Ecotourism has developed a lot in Peru in the last decade. They organize tours with guides and create accommodation areas to support the local economy, protect the environment, conduct research in the rainforests and create value.
We stayed at Refugio Amazonas in Puerto Maldonado.
The rooms are doorless and windowless, in the middle of the Amazon. The only thing that protects us while we sleep is our mosquito net. For city people like us, waking up in the morning to a huge frog clinging to the mosquito net was a little scary.
What did we see?
Capybaras made famous by TikTok…
Capybara is the largest rodent in the world. Their family structure consists of a man, his wives and children. You can distinguish males by the oily spot between their eyes. From here, they determine their own territory by secreting hormones. Pregnancy lasts three months and they can give birth to four-five cubs. Capybaras are hunted by most hunters in the forest. Capybaras can escape from these predators by swimming in the river, thanks to the webs on their feet that resemble those of ducks. These animals, which evolved to swim, have their eyes, ears and noses aligned, like hippopotamuses.
Collpa Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick in Puerto Tambopata River…
Macaws are a type of parrot; they are incredible with their colors of red, yellow, blue and green. Macaws coming to the clay valley lick these clays to replace their missing minerals. It is also good for digesting the parasites and fruits they eat. Finally, this is the Tinder of macaws; they were finding spouses for themselves.
Caiman, that is, crocodile, was one of the reptiles we saw most on the Amazon coast. Their tails are wider and they themselves are smaller.
Reptiles have also been affected by the climate crisis. Because the eggs remained in warm places, more females were born; Male caimans lived in cooler places.
Saddleback tamarin: One of the smallest monkey species living around the Tambopata River. Unlike other species, there are alpha females and a female can have more than one mate.
Stick insect: It camouflage itself by resembling a branch and hunts the insects that land on it.
Scorpion: One of the most dangerous animals; Its poison is dangerous even for humans.
Brazil nut: Castaña is one of the most majestic and economically valuable trees of the Amazon forest. This tree, which exceeds 25 meters in length, can consume one ton of water per day. It is protected in Peru and those who slaughter it are sentenced to seven years in prison.
Grasshopper: Its hind legs are spiny. It fights off birds and monkeys that try to hunt it with its spiny feet.
Tarantula: Black in color, can live for 10-15 years. It builds its home under tree roots and hunts at night.
Bullet ant: Its bite hurts like a bullet, and it also burns. Locals used to put the hands of young boys into these anthills during the transition from adolescence to manhood.
Night ants: One of the most organized creatures in the world. At night, they carry green and fresh leaves to their nests; Then they chew the leaves and turn them into mushrooms, which is how they make their food.
Glowing worms: They shine like little stars in the dark by reflecting the moonlight, attracting and hunting insects.
Zombie mushroom: It enters the brain of insects and takes control, then eats the insect and hatches inside it.