Face to Face With Wildlife in a Peruvian Rainforest
By Bill Grimes |
The Tamshiyacu Tahuayo (Tom-she-yah-coo Tah-huai-yo) Community Reserve is 800,000 acres, wisely set aside by the community government to preserve for as long as they are able. Plans are nearing completion to add one million more acres of wilderness all the way to the Yavari River at the border of Brazil and Peru. The reserve is located between the Tamshiyaco and Tahuayo Rivers. It is ¼ of the distance, time and money required to visit Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
Visitors to this reserve find the most diverse collection of protected primates in the wild. Eleven species of monkeys and marmosets, as well as over 500 species of birds thrive within the boundaries of the park. The reserve was established to protect the rare Red Uakari monkey, like this one that I was fortunate to
get a photo of before it swung, and jumped out of sight.
When we picked up our group of visitors at our dock to ferry them to Dawn on the Amazon III, they could tell from a block away that she was not like the other river boats. Floating there on the river in the sunshine
she gleamed more like fine polished tropical hardwood furniture built by master craftsmen, than a riverboat designed to navigate the Amazon River and its small tributaries. Upon boarding their cruise boat, they discovered the unique wood carvings with vegetable ivory inlays, the well stocked kitchen, and full range of communication devices, including satellite telephones for special uses, and comfortable accommodations, a rarity on the river. One of the passengers declared, “This boat is beyond reckoning.”
The first signs of abundant wildlife in the reserve are trees filled with parrots and toucans. Kingfishers and fly catchers zoom down just off the bow. Hawks and eagles glide along off the stern. For animal enthusiasts, an occasional look at something most people never see outside a zoo or a photo on a website.
We heard the distinctive loud sound of the Dusky Ti-ti monkeys long before we saw them. Then, there they were, about the size of beer cans, hopping around on the branches like a tree full of second graders calling their greetings, staring back at us out of their white face masks.
One passenger from California wanted to see big trees. We saw some giant tops sticking up well above the canopy of the forest, and slowed down looking for a good place to tie off.
What we saw next was a first for me.
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