A
rain forest is not a glamorous place.
Just ask Lucy Cooke. She’s a zoologist, or a scientist who studies animals. She loves weird animals and wild places. Her fascination with wildlife started as a
child. She watched a nature program about the waxy monkey frog. To her, the frog looked like an alien. She had to know more about this frog. T e more she learned, the more she wanted to know about other frogs. As a scientist, Cooke still studies frogs
and other amphibians. She oſt en travels to rain forests where they live. It’s not easy. T ese forests can be hot, humid, and full of icky surprises. On her frog hunts, she’s learned a few things about exploring. Her first explorer’s lesson comes in handy even before leaving home.
Pack Carefully Cooke oſt en must carry her gear. So she has to pack carefully. She makes a list. At the top is her frog mask and cape. People she meets thinks they’re funny. T at’s the point. Cooke uses them to get people talking about frogs and how to protect them. T at’s important because frogs face many
dangers. A deadly fungus threatens some frogs, for example. Some frogs also have less space to live. T at’s because people are spreading out and building more homes, cities, and roads. So frogs lose their habitat. Some frog species are extinct. Others
are at risk of dying out. Cooke wants people to care about these problems. She uses her mask and cape to spread this message.
Bring What You Need Other items on her list are more practical. Take her rubber boots, for example. “T ey make you invincible,” Cooke says. She feels safe in her boots. T ey keep her feet dry as she slogs through the mud. T ey also protect her from slithering snakes and blood-sucking leeches. T ese animals can’t bite through rubber boots. Plenty of bugs bite in the rain forest, too.
So Cooke carries bug spray. Yet she makes sure it’s safe for the environment. T is is important “especially if I’m handling frogs,” she says. Frogs absorb things through their skin. Toxic bug spray can kill a frog. Cooke wants to hold and study frogs, not kill them. To study frogs, she has to find them
first. T at can be hard in a dark rain forest. So Cooke packs a headlamp. T at way, she can see where she’s going. It helps her spot hidden animals, too.
Don’t Dress Up Of course, Cooke also packs clothes. T ey’re not fancy. “Everyone wears the same uniform,” Cooke says. “We’re all in baggy trousers, a long-sleeve shirt, a T-shirt.” T ese clothes cover a lot of her skin.
T at’s important in the rain forest. If thorns scratch her, the cuts can get infected. If bugs bite her, she can get sick. Her clothes protect her, but they also take
a beating. T ey get sweaty and smelly. She does, too. Explorers get used to seeing one another that way, though. “We all stink of mold and bug spray,” Cooke says.
12 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER
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