It was last week that I found myself in a group conversation with a friend of a friend who had just come back from a trip to Africa. After the expected questions “how was the trip? Did you enjoyed it? What places did you visit?…then somone in the group asked, did you see the big five? I knew exactcly what he was asking as other wondered…the big five? The big five are elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffalo, and lions; five iconic species of wildlife that are a must-see on a trip to Africa.
Flocks and pairs of blue and gold macaws are seen many times during our expeditions to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. This photo was taken from the deck of the Ayapua.
This got me thinking what would be the must-see on a trip to the Amazon Rainforest? I thought of…well the big mammals in the Amazon Rainforest are the lowland tapir, the jaguar, collared and white-lipped peccaries and the giant river otter. But unlike the African Savannah, wildlife in the Amazon Raiforest is not as readly seen. There are a “lot” more species of birds, mammals, fishes, plants, and invertabrates in the Amazon, but they live in the forest where visibility is limited. The total count of wildlife species seen will always be larger in the Amazon, but these are less predictable than they are in the African Savannah.
What really are the must-see wildlife in the Amazon Rainforest? Well, portrays of the Amazon Rainforest depict images of colorful macaws, parrots, toucans, and monkeys leaping from tree to tree. In fact, before a trip to the Amazon the sense of anticipation plays this images in our minds. And this images become reality in every expedition we take to the heart of the rainforest of Peru. But wildlife in the Amazon are not seen at every turn. We have to travel to pristine areas onto triburaries the Amazon where wildlife populatoins have not been impacted by subsitence hunters. In the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, blue and gold, scarlet and green-winged macaws are readly seen. And in the case of blue and gold they are seen just at about every turn of the river. The other two species of large macaws are less predictable. Toucans, parrots, and monkeys are heard throughout the day and seen perched on the trees along the calm and glassy Samiria River. There are many species of birds seen during a trip, and hundreds heard sing from the forest.
This is an example of an iconic image I mentioned. Two green-winged macaws with the backdrop of tall and pristine Amazon Rainforest.
It is fair to say that the fulfillment of expectations is a measure of trip’s success. In the case of a trip to Africa, seening the big five in the African Savannah can be called a successful trip, assuming other aspects of the trip also went as expected. On a trip to the Amazon rainforest, it would be inapropriate limiting oneself to a fixed number of species of wildlife to call it a succesful trip. There are many species of wildlife readly seen, but the anticipation of finding the the more unexpected species is even more exciting. All of our expedition spot macaws, parrots, toucans, monkeys, caimans in some of the most impressive Amazonian backdrops. And while the footprints of jaguars, tapirs, peccaries, and giant otters are routinely seen along the trails we explore, some expedition have experienced encounters with some of these animals.
Join us on a a voyage into the Peruvian Amazon. If the measure of a succesfull trip is experiencing the images of large macaws, toucans, parrots and monkeys in impressive amazonian backdrops, we are sure to fulfill this expectations. Add to the experience the possibility of many more wildlife sightings, as well as, direct interactions with ancient Amazonian cultures along the villages we visit and with whom we have worked on conservation projects for many years.
Alfredo Begazo
