We went into the deepest, most remote parts of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve today. It was a day full of adventure that started with a 5:30 am wakeup call and ended with an amazing list of observations and experiences. We sighted the second southern tamandua of the trip, a hoatzin on a nest with a chick, and a plethora of tree frogs in the aquatic vegetation. With the cooler temperatures and cloud cover of the morning, the red howler monkeys were easier to find as they warmed themselves in the sun. This presented an incredible opportunity to view several troops of the tree dwellers. After a lunch in the “jungle café,” we went for the “piranha plunge” to cool off. We returned to the comfort of the Delfin II to share our sightings and review and share our new images.
7/25/2024
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Delfin II
Ucayali and Dorado Rivers
Today we had the great opportunity to start exploring the riverbank of the Ucayali River. We loaded the skiffs right after sunrise. As we cruised along the riverbank, different species of birds were seen. A highlight of that early exploration was the sighting of a tayra, a small omnivorous creature in the weasel family, that didn’t stay long in our view. After breakfast, we walked through Yanallpa flooded forest. Here our naturalist explained to us the importance of the floods for the Amazon forest. They also pointed out the effect of climate change over the area and how it has changed the use of the soils after the floods. It was a morning of learning about how the forest has manage to adapt to the seasonal floods and how fish and other animals depends on those events. Our late afternoon activities were held on Dorado River. Our naturalists brought out spotlights after sunset. Black caimans and spectacled caimans were the major attraction for our guests. Other night dwellers were also spotted by our naturalists, such as fishing bats, boat-billed night herons, night jars, and many other animals were seen by our guests. It was another awesome day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.