Belluda Caño & El Dorado River
Early in the morning we departed with the hope of having a wonderful time and we had it. We went on skiffs in direction to Belluda Caño, a small tributary to the mighty Ucayali River. On our way to the entrance to Belluda, we spotted the smallest true monkey in the world, the pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) and several colorful blue and yellow macaws (Ara macao) perching high on the top of dead palm trees along the riverside.
Once on Belluda Caño we had several mammal sightings. Mammals are difficult to see in any given ecosystem and in the rainforests it’s even more complicated. Today we felt lucky to see several of them. We saw a family of night or owl monkeys (Aotus vociferans). This little known animal is the only nocturnal monkey species in South America. Its huge eyes are indicators of its lifestyle. Night monkeys live in small family groups of two to five individuals. They feed on fruit, insects and flower nectar and are relatively sedentary. By day they sleep mainly in tree hollows where they can be seen spending long hours just sitting quietly. A sighting of the bizarre-looking monk saki monkey (Phitecia monachus) was great as well. We observed a couple of mature males moving in the canopy. We observed squirrel monkeys (Saimiri scireus) and saddle-backed tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis) as well. One group had a brief observation of a tayra (Eira barbara), which is an unusually spotted weasel-like animal.
The rest of the morning was devoted to a couple of presentations. I talked about the “Morphology, Ecology and Behavioral Notes of the Primates of the Pacaya-Saimiria Reserve.” I shared some of the information I have gathered about monkeys in the many years I have been around the Neotropics. The other presentation was an amusing demonstration on how to fold towels using origami given by our cabin boys Pedro Ruiz Jr. and Jose Yaicat.
After lunch, Delfin II naturalist Adonai Rodriguez had an exhibition of medicinal plants. He collected some of them during our visits and talked about them.
The late afternoon was spent exploring “El Dorado” River. In this remote location in the reserve, we spotted several brown-throated three-toed sloths and many rainforest bird species like kingfishers, tanagers, flycatchers, parrots and some birds of prey. A squirrel monkey troop was spotted looking for food. Naturalist Denis observed a different shape animal in the group. After a closer examination with his binoculars, he determined that an Amazon squirrel was mingling with the monkey troop.
We stayed in the area until late after sunset with the intention of spotting wildlife at night with the aid of strong spotlights operated by our expert naturalists’ team. We spotted some juvenile spectacled caimans (Caiman cocrodillus). The latter South American alligator species has a characteristic spectacle bridge crossing the snout that gives the common name to this reptile. We saw a couple of nocturnal bird species as well, the great potoo (Nyctibius grandis) and the common pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis). Many fishing bats (Noctilio leporinus) were flying up and down the creek as well. They were echo-locating for fish off the ripples fish make as they come to the surface to catch insects. Another great sighting was a family of night monkeys, the same species we saw in the morning, beginning their night activities. This is a behavior seldom seen from a skiff. Everyone came home thrilled at having experienced the transition from day to night and watching the nocturnal environment unfold.
Once onboard the ship, after a refreshing shower and with a drink in hand, we had the chance to exchange our impressions of this phenomenal day before going to our exquisite dinner. After dinner we watched the movie Amazon: Rivers of the Sun projected on a big screen in the lounge.
It is quite late at night at the moment I am writing these paragraphs but I can still feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins remembering all the great sightings we had today.
