Stories
In Photos- The White Lipped Peccary
The term ‘ecosystem engineer’ refers to an animal that significantly creates, modifies, and maintains the habitat it lives in.
The beaver is an obvious example of this, as its dams actually create small ponds. But for anyone who has ever come across a herd of 200+ white-lipped peccary in the Amazon and seen their aftermath, it’s not hard to imagine these guys can do equally significant engineering for the amazon rainforest wildlife.
Our Tambopata Research Center lodge is smack dab in the middle of a White-Lipped Peccary reserve, making it an incredible place to spot these wild hogs. Photo by Lucas Bustamante.
If you ask one of our local guides what peccaries eat, their typical answer is «everything.» Peccary is known for loudly chomping on seeds, eating young shoots of plants, and even eating small vertebrates or invertebrates they come across.
But it’s not just what they eat, it’s how they eat. Using their noses as shovels, they can quickly dig 6″ into the ground to get at some roots. And the four hundred hooves stomping the ground leave mashed-up earth in their wake.
Not to mention the incredible impact- studies have shown that the removal of peccaries from forest results in a 500% or more increase in the number of seeds on the ground for some palms.
However ‘destructive’ these peccaries may seem, it’s very important that it is natural- this is the way rainforests have been for thousands of years. These trees, especially palms, have evolved in a habitat in which their seeds get eaten, so if you remove the peccary you will likely get some significant impacts on seed survival, dispersal, and the future tree population of those forests decades down the road.
It’s not just the trees they impact with their engineering, studies have shown their muddy wallows provide homes for many frog species, and they are the top prey of jaguars, too.
I have worked in rainforests in which peccaries have all been hunted out by humans. The forest is, simply, different. There seem to be less cleared areas, less muddy wallows, and a definite lack of that peccary smell that permeates some parts of these forests.
So, to celebrate these wild, loud, smelly, and important animals, here are some photos of the White-lipped peccary during an amazon rainforest expedition. Photos by Paul Bertner :
How to plan your Amazon travel to see this and other Amazon wildlife
- Go on a hike in the rainforest with a trained guide: Peccaries are everywhere in the rainforest. You can see them around Tambopata Research Center lodge gardens. However, to see a white-lipped peccary you have to go out with a guide quietly.
By Phil Torres
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What our guest say
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- Valuation Excellent
- 5/5
Jacob Shama May 2024
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Dreamer627120 March 2024
The lodge is located in the middle of the forest accessible only by boat. The experience was very unique and exciting. Service is great, and the fun part are the nature activities and tours the hotel offers for free. We had an amazing tour guide that had a lot of knowledge and was fun to spend time with. The rooms are totally open to the forest which is really cool the struggle is the there is no privacy at all in between the rooms, also food was pretty basic. All together a very unique experience. Read all
This hotel is the perfect blend of comfort and hospitality, with the natural experience. The hotel is reached by a hours boat ride from Puerto Maldonado, expertly organized and accomplished. Most staff are members of the local Esa Ejja community. The food is good and plentiful. Hot water is always available and lovely bedding features mosquito nets. There is of course no air conditioning (one side wall is open in rach room) and the electricity is off for a few hours at night affecting overhead fans, so I was glad to have brought a small battery powered fan for sleeping. But the best of the experience is the wildlife. Our expert guide Oscar Mishaja introduced us to nearly 100 bird species, along with caimans, river otters, poison dart frogs and capybara. A trip of a lifetime. Read all
Excellent experience overall— really kind and welcoming staff at every point of the journey. All transfers were well organized and smooth. Excellent and educational excursions all around the rainforest. Delicious food for every meal. We had wonderful guides- Freet and Alvaro. Enjoyed our time here! Read all
We had a surreal experience at Refugio Amazonas. From the well organized transportation to the warm welcome, hospitality and the experience of living in nature - we loved it all. Huge shout out to our guide Boris who went out of his way to ensure we had a good experience and got to watch all kinds of wild life. The meals and cocktails were delicious. And even though this place is smack in the middle of the jungle there was super fast WiFi available. We made unforgettable memories. Read all
We had an amazing time in TRC. From the guide, tours, lounge staff, food and room, everything has exceeded our expectation and like an amazing dream came true. We highly recommend to directly book with the lounge website, so that you got a private guide for your group. Special thanks to our guide Saul, who made this experience extra special! We were so impressed by his knowledge about all the animals and the rainforest. Read all
We had an amazing time in TRC. From the guide, tours, lounge staff, food and room, everything has exceeded our expectation and like an amazing dream came true. This is the only lounge available in Tambopata national park, and this eco lounge takes environment seriously. We highly recommend to directly book with the lounge website, so that you got a private guide for your group. Special thanks to our guide Saul, who made this experience extra special! We were so impressed by his knowledge about all the animals and the rainforest. If you are a natural lover, you can’t miss this place Read all
Excellent and luxurious place, wonderful experience and our guide Boris was first class, he had a unique patience with my 8 year old son. An experience in the tropical rainforest that marks the life of its visitors. In addition to the scientific research that takes place in the place: a whole research center. Rooms: Very comfortable and luxuriou Read all
El mejor hotel para visitar la Amazonia peruana. Hotel eco turístico metido en medio de la selva, equipado para visitar y vivir la selva, su flora y fauna, en todas sus facetas. Todo incluido, con guías preparados y amables, resultó una experiencia increíble para mi familia. Dentro de las opciones no se debe perder el Canopy de 45 metros de altura para observar y escuchar la selva, así como el lago de las tres Chimbadas, lugar único para ver caimanes, nutrias gigantes, monos y aves exóticas. Recomiendo mínimo dos noches!!! Read all
Wunderbare lodge mit freundlichen Menschen. sehr persönliche guides, tolle Tourangebote und super kulinarische Verpflegung ! Wir wurden herzlichst von Caesar empfangen und unser guide JuanJo hat uns phantastische Dinge gezeigt. Wir können die lodge nur wärmstens empfehlen! Read all
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