While it is said that the early bird gets the worm, here in the Peruvian Amazon, the early bird got the sloth! Early risers had a bird’s-eye view of a brown three-toed sloth from the upper deck of the Delfin II this morning. Sipping coffee and sloth watching can be a new morning ritual.
Once we boarded the skiffs and started up the Yanayacu River, a myriad of sightings followed. We met several fishermen working to gather their breakfast. It seemed freshwater sardines and red-bellied piranha were biting this morning. Both gray and pink river dolphins were also fishing at the confluence of two tributary streams. The horned screamers were vocally and visually abundant. In contrast to all the activity of daytime denizens, the long-nosed bats were motionless and quietly perched on the shady side of trees in the water.
For the afternoon, monkeys were on the docket. Exploring Nauta Creek, we found squirrel monkeys, big-eyed and adorable owl monkeys, and the endemic Isabell Monk Saki monkey. To round out the mammal sightings, we also found another three-toed sloth. These were in addition to pink dolphins and many, many more bird species plus a red caiman lizard to represent the reptilian world. It was a lovely and productive afternoon on our first day exploring the Peruvian Amazon.
