Peru Nature Blog

Uncovering a Glowing Mystery at the Refugio Amazonas Lodge

2014-11-11T16:26:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago, wildlife photographer Jeff Cremerstumbled upon something very special during a night hike in the rainforest of Tambopata, Peru. While passing a bend on the trail, he noticed several glowing green dots embedded within a dirt wall. Curious and seeking more information, Jeff snapped some pictures and posted them to Reddit in a section where site users help to answer questions and identify species. It turns out, these glowing dots were likely due to some kind of insect larvae, possibly a beetle, but the rest of the story remained a mystery. What exactly was this strange species and why were they glowing in the middle the Amazon rainforest in a dirt wall? This past October, Jeff was accompanied by entomologist Aaron Pomerantz and his colleagues Mike Bentley and Geoff Gallice, who are graduate students at the University of Florida. Together, they hoped to “shed some light” on this glowing mystery.

Several green glowing dots can be seen on this dirt wall in the Amazon rainforest.

Animals that produce and emit their own light have been of great interest to biologists, chemists, and pretty much any nature lover who has had the privilege of encountering one of the many glowing critters out there. There is something mesmerizing and beautiful about an ocean lit up by glowing plankton or watching an open field come alive at night, illuminated with fireflies. The technical term for this glowing phenomenon is known as bioluminescence, and it has evolved many times in the animal kingdom. There are several different reasons that animals utilize this emission of light including: attracting mates, defense against predators, and luring in prey. And this last reason brings us back to our mysterious glow worms…

The larvae up-close, showing off the luminescence from the glands near the head.

As Aaron points out in the video, these larvae are sticking their glowing heads out of the dirt wall with their freakish looking mandibles outstretched. This immediately tipped off the entomologists that this appeared to be a sit-and-wait, or ambush, predatory strategy. You’ve also probably noticed that some insects seem to flock to your porch light at night; the glow worms may be taking advantage of this attraction to light phenomenon. That is, they may emit a green light and wait for a nice juicy insect to come right into that lure, and right into those powerful mandibles. This is not unlike the strategy that deep sea angler fish employ to lure prey. The light production in these glow worms is likely due to a molecule known as Luciferin, which is also the compound that many firefly species use to emit light.

Zoomed in on the mouth parts.

Mike helped confirm our predator hypothesis by presenting the larvae with a stick and then an ant. Sure enough they were voracious, clamping their mandibles shut and dragging their prey into the tunnels...never to be seen again. Due to their predatory nature coupled with the fact that these monstrous looking glow worms reminded us of the movie Tremors (a 1990 western film about killer underground creatures), we just had to take several close-up pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The glowing larvae with its freakish mandibles outstretched and waiting for the next unsuspecting victim.

So what species did we investigate here? We believe these belong to a family of beetles called Elateridae, which are commonly known as click beetles. But beyond that, we are not entirely sure what species this is or if it has been described yet (perhaps through the power of the internet we can get an answer). Elateridae is a very large family with around 10,000 described species in the world and only about 200 species have been documented to display bioluminescence. Some species of glowing beetle larvae in Brazil can be found in old termite nests where they attract and catch prey like ants and termites. The behavior that we observed where the larvae had utilized a dirt wall, as opposed to a termite mound, for their home and hunting ground could be a different niche not yet documented for this enigmatic group of glow worms.

Close-up of the glow worm head. Cute, huh?

So at the end of the day, why should we care about these critters? Aside from the fact that they are downright bizarre and extraordinarily cool looking, the science behind bioluminescent click beetles is still lacking. What role do they play in the complex environment and ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest? Why exactly did they develop the ability to produce their own light, and how did this trait evolve? What can they teach us about their biochemistry and the biodiversity of life on our planet? These questions are far from answered, but perhaps a curious naturalist will come along and help to solve this, and many other, Amazonian mysteries.

An infographic on our predatory glow worms. Click image to enlarge.

We hope that this story has sparked a little fascination in you, because it certainly did for us when we first laid eyes on them! We will investigate these amazing glow worms further to see what more we can learn while seeking to protect them and their environment.

-Aaron Pomerantz, Entomologist

How studying Macaws can save the Amazon

2014-11-03T12:42:00.001-05:00

How studying Macaws can save the Amazon

It’s one of the most stunning sights in the Peruvian rainforest. Every morning, just after sunrise, a riot of rainbows swoops down on the world’s largest avian clay lick in the southern jungle of Peru.

The rainbows are actually birds — large macaws, parrots, and parakeets, feathers colored in ultra bright shades of red, yellow, green, and blue.

Few visitors ever get to see this daily congregation of bird life. The clay lick, called the Collpa Colorado, is located more than 6 hours by boat from the nearest town. The Tambopata Research Center, a remote jungle lodge operated by the ecotourism company Rainforest Expeditions, enjoys a privileged location just 500 meters away.

Bird fanatics make once-in-a-lifetime trips out here specifically to witness this spectacle of sound and color. Researchers likewise flock here to study macaw behavior and to catalogue the extreme biodiversity of the surrounding Tambopata National Reserve.

But — cue the dark clouds, lightning, and thunder — this paradise for birds is in danger of destruction.

Macaw survival and rainforest conservation go hand in hand

There is gold in the river beds and oil in the ground of Peru’s jungle areas. Industries are keen to extract these resources no matter what the costs to wildife and the environment.

Macaws have already experienced habitat loss as a result of road building, tree logging, and clear-cutting for crops and cattle ranching.

In the early 2000s, conservationists and ecotourism allies lost the battle to halt construction of the Transoceanic Highway through the Amazonof Peru and Brazil. Completed in 2011, the road now cuts a swath through previously unaccessible areas of the rainforest.

We have not yet accounted for the impacts of the highway, but scientists believe that population fragmentation and extinction will be among the long-term consequences for macaws and other species.

The only way to save macaws is to keep pristine areas of the rainforest intact. The alternative — loss of wilderness areas, deforestation, environmental pollution, extinction of rare species found nowhere else in the world — is simply unacceptable.

The project to save macaws

Developed in collaboration with the ecotourism company Rainforest Expeditions and the NGO Filmjungle.eu Society, “The Macaw Project” is a documentary project that will showcase exclusive footage obtained by scientists on the front lines of macaw conservation research in Peru’s southeastern Amazon. The goal of the film is to bring attention to the problems facing macaws and to propose solutions for how to save them.

“The film will introduce the viewer into secret places of the rainforest never inhabited by any people and not visited by tourists,” says George Olah, PhD scholar at Australian National University and lead researcher for “The Macaw Project.” After a successful fundraising campaign through Indiegogo, Mr. Olah and his colleagues are currently in the script writing stage and expect to complete the film by April 2015.

Scientists are among the few outsiders allowed to enter the wildest parts of the Amazon, including the Tambopata-Candamo region where Rainforest Expedition’s Tambopata Research Center is based. “The Macaw Project” places us in their mud-splattered boots as they go about the work of documenting macaw life cycles.

The rainforest looks quite different from the perspective of a macaw and studying their behavior yields fascinating insights not only about macaws but also about broader trends affecting the rainforest.

Peru for Less (PFL) is a proud sponsor of the “The Macaw Project.” The decision to support the film project was a no-brainer for Peru for Less Director Richard Leon. “I remember going to the Amazon, to Iquitos, for the first time when I was eight-years-old and I can still recall how amazing it was,” Leon said. “We must do our best to save the same experiences for future generations.”

The survival of macaws, and the entire web of life that exist only in this part of Peru, requires that we continue to protect the last remaining areas of pristine jungle. By highlighting the links between macaws and rainforest conservation, “The Macaw Project” aims to inspire discussion and to spark ideas for how to accomplish this important work.

Can tourism save the Amazon?

At Peru for Less, we see a direct link between supporting ecotourism providers and contributing toward Amazon conservation. “Peru is a fascinating country with incredible biodiversity,” said Mr. Leon. “We believe in supporting partners such as Rainforest Expeditions because they are leaders in developing best practices for sustainable tourism.”

When travelers ask us about what to see and do in Peru (beyond Machu Picchu), our first recommendation is frequently the Amazon near Puerto Maldonado. It’s a short flight to get there from either Cusco or Lima, and it is also a hotbed for ecotourism projects. Rainforest Expeditions operates three eco-lodges here, including the already mentioned Tambopata Research Center as well as the excellent Posadas Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas, where guests enjoy unexpected amenities such as wireless Internet and hot water showers.

Ecotourism is just one avenue toward rainforest conservation, but it’s an important one. Terra Hall, Brand Manager at Peru for Less, was a recent guest at Posadas Amazonas. “It is the most salient example of the circle of life I have ever witnessed,” said Hall. “I've always been a conservationist but after visiting and seeing the jungle firsthand and seeing the interconnected of life there, it strengthened my belief.”

The Amazon is one of the last places on earth where Mother Nature still rules. We want to help keep it that way, for macaws, for countless rainforest species, and for future generations of travelers to be able to experience the shift of perspective that comes from being immersed in a different world. We look forward to the premier of “The Macaw Project” premiers and to learning more about what we — both as a travel company and as travelers ourselves — can do to save this previous species and the environment in which they live.

Peru for Less

Peru for Less is a leading agency for travel to Peru. Since 1998, the company has been working with travelers to craft best value Peru travel packages. From the Amazon Jungle to Machu Picchu, Peru for Less specializes in travelers who seek worry-free, fully customizable tours and services combined with personalized attention from Peru travel experts.

Expedition to Candamo: Venturing into ‘The Last Rainforest Without Men’

2014-11-02T18:02:00.000-05:00

For most people seeking a secluded part of the Amazon to spend their time, there are few places better than the Tambopata Research Center. And our team did stop at the TRC, but only to briefly charge up our electrical equipment before heading out…further and further on the rivers until we found ourselves deep in the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, which is one of the most remote parts of the Peruvian Amazon, and therefore one of the most remote places on Earth.

But there’s a reason why not many people go to this place, and a reason it is called ‘The Last Rainforest Without Men’. The area is incredibly remote and there have been no known settlers, even by indigenous tribes. And this time of year the rivers are low, which puts the river rocks closer to our boat and closer to our boat propeller…

A map showing our starting point, the Tambopata Research Center labeled as 'TRC' and the route we took deeper into the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park

“Al agua al agua!” Don Pedro, an old but spry native to the Amazon, would shout. Our conversations would come to an abrupt stop upon hearing these words, and in seconds we would be leaping out of the boat into the waist-high rapids. I quickly lost count of the number of times we had to jump out into murky fast-moving water, find footing on slippery riverbed rocks, and push. The thought of having dry clothing or shoes quickly faded for anyone in the group. But the rapids didn’t just pose a challenge to our navigation or comfort, the rapids almost took away the most important item we possessed: our boat. One particularly challenging rapid caught our boat in the current and our eyes grew wide as dinner plates as we saw our vessel start to turn sideways. We pulled and pushed with all our might and managed to save the boat from flipping, something that would have very quickly put a damper on our trip.

Without such a cohesive and experienced crew, we probably would have never landed on our destination: The Candamo River. It was beautiful. The forest mist had burned off by the time we pulled up to the rocky beach. The lush forest was pressed up on both sides against the Candamo Valley, one of the few remaining pristine rainforests on the planet. We were not the first group to explore this region, but there certainly weren’t many before us. This is not a tourist destination, it is not a site for field researchers, and it is not even a place where people who have lived their entire lives in the Amazon venture.

The crew swiftly set out to clear small sections of a bamboo forest nearby so we could set up camp. Geoff, Jeff, Mike, and I set out into the jungle to scope out a good tree to climb and check out the wildlife. We were not disappointed; Geoff found a tree with perfect conditions for setting up a climbing rig and we stumbled upon something even more unexpected: a lek of neotropical butterflies! To non-entomologists this may not seem like something worth celebrating, but to us this was one of the primary reasons for this expedition. Geoff has spent many many years researching neotropical butterflies, and we now had the opportunity to sample for species belonging to the family Nymphalidae and contribute to science in an area where no one had investigated this amazing family of insects until now.

For the next couple of days this was our home. We woke early, hiked, explored butterfly and other animal biodiversity, climbed trees, and investigated a 100+ year old bridge constructed for rubber trade that had been abandoned long ago swallowed by the forest. The biting black flies were in full force in this region, and were slowly turning our hands other extremities into pulp. A night of rain caused the river to quickly swell and consume our camp site along the riverbank, forcing us to retreat deeper into the bamboo forest. But we pressed on and made full use of our time in the incredible region.

The view from our 30 meter tree climb. We can see what used to be our camp site on the rocky beach, which quickly got swallowed up by the rising water after some rain.

We shared cerveza with the crew as we gathered in a circle in the evenings and exchanged stories with one another. “Cerveza en Candamo…” one of the crew members mused with a smirk. We made cheers in several different languages and soaked up the moment as we realized what a special opportunity it was to be here right now.

Time seemed to fly by, and before we knew it, it was time to pack up and depart. After the boat was loaded we snapped a few group pictures and set off. This time it wasn’t pushing against the rapids we were concerned about, but riding with the rapids, now unable to stop and slow down even if we wanted to. Once more, if not for the amazing skills of our boat driver and navigators, we probably would have found ourselves quickly stranded in the middle of the Amazon Basin.

Our return was quick as we rode with the rapids and before we knew it we were back at the Tambopata Research Center. Seeing other boats and people felt strange, as the last few days made us used to being the only human beings around in an incredibly remote rainforest. We were fortunately able to stay in some vacant rooms at the TRC and caught up on some much needed sleep sans black flies, mosquitoes, and rocks for pillows.

The experience has left me humbled and appreciative of the region we were so lucky to spend just a few days in. The wildlife and biodiversity certainly lived up to the reputation. The remoteness and difficulty of entering the region itself makes me thankful that we had such an amazing team that worked so well together. If not for our skilled Peruvian navigators and crew members, we would probably still be trying to get past the first rapid near TRC.

We painstakingly photographed and filmed as much of the trip as we possibly could and we are working now to edit and share this material with you! I hope that you enjoyed reading about this adventure, because to us it certainly was a real adventure in every sense of the word. Challenges, danger, discovery, beauty and excitement come to mind when I think back to the Candamo expedition of October 2014. It may have only been a once in lifetime opportunity to visit this place, but I hope I’m wrong about that. Perhaps there will one day be a Candamo round two…

35 Awesome Photos of Rainforest Animals and Wildlife

2014-09-30T20:29:00.003-05:00

Lucas Bustamante recently visited our lodges in Tambopata, Peru for a few weeks and took these incredible photos of Amazon rainforest wildlife.

Lucas is a passionate biologist and wildlife photographer from Ecuador. For seven years now, he has been dedicated to documenting Ecuador's biodiversity, particularly reptiles and amphibians. Lucas has lead innumerable field trips and workshops. He also has written several articles and books about tropical ecology and herpetology.

Lucas' photographic work has been featured in National Geographic, Anima Mundi, Discovery Channel and many other magazines.

Enjoy!

Macaw

Giant River Otters

Howler Monkeys Playing

Capybara swimming in the Tamboapta River

A rare photo of a Tapir

Tambopata River At Sunset

Puddling Butterflies

Macaws in Flight

A Jaguar Swimming In The Tambopata River

An Ox Bow Lake

Boats Parked At The Tambopata Research Center

Peccary

Another beautiful landscape of the Tambopata River

Howler Monkey

Sunrise Over The Jungle

Peccaries

Squirrel Monkey

A Jaguar Getting Out Of The River

Burrowing Owls At The Tambopata Research Center

Giant River Otters at Posada Amazonas Lodge

Giant River Otter

A Family Of Giant River Otters

Giant River Otters

The Sky Reflected In The Water Of An Ox Bow Lake

Caiman

A Black and White Photo Of A Caiman

Giant River Otters

Add caption

Monkey Frog

Spider Monkeys

Macaws In Flight

Peru Jungle Lodge Adds Three New Luxury Room Types

2014-08-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

SUPERIOR ROOMS (Posada Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas)

Looking for a beautiful room in the middle of the rainforest. Our superior rooms have lovely, varnished tropical hardwood floors, are 45 square meters, and have an open verandah that looks out into a roadless, wild tropical rainforest preserve. Superior rooms are available as singles, doubles or twins, and each is equipped with a mosquito net over large, comfortable beds, two hypoallergenic pillows per person, a hammock, and a reading table.

Stay in one of our superior rooms and enjoy:

A large, spacious, 45 meter square room.
A big spacious bathroom with plenty of hot water.
Electricity in the middle of the Amazon rainforest until 10 PM every night.
An outlet to charge your laptop, tablet, and other devices.
Free online access from the comfort and privacy of your room to communicate with the outside world, and share the images and excitement of your Amazon adventure.
Personal safe deposit box.
An umbrella (this is the rainforest after all).
Several eco-friendly amenities.
A place to relax after exciting jungle hikes, watching macaws fly past at the canopy tower, visiting a tranquil oxbow lake, experiencing Ese Eja culture, and enjoying other exciting Amazon rainforest activities.

PREMIUM ROOMS (at Refugio Amazonas)

Add a bit of extra comfort and quality to your Amazon experience by staying in one of our premium rooms. We are offering one of these excellent new rooms at Refugio Amazonas for guests who prefer to upgrade their stay in the Peruvian Amazon. Each of these beautiful new rooms features authentic Ese-Eja décor that has been crafted by artists from the local indigenous community, handsome varnished tropical hardwood floors, and the same intimate view of the surrounding rainforest as our other rooms.

These rooms also add comfort with a big luxurious bed, hypoallergenic pillows, ceiling fans, electricity, and other fine amenities in the middle of the jungle.

Relish your time in one of our premium rooms and enjoy:

A large, beautiful room with varnished, tropical hardwood floors.

Large bathrooms that feature showers with tempered glass, and hot water 24 hours a day.

A ceiling fan for a bit of extra comfort in an already well ventilated room.

Electricity in the middle of the Amazon rainforest until 10 PM every night.

Beautiful, authentic Amazonian décor crafted by local Ese-Eja artisans.

Wireless internet service to share the images of your adventure with friends and family from the privacy and comfort of your room.

Small refrigerator and mini bar.

Amenities such as comfortable flippers and binoculars for watching wildlife from the verandah.

A big luxurious bed with hypoallergenic pillows and comfortable sheets.

A reading table to jot down notes about your Amazon adventure.

Electrical outlets for recharging those essential devices.

Safe deposit box.

A comfortable place to relax and email images from an exciting morning at the canopy tower, night hikes, and other adventurous jungle activities.

CLASSIC ROOMS (Posada Amazonas & Refugio Amazonas)

Quaint, comfortable rooms in the middle of the tropical rainforest allow guests to experience this global biodiversity hotspot even during their down time. Monkeys, many species of birds, frogs, and other rainforest wildlife are often visible from our signature windowless verandahs. Those same verandahs also add comfort with excellent ventilation. Our classic rooms have been enjoyed by thousands of guests and are built with local materials such as tropical hardwoods, palms, bamboo, and adobe.

Our classic rooms are available as doubles or triples and come equipped with mosquito nets for the beds and have spacious private bathrooms with hot water. Numerous kerosene lamps and candles provide soft lighting. Electricity and internet are just a short walk to the common areas of the lodge.

Experience the Peruvian jungle in one of our classic rooms and enjoy:

Quaint, classic, comfortable Amazon rainforest rooms.
Watching birds and looking for other rainforest wildlife from an open verandah that looks straight into the Amazon jungle.
All rooms are built with local materials for an authentic experience.
Each bed has a mosquito net.
Hot water bathrooms in the heart of the jungle!
Soft, romantic lighting from candles and kerosene lamps.
An authentic jungle retreat to rest up before and after guided trips to the canopy tower, guided hikes in the jungle, watching Giant Otters and other wildlife at an oxbow lake, and other exciting jungle activities.

Exclusive Amazon Villa

Treat yourself to exclusive lodging and activities in the middle of the Peruvian jungle with a premium stay at our Amazon Villa. The Amazon Villa is a private bungalow designed to provide guests with a comfortable blend of privacy, amenities, and activities that enhance an already unforgettable Amazon jungle experience. Essentially, guests of the Amazon Villa enjoy their own, exclusive bungalow in the heart of the rainforest where they can relax among some of the most biodiverse surroundings on the planet, enjoy views of a beautiful garden backed by majestic primary rainforest, watch for monkeys and hundreds of exotic birds from the comfort of the bungalow, and enjoy private romantic dinners featuring delicious Peruvian cuisine. The exclusive treatment begins upon arrival to the airport with private transport to the bungalow, continues throughout your stay, and doesn’t end until we bring your back to the airport for your departure flight.

This beautiful furnished bungalow is equipped with:

A luxurious king-sized bed.
40 inch flat screen television to watch nature videos and documentaries.
A place to use your laptop for writing or checking out the
photos from every memorable day in the jungle.
A satellite Internet connection.
Electricity in the middle of the rainforest at all times of the day.
A dining room where you can take fresh meals delivered to the bungalow.
Dining table with 6 chairs.
A refrigerator and microwave.
A spacious bathroom equipped with hot water and a tub for soaking in comfort at the end of a long, incredible day in the Peruvian rainforest.

4 Footballers Who Remind us of Rainforest Animals

2014-07-11T23:13:00.001-05:00

By: Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato

It’s a jungle out there, and in this year’s World Cup, footballers are
jockeying for a seat at the top of the food chain. While some bring
brute strength to the table, others have adapted with speed and
cunning. For these athletes, it’s survival of the fittest—just like in
the Amazon.

To celebrate the 2014 World Cup, we’ve created a list of footballers

who remind us of jungle animals. Do you see the resemblance?

I Got the Moves Like Jaguar

Junior Diaz is the World Cup’s fastest player with a 22 mile-per-hour
sprint. The Costa Rican defender played in five matches and ran about
35 miles on the field in this tournament as of Tuesday.

Still, Diaz is no match for the jaguar, which can run about twice that
fast. These formidable beasts are the largest cats in the Americas, and they have an appetite
to match. Jaguars eat large mammals like deer, peccaries and tapirs.
They also snack on birds, turtles and fish. (Want to get up close and
personal without getting too close? Check out our wildlife photography
tours.)

In ancient Native American cultures, jaguars were thought to be gods
of the underworld. This myth persisted widely until the Mayan empire fell. Just like the
Costa Rican team recently fell. Too soon?

Suarez Bites Like the Bullet Ant

Bullet ant (Photo credit: ggallice)

Bullet ants are the world’s largest ant, growing up to an inch long.
These nasty denizens of the rainforest floor can both bite and sting,
injecting victims with a powerful neurotoxin that causes muscle
contractions and a burning sensation. They’re dubbed “bullet” because
being attacked by one feels like getting shot. (See also “Top 5 Strangest Rainforest Animals”)

Luis Suarez may not look like a bullet ant, but his bite is just as
potent. Nicknamed “The Cannibal,” Suarez was suspended last month for
biting another player during a game. The Uruguayan midfielder leaned
over mid-play and clamped his pearly whites on Germany’s Giorgio
Chiellini.

In the Amazon, bullet ants are traditionally used during local
coming-of-age ceremonies, where young men have to endure multiple
bites and stings to secure a place within the community. And while
Suarez’s bite might not pack the same punch as a bullet ant, it could
have serious health implications. The human mouth contains hundreds of
strains of bacteria—some of which don’t hurt their hosts but can be
fatal to others.

The Naked Truth About Croatian Footballers

The Croatian football team caused a stir when photos of them relaxing
naked by their hotel pool circulated the Internet. Two
photographers hid in the bushes while the squad lounged in the buff
and quickly sold the resulting photos to media outlets. Angry that
their privacy had been violated, the team refused to give interviews
to World Cup reporters.

Luckily, the Peruvian hairless dog is much less self-conscious about
its nudity—its picture adorns artifacts from the Moche, Inca, Chancay
and Chimu peoples. The ancient breed is affectionately called the
“Peruvian Inca Orchid.” Prized for its heat-radiating skin, many
locals prefer cuddling with their canines to hot compresses or heating
pads. (You can cuddle up in one of our rainforest villas.)

These bald dogs get flack in a society accustomed to fuzzy pooches.
Peruvian hairless dogs are often strong contenders for the World’s
Ugliest Dog competition. Do their human counterparts on the Croatian team match suit? You’ll have to decide
for yourself.

Tim Howard and the Poison Dart Frog

English: Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) at the Louisville Zoo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. goalie Tim Howard wears a bright green jersey that reminds us
of a poison dart frog. These gorgeous creatures come in many different
colors besides green, dotting the rainforest with splashes of gold,
copper, blue and red. Their bright coloration is a warning that tells
predators to back off—or suffer the toxic consequences. Poison dart
frogs ooze poison from their skin that can maim or even kill their
attackers. (If looks could kill… These exotic amphibians would slay
us.)

There are several species of poison dart frog that carry their eggs
and tadpoles around on their backs—just like Howard carried the U.S.
team through the country’s first two matches. During the U.S. versus
Belgium game, Howard made 16 saves—the most ever recorded during a
World Cup game.

Want to see more jungle animals? Check out our tours of the Amazon with Rainforest Expeditions.

Capuchin monkey economics

2014-05-22T11:36:00.001-05:00

That human intelligence is superior among the living world is almost a truism. Great intelligence—and a unique ability to reason, to experience emotion, to communicate using complex language and to understand and employ symbolism—are the criteria by which humans are set apart from the rest of the Earth’s creatures. By our own admission, we are the world’s greatest thinkers, and profoundly so.

Yet, for the past several hundred years, scientific discoveries have steadily eroded the uniqueness, the exceptionality, and the centrality of the human species and our place in the world. It all started, of course, with the discovery that the sun does not revolve around the Earth—that our humble little planet is but an insignificant blip in a vast universe replete with countless other worlds, with each one precisely, simultaneously, at its center.

While we do not yet have any direct evidence, astronomers tell us that as many as a million worlds within our own galaxy, the Milky Way, might be inhabited by intelligent life. And with around 400 billion other galaxies sprawled throughout the cosmos, intelligent life is essentially a statistical certainty—a striking and very beautiful proposition indeed.

Most recently, however, it is the cognitive scientists—those who study the acquisition of knowledge and understanding through thought and experience—that are teaching us that we must rethink the notion of our supremacy and our matchless intellect, right here on Earth. They are doing so not only by teaching sign language to gorillas and chimpanzees—an astonishingly impressive feat on the part of researcher and ape alike, to be sure—but by teaching us how the brains of our more distantly-related cousins, the monkeys, work. As it turns out, those monkey brains work a lot like our own.

A brown capuchin monkey forages in a palm tree at the Tambopata Research Center in Madre de Dios, Peru.

The brown capuchin monkey, Cebus apella, is one of several species of capuchins found throughout the Amazon basin, including in Tambopata. The brown capuchin is widely considered among the most intelligent of the New World primates, or the monkeys and tamarins of the American tropics.

Recently, a group of researchers working in a laboratory at Yale University have successfully introduced the concept of currency to their captive brown capuchins. After months of introducing the monkeys to the small, metal disks that would serve as coins, the monkeys learned that they could exchange these coins for highly prized food items such as grapes.

Before long, the monkeys learned how to budget their coins, especially after the researchers introduced another highly-prized food item to the menu: Jell-O. When the price of Jell-O was reduced compared to grapes, monkeys reacted in precisely the way that current laws of economics in humans predict: they bought more Jell-O.

The facial expressions of brown capuchins belie their human-like intelligence.

Perhaps the researchers’ most stunning find came after a monkey was observed exchanging money for sex with another monkey. The monkey had learned well the value of money, and most importantly, that it could be used to trade for goods and services—even prostitution!

You might ask, Why do monkeys have or need such powerful brains—which appear to have many of the high cognitive functions of our own—if they don’t appear to use them in many of the same ways that we do? Why, if they are able to barter for food and even sex in a laboratory setting using a symbolic currency, do we not see monkey towns and cities dotted throughout the rainforests of tropical America, instead of only human towns and cities?

We can’t yet answer the second question, although it is most likely the result of a combination of factors, including a poorly-developed vocal organ that prevents the use of complex language, limited tool use, a lack of bipedalism, or other factors which we do not yet know. But we can fairly confidently answer the first question, Why do monkeys have such powerful brains?

Although monkeys do not typically do math, or read or write, they do live in cooperative groups with complex social structures. Large groups provide protection in numbers, and with large snakes, jungle cats, and birds of prey standing (or slithering or flying) at the ready day and night to make a meal of a monkey, group life has its benefits.

But living in a group presents other challenges. For instance, a strict social hierarchy, in which dominant animals feed first at an abundant resource such as a fruiting tree, say, allows everyone to access food without a brawl each time food is discovered by the group. But how best to remember one’s place in such a hierarchy? Evidently, a large brain allows monkeys to know and recognize other individual monkeys, as well as their own and others’ social statuses. They also use their powerful brains, just as we do, to analyze the feelings and intentions of others, which is done with the help of a large amount of computing power. As we all know, social life and in-group politics are complex, and powerful brains have given primates the tools they need to survive and reproduce in large social groups.

This explanation makes evolutionary sense for humans, as well. Those individuals with more highly-developed brains—which should, on average, make them more competitive in a group setting—should again, on average, reproduce more. Their offspring, in turn will have bigger, more powerful brains, and so on, until, after many generations, intelligence on the order of that of humans has evolved from our more humbly intelligent ancestors.

There remains so much more to learn about human and non-human primate cognition. But one thing is already certain: monkeys are smart, and they use their brains in many of the same ways that we do, often to achieve similar or identical ends. In reality, this should not come as a surprise—on the grand evolutionary tree of life, we are very close relatives. But monkey prostitution? I don’t think anybody expected that!

It is beautiful to consider that we share an evolutionary kinship with these amazing, inquisitive, and crafty creatures. The capuchin's sharp intellectual abilities provide evidence of that kinship.

Discoveries in the cognition of non-human primates—like the capuchin monkeys of Tambopata—continue to shatter the notions of total human uniqueness and our superiority over the rest of the Earth’s lifeforms. But, instead of viewing this as a demotion, I argue that such amazing discoveries are cause to celebrate. To celebrate the emerging knowledge that we are part of a complex yet beautiful creation in which all creatures share in a history and a future more interconnected and fascinating than we’ve ever before imagined—even if some of our shared characteristics might seem a bit unsavory.

Rare Harpy Eagle Nest With Baby = Striking Avian Gold In The Peruvian Amazon

2014-05-04T20:31:00.002-05:00

Photographing the Harpy Eagle from a platform in a huge tree

A few weeks ago, wildlife photographers Jeff Cremer of Rainforest Expeditions and Lucas Bustamante and Jaime Culebras of TropicalHerping, had the chance to film and photograph one of the rarest birds of the rainforest, the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja). Not only did they see a Harpy Eagle, they were able to climb into the canopy and observe two Harpy Eagles with its chick for two days. At one point they were so close they had to switch lenses just to get the entire bird in the frame.

Getting ready to climb into the rainforest canopy

"Its so rare it’s like seeing a Unicorn” says Jeff Cremer of Rainforest Expeditions. “When Jaime and Lucas sent me a message on Facebook saying that they found a Harpy Eagle nest I booked the next flight to the jungle.”

Harpy Eagles are the top predators of the Amazon sky. These massive birds of prey have a wingspan of six to seven feet and, when sitting, have the height of a five-year-old child. Coming equipped with talons the size of Grizzly Bear claws and a huge beak that dismembers monkeys and sloths with ease these creatures clock in as the worlds most powerful bird of prey.

A mother taking care of her baby

The tree with the Harpy Eagle nest

Despite its large dimensions (a big female can be more than a meter in length and have a wingspan of more than two meters), actually seeing a Harpy Eagle in the wild is a major birding accomplishment. Unlike other birds of prey, the Harpy Eagle doesn’t soar but prefers to lurk in the canopy of the forest like some monstrous winged feline. It catches prey by surprise and goes after everything from monkeys to kinkajous and even Brocket Deer.

Their large territory also adds difficulty to the equation since a pair uses anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000 hectares of forest for hunting. When one is seen, it’s usually a brief glimpse of a massive bird flying away through the top branches of the forest.

"Birders spend their whole lives just to catch a glimpse of the Harpy Eagle. We were incredibly lucky to be able to sit in a tree for two days right next to a family of them. What makes that especially rare is the fact that a pair of Harpy Eagles nest just once every two or even three years." Cremer said. "I've seen Jaguars, Tapirs and Puma and have even been the first person to film new species but seeing the Harpy Eagle feed and interact with its chick was really amazing."

Baby Harpy Eagle

At around 4:30am while it was still dark, the team gathered up their photography gear and hiked into the jungle. After a 30 minute hike the team arrived at the tree and started preparing for the climb up. Using climbing harnesses and ascenders the team climbed twelve stories into a huge rainforest tree. What they saw, perched twelve stories high while strapped to a tree, was a Harpy Eagle chick nestled in a four-foot thick, five-foot wide fortress of branches and soft leaves. The chick was patiently waiting for its mother to return and eventually, she did.

Harpy Eagle

"We were really surprised when she showed up. She swooped in without a sound while carrying a full grown Brazilian Porcupine in her claws," Cremer said. “She just sat there and watched while the baby ate it up.”

After they ate the Porcupine, the mother bird began calling until her mate, a huge male Harpy Eagle, came flying in to deliver half the body a

sloth to the nest.

Fellow wildlife photographers and biologists Lucas Bustamante and Jaime Culebras of Tropical Herping have spent the better part of the last decade photographing wildlife in the Ecuadorian rainforest and were with Cremer to photograph and film the eagle.

"In my country, Ecuador, there is an Amazonian tribe called the Huaorani," Bustamante explained. "They believe that they are descendants of the Jaguar and the Harpy Eagle. They worship these two animals as their gods and view them as being very important to the jungle. After being face to face with an Harpy Eagle it is easy to see why they believe that. Finding myself in the jungle with that mythological creature, was like being in front of a legendary Griffin."

Baby Harpy Eagle

"This rest of the trip was like paradise," said Jaime Culebras, "We were able to photograph two Jaguars, a Puma with her baby, a family of Otters playing a few meters from our boat, hundreds of macaws eating right in front of our cameras, four species of monkeys on trails and dozens of peccaries visiting the lodge just about every day. Adding the pair of Harpy Eagles feeding their young in the nest made this trip a dream come true!”

Mother Harpy Eagle

A Close Up Of The Harpy Eagle Holding Half The Body Of A Sloth By Its Head

Short-eared Dog (Atelocynus microtis)

2014-01-20T21:31:00.004-05:00

Short-eared Dog

The Short-eared Dog (Atelocynus microtis) is a rare, little known canine. Unlike various species of fox, wolves, and other canines on the planet, this one is very difficult to see and even more difficult to study. It only occurs in the dense rainforests of central and western Amazonia and doesn’t appear to be common in any parts of its range. In appearance, the Short-eared Dog looks a bit like a wild feline and has proportions that are somewhat similar to those of a Jaguarundi. Its dark gray coloration is also rather similar to the colors of a Jaguarundi and when seen in the dim recesses of its rainforest habitat, can even be mistaken for that small cat.

However, the Short-eared Dog is a bit larger than the Jaguarundi and like most other canines, has a longer snout and bushier tail. Although very little is known about the natural history of the Short-eared Dog, this solitary hunter is believed to forage for small animals in primary rainforest and bamboo stands. Based on the few sightings of this little known mammal, it may also have a preference for hunting along creeks and other wetland habitats.

This rare animal seems to be restricted to wild, extensive areas of rainforest and more sightings seem to come from southeastern Peru than from other parts of its range. The Short-eared Dog has been seen on several occasions at TRC, Refugio Amazonas and other lodges managed by Rainforest Expeditions.

Some interesting facts about the Short-eared Dog:

The only member of the Atelocynus genus: The Short-eared Dog is the sole member of its genus. Although it doesn’t appear to have any close relatives, it is believed to be somewhat related to fox species that occur in South America.
Naturally rare: This rainforest canine occurs at naturally low densities in part because it has to compete with such other predators as the Ocelot, Puma, Jaguar, and Bush Dog.
Partially webbed toes: The toes of the Short-eared Dog are partially webbed and an adaptation for aquatic habitats and indeed, this canine seems to prefer wetlands in the forest.

How to see a Short-eared Dog on a tour in the Peruvian jungle:

Visit areas where they have been seen most often: The Short-eared Dog is a very difficult species to see but one has a better chance of watching this canine in places that appear to host healthy populations. Tambopata, Peru is one such area.

Hike on rainforest trails near streams and other wetlands: Since this species seems to prefer wetland habitats (and fish have been recoded as being a primary prey item), spending more time near rainforest streams and swamps may increase chances of seeing it.
Explore the rainforest with an experienced guide: Hiking in the rainforest with a knowledgeable guide is just about essential for encountering rare animals like the Short-eared Dog.

Keep an eye out for the Short-eared Dog and other rare rainforest animals while experiencing the Peruvian Amazon jungle with Rainforest Expeditions.

We Solved An Amazon Rainforest Mystery (w/Video)

2013-12-21T20:24:00.000-05:00

About six months ago, graduate student Troy Alexander took photos of this odd structure. What was it? The images went viral and neither the internet nor experts could figure it out.

The inside 'tower' and outer 'fence' of this Amazon mystery.

For image/story usage please contact: therevscience@gmail.com
Written by Phil Torres.

So we returned to the Tambopata Research Center six months later with a team lead by myself, Phil Torres, to solve it. Alongside were entomologists Lary Reeves and Geena Hill, both from the University of Florida entomology department and with strong field experience, and photographer Jeff Cremer, to document the structure with macrophotography.

The previous theories on how these structures were formed were vast: slime mold, spiders, fungus, lacewings, and some even thought it was a hoax. With just the pictures to go on and no other similar structure found in the literature, we approached this very open minded, but did suspect a cribellate spider for the reasons well outlined here.

For this expedition, the goal was to find more of these structures, find what's making them, and try and figure out a function for the odd 'fence' with a 'tower' in the center.

We weren't even sure we'd find more on the small fish pond island in which the first two were seen, but over a stretch of trail about 200m long we ended up finding upwards of 45 of them as the week went on. After isolating some of the structures and long hours of observations in the field, day and night, we've come up with the following conclusions:

It was created by a spider. Three of the structures hatched out these spiderlings.

We're still attempting to identify the spider. There are several things that make this unusual. For one, it is not common for spiders to lay eggs and abandon them, they typically place silken egg sacs in their own web to protect. More oddly, it appears that there was only a single egg per structure (see image below). This, as far as we can tell, would be the only known occurrence of a spider laying a single egg per egg sac.

We saw a few adult spiders around that were prime suspects, but never saw any making it, so the construction and culprit remain a mystery.

There were a lot of mites around. The mites we found on and in the structures threw us off the trail for a bit as were unsure of the potential for the few groups of silk-producing mites to create such a structure themselves. We were able to rule them out once the spiderlings hatched, however we noted several instances of mites being seemingly trapped inside or along the 'fence' of the structure, and other times crawling directly on the inner tower (below).

One 'tower' toppled, leaving an egg exposed. Mites like this were often seen in or on the structures.

One hypothesis is that the structure might be designed to trap mites, serving as an easy first meal for a hatching spider. There is also the possibility of the spiders putting some sort of chemical attractant on the egg case to bait the mites, as chemical lures have been documented several times with spiders.

Mites (the round, shiny objects) appear to be trapped within this structure.

In addition to potentially capturing mites, the 'fence' part of the structure may function as defense against ants. The silk could potentially ensnare ants, and the distance from the center may prevent ants from easily detecting a food source within.

The Tambopata Research Center

The spider appears to be habitat specific. We only found them in a particular area of successional forest habitat with high abundance of Cecropia and bamboo. This seems to fit the habitat of another single structure which was photographed in Ecuador. This information will allow us to survey other similar habitats to search for more.

The island where the spider was found can be seen in the lower left corner.

We're eager to hear from spider experts out there who can provide some guidance on ID and evolutionary origin of the structure. There is much work to be done observing these in their natural environment to truly get to the bottom of it, but until then we can at least sleep at night knowing we've solved one part: it's a spider.

What the heck is going on in this picture?

2013-09-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

This toad appears to be a fan of star wars... or is it using blinders...? or does it have giant ears...? or what is that sticking out of its mouth!?

Look closely and you'll realize that this is a rare, and perhaps first, sighting of a cane toad feeding on a bat. Yes, this happened.

This photo was taken at a remote guard station in Peru by park ranger Yufani Olaya at Cerros de Amotape National Park. He gave us permission to write about the photo, but we're waiting to hear back from him on more details about where exactly he found it, and how he thinks a ground-dwelling toad could have captured a bat.

We're unsure how common this is, but we do know that this is probably the first photographed record of a cane toad feeding on a bat. Cane toads are notoriously opportunistic feeders, and while they are native to South America this trait has made them infamously invasive in places like Australia.

Without more information about this photo it can be difficult to guess how a ground-dwelling toad and a flying bat could ever cross paths, unless the bat had fallen.

My best guess? I have seen bats and toads use similar locations in the rainforest, just not at the same time. Both are known to use small holes along streamsides, so it's possible this bat decided to roost in a hole that was inhabited by a hungry toad, which after some difficulty swallowing took a walk to get its photo taken by Olaya.

Here in the Tambopata rainforest we often run across cane toads- but from now on we'll keep an extra close eye out for what's in their mouths.

We'll keep you in the loop as we get more information on this odd and fascinating sighting.

Update: Sept 23, 2013 10:00am

We finally got in touch with Olaya. As was suggested by John Scanlon in a comment on a repost of this story on Why Evolution Is True, it appears the bat was flying a bit too close to the ground. Many bats will feed on insects flying near the ground or will glean insects that are actually on the ground (pallid bats in the US are a great example of the latter).

Olaya described the toad's success as "out of nowhere the bat just flew directly into the mouth of the toad, which almost seemed to be sitting with its mouth wide open." With toad-like reflexes, this cane toad was able to snatch the unsuspecting bat right out of the air as it flew too close to the ground, and apparently directly at the toad's awaiting mouth.

So, did the toad finally get those wings in its mouth? According to Olaya, no. The toad finally gave up and spat it out. While Olaya at first thought the bat was dead, he said it slowly recovered and was able to fly away. I'm sure it won't make that mistake again.

Update: Sept 24 5:00pm

We were sent a paper which describes a related toad feeding on a bat, which you can find (with images) here.

Follow biologist Phil Torres on twitter.

Special thanks to A. Ruesta for bringing this photo to our attention, and for getting in contact with Mr. Olaya.

Scientists Stumped: What Is This Strange Web Like Structure?

2013-09-17T12:16:00.000-05:00

Grad Student Discovers Unexplained Web Structure

Resembling “The Unicorn in Captivity”

At Tambopata Research Center in Peruvian Rainforest

LIMA, Peru, Sept. 19, 2013 – Peru’s visionary leader in sustainable tourism, Rainforest Expeditions http://www.perunature.com/, reports that deep in the Peruvian rainforest near its Tambopata Research Center an as-yet-unnamed insect or fungus has been discovered that weaves an intricate funnel-shaped cocoon surrounded by approximately 30 “posts” that are positioned vertically, connected by woven “mesh,” and evenly spaced to form a “fence” measuring some 2 centimeters around the cocoon.

Thus far entomologists are stumped as to what it is.

Troy Alexander, a graduate student visiting the center in early June was the first to discover the structure this past summer, first on the underside of a tarp and then on tree trunks.

“I do not know what organism made it. Never seen such a structure before,” said Jonathan Coddington, who studies spiders and is associate director for science at the National Museum of Natural History.

Suggestions range from the structure being a spider egg sac to an incomplete cocoon. Other suggestions are funnier. “I have seen people say that it’s been built by a spider from Mars, that it's a navigational aid built by mosquitos for navigating the dense jungles, to alien communication arrays built by local arachnids under the influence of alien mind control.” Jeff Cremer, spokesperson for Rainforest Expeditions. “Some people even say that it looks like the insect (or fungal) variation on the theme of the Late Middle Ages tapestry, The Unicorn in Captivity,”

Tory Alexander’s favorite theory, described on Facebook, is that “there are spider eggs in the base of the pole, and the spiderlings climb the pole and sail away on silken parachutes, protected by the fence the whole time.”

This region is no stranger to new species. In early 2012 the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reported on 365 previously undocumented species found in Bahuaja Sonene National Park in the Tambopata River region of southeastern Peru. More recently in September, 2012 a new spider species that created “false” decoy spiders as protection was found at the center.

The Greatest Hawk? The Great Black Hawk.

2013-08-06T08:37:00.000-05:00

The Great Black Hawk, Buteogallus urubitinga, is one of the many birds of prey in Tambopata you will very likely see while boating up the river to the lodges.

These hawks are known to specialize in feeding on reptiles like lizards and snakes, but have also been observed feeding on small mammals and large insects. One study observed adults even feed their chicks venomous vipers and poisonous toads!

Where to see it while in Tambopata? The Great Black Hawk is one of the larger hawks in our region, and always a pleasure to watch as it hops along the shore of the Tambopata looking for prey.

Follow Phil Torres in his adventures on twitter.

Tropical Herping Visits Our Lodges

2013-07-29T22:50:00.002-05:00

We recently had the pleasure of hosting Tropical Herping, a team of biologists and photographers from Ecuador, at our lodges. They performed an extensive survey of our forests and took some INCREDIBLE images.

Considering it is dry season, the 37 species of stunning reptiles and amphibians is quite impressive. Click on the image below for the full report and image gallery!

A 'Faena' - Community Teamwork To Rebuild A Roof

2013-06-19T13:08:00.001-05:00

How is it possible to maintain such large lodges in the middle of the Amazon? A recent roof renovation at Posada Amazonas Lodge highlighted the incredible process.

The "faena," community-organized work project, to replace the roof.

It all revolved around a "faena" in which community members donate their time to work on a project that is for the good of the community. Posada Amazonas is managed by and co-owned by the native community of Infierno, and employs many individuals from the community, so this roof renovation was directed by the board of the community.

The turn out was remarkable - 73 people, 15kg of nails, and 1,500 crishneja leaves, the palm from which the roofing is woven.

There are as many men as there are women. Women are mainly in charge of carrying the leaves from the port to the house that is to be remodeled. Men dedicate themselves to the installation of the roof and finally, the women clean the rooms and the work areas, and they prepare the communal meal and the refreshments. first day involved removing the old roof and replacing half of it, the second day finished the replacement and sealed the edges, and the third day was the clean-up.

On the first day, the 100% of the dry leaves were removed and half of the newroof was installed. On the second day, the other half was installed. Edges and unions were sealed and finally, the third day was cleaning and preparation day, to leave everything ready.

In order to cover the new roof, they must begin from the bottom up and from left to right. A row of about 20 people is formed, each one holding a bundle of crishneja leaf. Upon a shout or a whistle signal from one of them, they must begin to place and nail the leaves in order, making sure one bundle is beneath the other. They continue to the following row and so on and so forth until the top is reached.

From us at Rainforest Expeditions, a huge thank you to the Community of Infierno for their hard work in keeping the Posada Amazonas Lodge well maintained and beautiful!

How Many Tapirs Visited This Claylick In 24 Hours?

2013-06-13T18:23:00.000-05:00

A recent study on the Tambopata region showed that we are truly in a Tapir paradise, with numbers that have recovered from any hunting or habitat disturbance of the past due to well protected habitat over these last few decades.

A tapir crossing the Tambopata. Image by Jeff Cremer.

While reports on recovered numbers are always a good sign, what I didn't know was how many there actually were here, or if it would be difficult to get some glimpses of tapirs in the wild. Tapirs are notoriously difficult to see, as one tapir researcher I know who has spent over a year in the field has only ever seen one in person!

I was curious to know how many tapirs we have in our area, so I set up a camera trap near the Colorado Claylick at the Tambopata Research Center to take photos of any passing mammals. While the claylick is known for its spectacular displays of macaws feeding on the salty clay during the rainy season, it also has several heavily used game trails leading to it which suggest that mammals are also extensively walking into the claylick to get in on the action. I hoped some of those mammals would be tapirs.

I expecting maybe one, but what I got was far from that. Here's an example of a fairly typical night at the claylick.*

At 2:35am

Right behind him at 2:37am

A bit late on the action, 3:35am

Some tapir bum, 7:05pm.

Getting the night started, a tapir nose, 7:55pm

Either a paca or a baby tapir... 10:55pm

There are a maximum of six tapirs, and minimum of three in these photos. Regardless of the final amount, this much tapir activity consistently in one area is very impressive, and demonstrates the importance of the claylick for our non-avian neighbors living in the rainforest around us.

*Note- while it may appear these are multiple pictures of the same individual, there are additional photos showing each one leave the camera's view (and not return), suggesting they are all different. I simply selected the photos which give the best view of the beasts.

Follow Phil Torres on his adventures in the Amazon on twitter.

This UNBELIEVABLE Moth Cocoon

2013-06-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

While Destin from Smarter Every Day was visiting us here in Tambopata, we came across one of the most incredible examples of art in nature we've ever seen, a cocoon of a urodid moth.

Check out his video on the discovery, and look for the high-resolution images below:

This 'open network' cocoon structure is quite different from other moth cocoons in that it only partially encloses the pupa. This allows for more airflow over the pupa, possibly helping prevent fungus and mold from being able to grow on it.

Want to come experience the Amazon? Check out our lodges here.

Follow Phil Torres on Twitter.

Birding, Without Even Leaving the Lodges

2013-05-19T12:31:00.001-05:00

For us that work at Rainforest Expeditions, there are at times days when we're too busy working to get the chance to step out into the marvelous forest around us. But that doesn't mean nature disappoints, it often does quite the opposite and surprises us with close encounters and fantastic photo opportunities.

Here are some of the birds that have come right up to us in recent days at Refugio Amazonas.

Golden Collared Toucanet

Fasciated Antshrike

Rufous Motmot

Semi-Collared Puffbird

This is just the beginning, we also get many hummingbirds, oropendolas, tanagers, jays, macaws, parrots, and others that are call the lodge and its surroundings their home. So you can imagine: if this is what you see when you're at the lodge, just wait until you step into the forest.

Follow Phil Torres on twitter.

Scarlet Macaw Genome Sequenced

2013-05-16T12:08:00.003-05:00

One of the famous "chicos" stops by the lodge to check out breakfast.

This is very good news for the chicos and the hundreds of other wild macaws that we see flying around our lodges.

Sequencing the genome of the macaws opens the door for a whole range of conservation efforts that were previously difficult to do. For example, researchers can now do better estimates of genetic diversity within a population by collecting feathers that have fallen on the ground. Or, they can identify key genes that may be affecting the health of the birds, or making one population more unique and isolated than another.

Of course, our Tambopata Research Center was cited in the report, which you can read in full here.

"Scarlet macaw was selected for the first such sequencing of its type because Texas A&M researchers have been studying the bird for many years. Working primarily at the Tambopata Research Center in Peru, Texas A&M bird experts have been investigating macaw diseases, behavior and ecology"

One of the scarlet macaw chicks that the researchers are monitoring at
the Tambopata Research Center.

Exclusive Art Gallery Coming to Refugio Amazonas- Oscar Vilca

2013-05-10T09:35:00.002-05:00

We at Rainforest Expeditions are pleased to announce the opening of our art gallery at the Refugio Amazonas Lodge.

An Amazon Kingfisher, by Oscar Vilca.

Oscar Vilca, coming in June to Refugio Amazonas.

This gallery will include Peruvian artists inspired by the Amazon rainforest in our region, and all works on display will be for sale. For our first exhibit, we are excited to welcome Oscar Vilca.

Vilca is one of the premiere modern nature and science illustrators in Peru, and studied at the Faculty of Arts at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and Fine Arts. He is an artist committed to conservation and environmental disclosure.

The Oscar Vilca Gallery will open in late May and will exhibit original paintings, solely from Tambopata National Reserve. These will not only be on display, but also be available for sale at the Refugio Amazonas Lodge. The exhibition will be held in June, July and August.

To visit Refugio Amazonas, see our website.

Starting in September, a group of three Peruvian artists involved in the Bahuaja Sonene Collective will be on display at Refugio. Intended to draw attention to the community and to protect the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, their motto is "Bahuaja Sonene: Know, Inspire."

The Bahuaja Sonene Collective, coming in September.

The Bahuaja Sonene Collective.

The Bahuaja Sonene Collective is currently inaugurating the work on June 1 in the Japanese Peruvian Center, then take the sample to Refugio September 1st where it will run until the end of the year. The 25 original paintings exhibited will be for sale.

In Photos- The White Lipped Peccary

2013-05-09T12:00:00.001-05:00

The term 'ecosystem engineer' refers to an animal that significantly creates, modifies, and maintains the habitat it lives in.

The beaver is an obvious example of this, as its dams actually create small ponds. But for anyone who has ever come across a herd of 200+ white lipped peccary in the Amazon and seen their aftermath, it's not hard to imagine these guys can do equally significant engineering.

Image by Phil Torres

If you ask one of our local guides what peccaries eat, their typical answer is "everything." Peccary are known for loudly chomping on seeds, eating young shoots of plants, and even eating small vertebrates or invertebrates they come across.

But it's not just what they eat, it's how they eat. Using their noses as shovels, they can quickly dig 6" into the ground to get at some roots. And the four hundred hooves stomping the ground leaves a mashed-up earth in their wake.

Not to mention the incredible impact- studies have shown that the removal of peccaries from a forest results in 500% or more increase in the number of seeds on the ground for some palsm.

However 'destructive' these peccaries may seem, it's very important that it is natural- this is the way rainforests have been for thousands of years. These trees, especially palms, have evolved in a habitat in which their seeds get eaten, so if you remove the peccary you will likely get some significant impacts on seed survival, dispersal, and the future tree population of that forest decades down the road.

It's not just the trees they impact with their engineering, studies have shown their muddy wallows provide homes for many frog species, and they are the top prey of jaguars, too.

I have worked in rainforests in which peccaries have all been hunted out by humans. The forest is, simply, different. There seem to be less cleared areas, less muddy wallows, and a definite lack of that peccary smell that permeates some parts of these forests.

So, to celebrate these wild, loud, smelly, and important animals, I present these photos:

Peccaries use their noses as a shovel, digging up roots, tubers, and seeds, and
tearing up the earth while they do it. Image by Phil Torres.

Image by Phil Torres.

Image by Phil Torres

The Answers to the "All in One Afternoon" Wildlife

2013-05-08T17:35:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Mary Bremner who guessed all of these animals right on our facebook post, very impressive!

1. Rufous Mot Mot

2. Orinoco Geese

3. Spectacled (White) Caiman

4. Capybara

5. Spider Monkey

6. Amazon Kingfisher

7. Great Black Hawk

8. Sand Colored Nighthawk

In One Afternoon, All Of This Wildlife

2013-05-06T18:20:00.004-05:00

I've been working in the rainforests of Tambopata for almost a year now and I'm still continually impressed by the quantity of wildlife you can see over the course of several hours. Yesterday a bunch of tourists and I left Refugio Amazonas, took a 4.5 hour canoe ride upriver, and ended up in the Tambopata Research Center.

I had a 400mm camera at my side and decided to see if I could capture all of the wildlife we saw along the way. While I missed getting a good shot a few bird species we saw (like herons, egrets, storks) and a few other creatures, I still ended up with quite the collection of images.

Here are eight highlights, for you to identify in the comments below. I'll post the identities once we have someone who guessed all of the names of the animals correctly, either here or on the same image posted on our facebook.

Image by Phil Torres

Follow Phil Torres on Twitter.

Three Great Reasons To Visit Tambopata

2013-05-05T09:27:00.001-05:00

Just this week we saw a record THREE jaguars on one boat ride on the Tambopata!

During a photo tour we saw these awesome jaguars. To not disappoint, the next day a big group of tourists saw two along the shore. This is a record for the area, while two have been seen on one trip more often, three have only been seen once before years ago. Check out the images below:

Photo by: Carsten Andersen

A male (top) and female jaguar (bottom) resting - Carsten Andersen

Photo by: Carsten Andersen

This jaguar was first spotted swimming across the river, and we got a great look at it as it ran up on shore and into the forest - Photos by Jeff Cremer.

45 minutes downriver, we saw this female interacting with the male, below, and they were likely getting ready to mate

Male jaguars are typically 10-20% larger than females, and this guy sure was big!

Come visit Tambopata to see these jaguars and experience the Amazon.

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The Bridal Veil Mushroom (Phallus indusiatus)

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The Bridal Veil Mushroom. Image by Phil Torres

The Bridal Veil Mushroom is odd in so many ways. Here's the countdown:

5. The smell.

Imagine a dead animal mixed with mushroom and garlic? That's the bridal veil's smell. In fact, almost every time I've encountered one it has been from tracking down that unique odor.

4. The appearance.

These images should help prove the point: it is strange and fascinating to look at. The more distinct mushroom look up-top and a cascading eggshell white 'veil' down below (called the 'indusium'), this is a fungus you won't forget.

3. The natural history.

This mushroom is only in this visual fruiting body form for a few days, spending most of its time as a fungus underground feeding on rotting wood. Also, it isn't just found in the Amazon tropics- it's found in the tropics throughout the world!

2. What feeds on it.

Why have such an odor? To attract flies which help spread its spores. In fact, some other Phallus species have a different odor that attracts different flies. Look below and you'll see that it's not just flies that feed on it, but moths do too! This is not typical moth-food, and it would be very interesting to see what nutrients this moth is getting, as well as what function they serve for spreading the spores.

1. The name

If you know what the term "phallic" means, you'll see why these mushrooms have the genus name "Phallus."

Image by Ulrike Fischer

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