Bruce Beehler Quotations

They were as astounded as we were at how isolated it was. As far as they knew, neither of their clans had ever been to the area.

We stood in awe as the male romped about in the saplings around our entrance trail, flicking his wings and white flank plumes, and whistling his sweet two-note song for the female-plumaged bird. I was too spellbound to go get my camera.

It has a fairyland quality. It's a spectacularly beautiful Garden of Eden.

Large mammals that have been hunted to near extinction elsewhere were here in abundance. We were able to simply pick up two long-beaked echidnas, a primitive egg-laying mammal that is little known.

By some miracle of the stars, everything came together and we were able to spend two weeks on the mountain. I'm still pinching myself that it could work.

By some miracle of the stars, everything came together.

Any expedition visiting in the dry season would probably discover many more butterflies. I suspect there are some areas like this in Africa, and am sure that there are similar places in South America.

No logging permits are given to this area, there is no transport system, not a single road. But clearly with time everything is a threat. In the next few decades there will be strong demands, especially if you think of the timber needs of nearby countries like China and Japan. They will be very hungry for logs.

It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth.

There was not a single trail, no sign of civilization, no sign of even local communities ever having been there.