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| Charcoal drawing by Liz Peterson |
Mario Guifarro was well known in his local area for his expertise of the Moskitia wilderness in eastern Honduras. He was a skilled tracker who was invaluable, as he knew several languages of the local indigenous groups, and was also knowledgable about native plant uses and the lay of the land. His devotion to rainforest conservation began in a counterintuitive way - he was once a hunter and gold-miner, but turned to forest preservation as he began to witness firsthand the rapid destruction of his outdoor playground. It is said he rarely ventured out without his pistol and his guitar.
Guifarro was leading an expedition to map out the vast rainforest wilderness of the Tawahka Asongni Biosphere Reserve as a way to prevent illegal logging in the forest. Unfortunately, news of the mission spread and he was threatened often by the logging companies. In Sept. of 2007, Guifarro and his son Shamir broke off from their group to speak with a group of villagers about working for them. They were interrupted by two smiling men who asked Guifarro to play a song for them, after which one of the men shot him to death. His son Shamir was able to escape, but was murdered in a very similar fashion nine months later.
In 2013, biologists discovered a new species of snake in the rainforest of Eastern Honduras and named it after Guifarro to recognize his contribution to conservation and bravery in the face of intimidation. The snake is a poisonous bright-green palm pit-viper now known as Bothreichus guifarroi.
There is an excellent description of Guifarro and overview of the ongoing environmental struggle in Honduras by Jeremy Kryt in the Earth Island Journal.
Sources:
http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/the_last_song_of_mario_guifarro
http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20130415001140data_trunc_sys.shtml
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