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What animals live in the rainforest?
More than 60% of the territory of Peru is covered by Amazonian tropical forest. In fact, more than half of the life on the planet lives in Amazonian tropical forests, so in the Peruvian Amazon, one of the least devastated in South America, you can find the greatest biodiversity of animals and plants in the world, which is why it is considered one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, because of that we can for sure answer what animals live in the rainforest?
The most outstanding animals that live in the rainforest are undoubted:
- The macaws. In the Tambopata National Reserve, you find the 3 largest and most colorful.
- The caimans
- Monkeys (8 species in this area of Madre de Dios in Peru)
- Felines such as the jaguar, the puma, and the ocelot
- Very famous fish like piranhas (not necessarily as aggressive as in the movies, at least not in the whole Amazon)
- Pink dolphins (north of the Peruvian Amazon) among others.
However, one of the questions that every traveler should ask themselves when choosing an ecolodge in the Amazon is: how healthy is the forest around the ecolodge where I will stay? And this is summarized in the possibility of finding certain animals that indicate their health and therefore your chances of seeing fauna.
Photo by Paul Bertner
What animals represent a healthy Amazon forest?
Mathias Tobler, AmazonCam project leader and associate researcher at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance tells us a little: “Jaguars, for example, depend on other species as prey. So if there is a good population of jaguars there must be good populations of prey.
Other species are very vulnerable to hunting… such as the Razor billed curazao, peccaries, and tapir… so they quickly disappear if there is high hunting pressure, in this category, there is also the spider monkey.
Another category of species depends on certain resources (micro-climate, forest structure) that only exist in «healthy» forests… of those, there are fewer in medium and large mammals, but they are seen in birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc., ”
Even experienced guides with more than 15 years of guiding the Amazon forests agree that there are certain animals that indicate the health of the forest. Erick Arguedas, guide and environmental interpreter at the Tambopata Research Center, shares some of his favorite encounters from 2021 and comments on the animals that represent a healthy forest for him.
In 2021, a loss of 2 million hectares of Amazonian forests is estimated due to illegal mining, indiscriminate logging, agriculture, and urbanization. In addition to the great effects on climate change that the loss of biomass implies and that we are currently experiencing. For this reason, it is important to explore the last wild visa refugees that the protected natural areas bring, spaces where wildlife not only delights us with its presence but also become incredible opportunities to learn about its great biodiversity and therefore the importance of its conservation.
Erick Arguedas is on Instagram, follow him here
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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
Unbelievable.... Magical Everything I have dreamed of since I was 8 years old but MORE 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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