THE BEST of 2014 in the Peruvian Jungle

Stories

Wrapping up 2014 with Rainforest Expeditions

Every year, people from all over the world venture to the Southeastern corner of Peru. And it’s not hard to understand why; the Tambopata National Reserve lies in the Amazon Basin and boasts some of the most spectacular rainforest and wildlife this world has to offer. Jaguars, Macaws, Monkeys, CapybaraGiant river otters, and Harpy eagles are some of the notable megafaunas that can be observed in their natural habitat here. But not all of the impressive wildlife in the Amazon is large in size. In fact, the little creatures can be just as fascinating, if not more so.

Most of the planet’s biodiversity comes in the form of insects, worms, and other miniature living organisms, and new species are being discovered each day. Some of our top stories this past year included coverage of unknown species of insects and spiders that were found in close proximity to the Rainforest Expeditions jungle lodges in Tambopata recently!

Here are some of our top stories from 2014:

This Spider Makes Fake Spiders. But Why? 1.21.14. By Nadia Drake. 

 Decoy spider’ sitting at the top of its pseudo-spider structure.

 

 ‘Decoy spider’ sitting at the top of its pseudo-spider structure. Photo courtesy of Lary Reeve

What I learned Hunting Decoy-Weaving Spiders in the Amazon. 6.16.14. By Douglas Main.

Reeves-Pomerantz-eyeing-sad-decoy

Lary (right) and Aaron (left) investigating the ‘Decoy spiders’

 

Expedition to Candamo: Venturing into ‘The Last Rainforest Without Men’. 11.2.14. By Aaron Pomerantz.

 

Candamo-Aldo

Aldo and his team push the boat through strong rapids to make it to Candamo

Predatory ‘Glow Worm’ Discovered in Peruvian Rainforest. 11.19.14. By Lisa Winter.

Harpy_eagle_Tambopata_Peru

Harpy eagle snatches a howler monkey for breakfast.

 

A beautiful Harpy eagle snatches a howler monkey for breakfast. Photo by Chris Johns

 

 

A bioluminescent insect larva protrudes its head from the earth and lures in prey to its powerful mandibles.

Small Glow Worm

Closing out with a fruitful December expedition

This past December, I was joined by two incredible groups in the Amazon. Chris Johns, a friend and colleague of mine, is a graduate student at the University of Florida and assembled a team that rumbled through the jungle with me and guided Frank Pichardo for two weeks. We came across a myriad of amazing animals, including a Harpy eagle that had just snatched a howler monkey for breakfast, caiman, tailless-whip scorpions, monkey frogs, snakes (big snakes!), and much more.

A caiman smiles big for the camera. Photo by Chris Johns.

 

Yellow-bellied-Puffing-Snake

A large Yellow-bellied Puffing Snake was none too happy to see us

Chris, I think you’ve got a bug on your face…A tailless whip scorpion to be exact.

Then I was joined by Christie Wilcox, a rising science communication star who celebrated her successful Ph.D. defense by immersing herself in the Peruvian Amazon. In addition to taking in everything fascinating that the jungle has to offer, Christie was working to gather content for her book on venom (coming soon). This meant getting up close to potentially dangerous animals, including snakes, scorpions, wandering spiders, and bullet ants (ouch!). All in all, we had a safe trip and documented plenty of venomous fauna to satiate Christie’s toxic appetite.

 

 

wandering-spider

A wandering spider displays a warning threat by raising her front pairs of legs. Don’t mess!

bullet ant

The stinger of a bullet ant, is supposedly one of the most painful insect stings one can experience. I’ll take your word for it…

 

 

Large bark scorpions

Large bark scorpions in the Amazon can be found on night hikes. 

Christie, you most CERTAINLY have a bug on your face

So what comes next with Rainforest Expeditions? Ongoing research projects for our peculiar spider and glow worm species push us to stay on top of the scientific literature and techniques so we can gather more data and publish our results. There are still many emerging questions that have yet to be answered. Is the ‘Decoy spider’ a new species? What purpose or purposes does the decoy structure serve? If it is indeed to avoid anti-predation, what predators pushed for the selection of this unique behavior in the spider? Are the ‘glow worms’ a new species and is this a new record of their occurrence in Southeastern Peru?

 

We’re also working to organize more trips over the course of the next year with scientists, photographers, and filmmakers, who are eager to come down to this area which is ripe with unknown animals and discoveries. What comes next isn’t entirely known, and that’s part of the adventure.

 

A perfect day in Tambopata, Peru

A perfect day in Tambopata, Peru

Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank the people who helped me get here and who have been invaluable colleagues in the field this past year. Lary Reeves is a graduate student at the University of Florida who invited me to join him in the Amazon in May of 2014. What was meant to be a routine research expedition turned into a position working with the Tambopata Research Center (Rainforest Expeditions) as a Science Communicator, and I am thankful to Lary, as well as Jeff Cremer, for giving me the opportunity to come to this place.

All group at Tambopata

 

Top left: Lary Reeves, Douglas Main, Augusto Bazan, and Nadia Drake composed an indispensable team in May where we made some more exciting discoveries about the ‘Decoy spiders’. Top right: In October I organized a team to venture into the remote Candamo region, and it couldn’t have been done without the help of Jeff Cremer, Mike Bentley, Geoff Gallice, Roy, Misael, Rodolfo, Gallo, Pedro, and Aldo. Bottom left: This December trip, I’d like to thank my amazing group with Chris Johns, Kai Moreb, Lauren Georges, Narayan Ghiotti, Frank Pichardo, and Nicole Lizares.

 

Bottom right: Christie Wilcox was a pleasure to have in the field poking at dangerous animals, and I hope we get to do it again soon. One last shout-out to Phil Torres and Jeff Cremer, who have been incredible sources of knowledge, friendship, and collaboration on projects in this part of the world. Wrapping up 2014 with Rainforest Expeditions has been an amazing experience thus far; I can only imagine what the top stories of 2015 will look like…Cheers to the New Year!

 

by Aaron Pomerantz

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Such a wonderful experience deep in a part of the Amazon, Tambopata NP. They really involve you with what is happening at the research centre with evening lectures. The meals are outstanding and the rooms are comfortable and I had the best sleep. Dino our guide was outstanding. The river trip to see the Macaw claylicks was a beautiful outing. We saw Capybaras along the river and it was very scenic. The staff are friendly and very engaging. As a tour operator who sends clients to AFRICA for safari, I was hugely satisfied. Thank you, gracious. Food & drinks: Good was simply delicious Read all

An amazing experience in the Peruvian jungle. the information about the centre was very accurate so I knew what to expect but was blown away by the experience and competence of my guide for the four nights, Juan Carlos Yatto. JC was looking for birds for me from the moment he collected me at the airport, so we saw birds on the drive and on the boat ride as well as on the excursions themselves. I was in Peru three weeks and JC was my best guide by far. Don't miss the clay licks for sure, and the tower is also well worth the climb. Food and people are wonderful and the research very interesting. Read all

Das Tambopata Research Center ist eine wunderbare Lodge im Nationalpark Tambopata. Die charmanten, miteinander verbundenen Aufenthaltsräume und Zimmer befinden sich auf hölzernen Stelzen. Bei den offenen Gemeinschaftsräumen gibt es gemütliche Sitzecken, eine wunderbare Hängemattenrelaxzone und einen herrlichen Restaurantbereich, wo zu jeder Zeit Tee, Kaffee und Wasser zur Verfügung stehen. Die stilvollen Zimmer verfügen über bequeme Betten mit Moskitonetz und moderne, saubere Duschbereiche. Die Research Center Lodge mit den Forschungseinrichtungen liegt inmitten des Regenwaldes umgeben von der reinen Natur mit der fantastischen Flora und Fauna, welche dort auch weiterhin erforscht und geschützt wird. Jeden Abend gibt es dazu sehr interessante Vorträge. Die Mitarbeiter sind sehr freundlich, offen und zuvorkommend. Die Buffets waren sehr köstlich und reichhaltig mit Gerichten aus der Region. Es wird großer Wert auf ökologische und nachhaltig umweltschonende Bewirtschaftung gelegt. Von der Lodge aus ist es möglich, mit ausgebildeten Guides in Gruppen von maximal 6 Personen verschiedene Exkursionen zu machen. Speziell Timo war ausgesprochen freundlich, auf unsere Sicherheit bedacht, ging auf die individuellen Interessen der einzelnen Personen ein und vermittelte uns in seiner kompetenten Art umfangreiches Wissen über die Pflanzen- und Tierwelt. Er hatte dabei die wunderbare Fähigkeit, versteckte Wildtiere zu entdecken, und verschaffte uns wunderschöne Momente, auch durch das mitgetragene Teleskop, wodurch wir der Tierwelt näher sein konnten. So sahen wir u.a. Brüllaffen, Kapuzineraffen und Spideraffen mit ihren Kindern, viele Vögel insbesondere Papageien wie z.B. Scharlach- und Gelbbauch-Aras sowie Wasserschweine und verschiedene Insekten. Wir können diese wunderbare Lodge absolut weiterempfehlen. Die herrliche Tier- und Pflanzenwelt in dem wunderbar erhaltenen und geschützten Regenwald des Amazonas war auf unserer Peru-Reise ein wirklich fantastisches Erlebnis! Read all

Rainforest Expeditions is a wonderful company and the Posadas Amazonas lodge is a beautiful location to spend your time in the Amazon. The staff are all incredibly kind, helpful, and knowledgeable. The tours were very fun and we saw lots of animals including River otters, monkeys, birds, and capybaras. We loved our guide Luis and all the people we met. The food was delicious and locally grown and there was never a dull moment. Would highly recommend! Read all

I went to Posada as part of a wider group trip, so did not pay for it directly. The lodge feels very far from anywhere and yet it feels incredibly safe. The rooms are open to nature, but nothing was ever damaged (use the safe boxes as advised, especially for food - not that you'll need any - the catering is excellent, with plenty of vegetarian options, and snacks are also provided between meals). There are flushing toilets, incredible shower facilities and the beds are very comfortable with mosquito nets placed at night by the staff. Drinking water vats are strategicvally placed throughout the lodge but you may have a long-ish walk to the common areas through corridors. Some parts of the corridors are open to the elements, but umbrellas are provided everywhere in case of rain. There is obviously no air conditioning, but this helps you acclimatise. The lodge is run by a family and others from the Infierno community, which gives the place a homely feel, with resident tour guides and a local geologist for citizen science projects. Massage services are available and there is a local shop for souvenirs and essentials like bug spray, clothing and torches. Tons of activities can be arranged, but it's also nice to relax in the hammocks and common areas and listen to the sounds of nature. While this hotel is not going to be for everyone, I had the most incredible time! Read all

The place to go if you want to see Macaws in the Peruvian rainforest. We stayed at the Tambopata Reaearch Centre (TRC) for three days and had Juan Carlos Yatto as our guide for the duration of our stay. We loved the mission of the TRC ie Macaw conservation and the link between Macaw nest site availability and the overall health of the rainforest. Juan Carlos Yatto (there is another JC at the research centre) was a fantastic guide and really made a difference to our experience at the TRC. His knowledge of the different species of wildlife and plants was amazing, his ability to spot things in the day or at night was phenomenal and he really made things accessible for our group. His English is excellent (including great humour when appropriate) and is a super guy. I really do recommend the TRC abd Juan Carlos Yatto as a guide. We saw an abundance of wildlife of all descriptions thanks to him and learned a huge amount without being overloaded. Read all

Two planes, a bus and a boat…that’s how we made it to TRC, and every minute was worth it. Tambopata is a jewel, from the moment you are greeted by the guide assigned to you (Juan Carlos Gonzales for us) to the last boat ride back to civilization. Juan Carlos was amazing…on just one hike he found five of the seven species of monkeys in the area! He is truly an expert..can hear, see and even SMELL animals, birds and insects to point out to us. We upgraded to a deluxe suite and it was decadent! An elegant outdoor tub and shower on a private balcony was soo nice’ Although we went in the rainy season, it never rained while on a hike or excursion. It rained for a few minutes on our late afternoon cruise , but not enough to dampen our enthusiasm, or prevent us from seeing a capybara in the mid! (And despite the warning of a lot of mosquitoes, I have been bitten more in my own back yard!) The bar is great, there’s PLENTY of food…we are going home feeling so lucky to have had such a great connection to the beauty of the Amazon. Read all

We had a fantastic time for our 3N/4D stay at Tambopata Research Center. The whole experience was marvellous. Rooms and facilities were great and meals superb. The Staff, ably led by Tanya the manager, were all friendly and helpful. This is the only lodge actually inside the Tambopata National Park, and we enjoyed being so "remote". I like that you have one guide who coordinates and takes you on all your activities; Jair our guide was amazing. One morning our planned activity was rained out, and I liked that they have alternative "wet weather" activities planned. There are lectures each night by researchers, which were very interesting. Also citizen science projects that you can participate in. All up, it was a fantastic way to experience the Peruvian Amazon. Read all

Posada Amazonas by Rainforest Expeditions is an extraordinary place. From your arrival at the airport in Puerto Maldonado all the staff is always attentive to your needs. You travel by boat to the hotel Posada Amazonas and it is a unique experience. It really is a total disconnection and a recollection with Mother Nature 🌎 The buffet lunch is delicious (already included in the price). You have a guide who speaks Spanish and English at all times and accompanies you to explore the jungle, the river and other activities. The price is worth it. Outside my room I caught a glimpse of monkeys :) The night sky is starry and very spectacular ✨️ 5 star service. I will definitely come back. Read all

I stayed with my parents at Refugio Amazonas for 3 days. We really enjoyed our stay and had a wonderful time here. The staff were extremely kind and well informed. The lodge manager- Arturo in particular was very helpful. To highlight their culture: They prepared special vegetarian meals for my parents, always ensured we felt comfortable and all our needs were met. A stay here is a must do to get a real feel of the Amazon rainforest on your trip to Peru! Noteworthy details: There are a lot of activities for kids and families to do, but my personal favourites are: Macaw Claylick, OxBow river ride, sunset cruise and the canopy tower. Read all

An incredible and unparalleled experience I felt fortunate Read all

I can't express how amazing our guides were. Incredibly knowledgeable and able to spot birds, frogs, spiders, animals, etc. with an almost unbelievable ability. The research and contributions to the jungle they are making at the Center are to be commended. The facilities were nice and kept clean and the staff was great, but between the walls in the rooms being open to the jungle, the heat, the bugs, underpowered fans, having to completely cover up for hikes due to bugs and then getting overheated, etc. it made for a tough stay. The food was good but after a couple days became repetitive. I would recommend this for serious birders who are willing to endure a bit for an incredible adventure. Read all

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