TROPICAL OWL RESEARCH
The ORI has a strong interest in the ecology and conservation of tropical owls. We have supported research in central Mexico with equipment donations (e.g., binoculars, trapping supplies and climbing gear). In 1992, we were asked by two Mexican researchers, Paula Enriquez-Rocha and Jose Luis Rangel-Salazar, to assist them and exchange field research techniques in a study of Black and White Owls and Mottled Owls. This study took place at the Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo (CIQRO) in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The resulting publication, also financed the publication entitled "The presence and distribution of Mexican owls: A review."
In 1994 we continued our collaboration with Enriquez-Rocha and Rangel-Salazar by taking part in a tropical forest owl study in the remote jungles of Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica. This study was in association with the graduate school of the Universidad Nacional, in Heredia, Costa Rica. We found the jungle to be a very difficult place to work.

Currently, the ORI is investigating the feasibility of conducting owl research in the Central American country of Belize.