Rainforest lakes are great for wildlife spotting
26 May 2023 (656 visits)In addition to being among the most beautiful places in the Amazon, the calm waters of rainforest lakes are also home to many fascinating and often endangered species, ranging from giant otters, black caimans and the massive paiche fish, to the howler monkeys and macaws that inhabit lakeshore forests.
When you join us in our Peru jungle home, as part of the ecoadventure experience you select when you book your vacation, your naturalist guide will take you along forest trails to one of these tranquil bodies of water hidden deep in the rainforest.
In and around the oxbow lakes we include as part of our ecotourism excursions and rainforest camping expeditions, hundreds of species of birds have been registered, including endemic and migratory species, and species that are in danger of extinction beyond the refuge that our protected forests offer.
During our rainforest trips, our guides paddle close to the lakeshore, in search of colorful birds, as well as caimans and other creatures hidden in the waters or among lush vegetation. Beneath the surface of rainforest lakes, many of the more than 200 species of fish known to exist in Tambopata thrive. These include the giant paiche. After the beluga, the Amazon basin’s paiche is the world’s second largest freshwater fish. It can grow to more than 2.5 meters (8 feet) in length and weigh more than two hundred and fifty kilograms (550 pounds).
Beyond these lakes’ aquatic life, the surrounding rainforest is home to many species of monkeys, as well as sloths and the macaws and parrots that make their nests in the hollows of dead trees. Rainforest animals visit lakeshores regularly, particularly during the dry season, meaning that our guests are sure to see a wide variety of Amazon fauna during our excursions to forest lakes.
The oxbow lakes we include as part of our guided tours are also home to palm wetlands. The waters of palm wetlands and the tasty fruits the palm trees produce attract many species of rainforest fauna, including macaws, monkeys, tapirs, peccaries, and even some species of fish that have learned to specialize by feeding on fruits that fall into the water.
Other trees that flank lake waters include ancient kapok, cedar and chestnut trees, as well as many other giants of the Amazon rainforest.
