest, he came across a completely hollowed out tree fall and decided to take a look inside to see what creepy crawlers may be living in there. What he found was something far better than what he expected. Over 50 bats were residing in the log.  They had made this hollowed out log their home. 

Mark Fernley

Flies of the Amazon

About the project

Here wildlife photographer Mark Fernley from the United Kingdom currently working in the Peruvian Amazon has begun to take his macro photography to the next level. This interesting work is part of a photographic entomology portfolio for the Madre de Dios region of Peru. Here Mark has begun to capture images of flies, the number one insect most people do not want to see. However Mark wanders the vast rainforest and searches for the little critters that fly the mid canopy. ​

Mark Fernley