“That’s the kind of place this is. You can always come back and see things you’ve never seen before—and never knew existed.” —Jon Martin, Entomologist

Las Cuevas Research Station lies in the heart of the Maya mountains in Belize, surrounded by 1.5 million acres of protected land. Part of the largest surviving tropical forest left in Central America, the area is home to an astonishing diversity of flora and fauna, from the large and familiar—leopards, pumas, tapirs, black howler monkeys, scarlet macaws—to the small and altogether unknown. For visiting scientists, a trip to Las Cuevas is a chance to observe an extremely rich and complex ecosystem in action.

Explore for yourself or watch a slide show .