Belluda Caño & El Dorado Caño
Today was a very special day in our lives. We all woke up in good spirits in the company of a magical warm and soft light that made us dream of the new adventures that were waiting for us on this day in the upper Amazon. After an early breakfast we explored “Belluda Caño” using our trusty fleet of skiffs. In the creek we had a great time with wonderful weather and wildlife observations. A family group of Night Monkeys (Aotus vociferans) was spotted. This monkey species is one of the least known and studied in the Neotropics. It is always gratifying to have the chance to observe these rare species at such close range. In addition to the monkeys we observed many bird species as well being the most representative due to its beautiful colors Paradise tanagers, Lemon-breasted Barbets, Masked Tityras , Blue and yellow and Scarlet Macaws. As the day was warming up several Caiman Lizards were seen sunbathing as well.
Yesterday in our visit to San Francisco community, we rescued a juvenile Squirrel Monkey that was kept as a pet because its mother perished. The temporary native owner voluntarily gave away the animal to us. Today we had the joy and pride to set the monkey free in its natural habitat. The monkey started hunting insects in front of us and acting naturally going back and forth in the tree branches. The monkey will soon find one of the many numerous Squirrel monkey troops roaming in the area and will be part of one of them without any doubt. The Squirrel Monkey was aptly nicknamed “Olivia” by the ladies of the group that is onboard the ship this week.
Once onboard we had two presentations. The first was a Natural History talk on the “Morphology, Ecology and Behavioral Notes of the Primates of the Pacaya Saimiria Reserve.” I shared with all some of the information I have gathered about monkeys in the many years I have been around the Neotropics. Later on we had an Amazon fruits exhibition with Delfin II naturalist Rudy Flores. He talked about the marvelous biodiversity of the fruits of this region in Upper Peruvian Amazon. All of us smelled, touched, and tried the various delicious and exotic fruits that have been and will be served as part of our meals in the expedition.
In the afternoon we had a late visit to “El Dorado” River. In this remote location in the reserve we spotted several Brown-throated three-toed Sloths and many rain forest bird species. We stayed in the area until late after sunset with the intention to spot wildlife at night with the aid of strong spotlights operated by our expert naturalists’ team. We found some juvenile Spectacle Caimans. These South American alligator species has a characteristic spectacle bridge crossing the snout that gives the common name to this reptile. The night finally told us that it was time to come back to our cozy home away from home this week the Delfin II. With a drink in hand and after a refreshing shower we had the chance to exchange our impressions of this phenomenal day before going to our exquisite dinner that marked the end of the day.
