Yanallpa Caño & El Dorado Caño
According to our experience the best time of the day for bird and wildlife watching is around 600- 630 a.m. It is still relatively cool; animals are hungry, noisy and active after a long period without eating. With a beautiful sunny morning as our companion we boarded our trustful fleet of skiffs to explore the remote and beautiful Yanallpa River.
The highlight of this morning’s exploration, in addition to the many bird species we saw, was the unusual sighting of nine different mammal species! Mammals are usually difficult to see in the rain forests but today we were fortunate to spot several species of them. I am very fond of mammals for this is the specialization I had when I was in college, therefore today I was in heaven! I spent several years collecting and classifying specimens before becoming a Naturalist. I had a peculiar interest in bats. I became an expert in this field for I had the chance to work with one of the most renowned bat specialists in the Neotropics, Dr. Luis Albuja who is currently based in Quito-Ecuador.
This is the list that was compiled today: Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus), Owl Monkeys (Aotus vociferans), Monk Saki Monkeys (Phitecia monachus), Saddlebacked Tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis), a Yellow-crowned brush-tailed Rat (Isothrix bistriata), Long-nosed Bats (Rhynchonycteris naso), Brown-troathed Three-toed Sloths ( Bradypus variegatus), Pink River Dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) and Gray River Dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis).
Mammal species are among my favorite sightings, not only becasue they are hard to find but because so much is still unknown across the Amazon region about the ecology, distribution, taxonomy, population and natural history of many of the mammal species of the region. Studies are taking place all over; many new species have been recognized, mainly by splitting additional species from already known ones or returning to earlier taxonomic reviews. With the help of modern molecular genetics obscure taxonomic questions are being solved by scientists all over the Amazon region.
In the afternoon we had a late visit to “El Dorado” River. In this location we spotted many colorful bird species, such as Wattled Jacanas and parrots among others. We stayed in the area after sunset with the intention of see wildlife at night. With the aid of a spotlight we found several night dwelling birds such as the Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis). One lucky skiff even managed to spot a juvenile Anaconda! At dinnertime, a happy group of guests already friends, shared the impressions and sightings of the day with me while enjoying the exquisite Peruvian cuisine.
