Our last full day of exploration of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in the Upper Amazon in Peru was filled with all the required ingredients that have made this expedition a successful one with great animal sightings, intercultural experiences with the local inhabitants of the area, wonderful company and excellent meals with regional flavors.
Today in the morning while exploring “Zapote Caño” we had another great sighting of Monk Saki Monkeys. These strange-looking primates were observed for a long time feeding on the red ripe fruits of a tree. We turned off the skiffs’ engines and had a great look to one of the most unusual monkey species of the Neotropics.
Monk Saki Monkeys (Phiteciamonachus) are generally quiet but when heard they make peculiar calls unexpected in monkeys, they vocalize high pitched whines, grunts and bird-like chirping sounds. This relatively large monkey weights approximately 2.5 Kg (a little less than 6 pounds) but is appears to be bigger due to the thick fur hair that covers most of its body. The thick bushy non-prehensile tail is long and characteristic. It has been suggested that this thick fur, unusual in the tropics, protects the monkeys from insect bites. This monkey species is one of my favorites ever. When travelling, they make acrobatic movements extending its arms just like “flying” from branch to branch. The latter behavior is the origin of one of their common names, “mono volador” which is Spanish for flying monkey.
The afternoon was spent exploring Supay Caño by skiff rides. This relatively narrow water channel, locally known as “caño” is covered with a thick vegetation with many bromeliads and huge Ficus trees. Several species of colorful birds like macaws were seen as well as some few monkey troops.
Later at the evening we watched the slide show of the pictures of the week and had a great barbeque farewell dinner with music included that was a golden finale for a spectacular and memorable expedition.
