Located in northeastern Honduras, the Honduran Mosquitia is the largest protected area in the country and constitutes one of the least explored and most pristine areas of lowland rain forest remaining in Central America. It’s 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres) supports the highest biodiversity in Honduras, yet the Honduran Mosquitia remains unexplored and poorly known scientifically.

In 2012, this region was thrust into the limelight when the ruins of large urban settlements believed to represent the fabled Ciudad Blanca, or White City, were discovered within it. One of the sites currently under investigation has recently been given the name Ciudad del Jaguar (City of the Jaguar). To complement the wealth of cultural knowledge being collected, this biodiversity expedition was launched in 2017 to conduct a rapid assessment of the biological diversity surrounding Ciudad del Jaguar within the Ciudad Blanca complex. Due to the remoteness of the study area, the team was transported to and from the site via helicopters.