Wildlife of Tambopata Reserve

Amazon Rainforest - Peru

Tambopata is one of the world´s most diverse wildernesses. It is also one of the best preserved. However, many large spectacular species can be rare, shy, unpredictable and very difficult to see, with few notable exceptions. Nevertheless, exciting encounters do occur on a regular basis. At Tambopata Research Center, you will have some of the Amazon´s best chances of seeing jaguar, tapir, giant river otters, harpy eagles and macaws. In the year 2000, for example, we saw 16 jaguars in Tambopata, perhaps the most difficult to see of the aforementioned species. Of these sightings, one was of a jaguar eating a dead tapir, at 20 yards seen for 15 minutes by 8 people. Another one was of a jaguar sleeping on the beach in front of the TRC. Our driver did three return trips to show everyone at the lodge, including staff, the sleeping jaguar. It was even filmed by a crew from the BBC! The next day, it was there again.

So, come relaxed, with your eyes open and lots of curiosity. You will be in a place where every horizontal and vertical meter of forest has hundreds of species of organisms, different from one meter to the next. Just that thought should keep your sense of wonder alive throughout the trip. Then, all of a sudden, you will see that jaguar.

Please check out our Wildlife Encounter chart below for encounter rates and detailed descriptions of these and other species.

Wildlife Encounter Chart

The first and second column of the following table summarize encounter probabilities for Tambopata’s most spectacular wildlife species based on over 300 Posada Amazonas and 200 Tambopata Research Center groups operated in 2000. The third column specifies Tambopata Research Center’s wildlife encounter probabilities relative to five other lodges in the region based on a two year study conducted from 1997 to 1998. The number of times each species was encountered by the group of scientists was tallied and then compared to each of the other lodges’. The number in the column indicates TRC’s position relative to the other five.This data was taken from Chirs Kirby’s preliminary unpublished report of the TREES-RAMOS project.

SPECIES	Posada Amazonas	Tambopata Research Center	Relative Position
Giant River Otter (from the Posada Amazonas oxbow lake)	61%	51%	n-a
Brown Capuchin Monkey	18%	68%	1
Spider Monkey	3%	16%	1
Squirrel Monkey	25%	67%	1
Dusky headed Titi Monkey	78%	79%	3
Night Monkey	19%	19%	n-a
Red Howler Monkey	24%	79%	2
Saddleback Tamarin	28%	32%	5
Blue and Gold Macaw (not necessarily on clay lick)	45%	91%	n-a
Scarlet Macaw (not necessarily on clay lick)	56%	94%	n-a
Red- and Green Macaw (not necessarily on clay lick)	88%	92%	n-a
Chestnut-fronted Macaw (not necessarily on clay lick)	50%	90%	n-a
Red-bellied Macaw (not necessarily on clay lick)	23%	86%	n-a
Harpy Eagle	1%	2.%	n-a
Toucan	81%	73%	n-a
White-lipped Peccary	1%	11%	n-a
Collared Peccary	3%	11%	2
Tapir	1%	6%	1
Capybara	18%	82%	n-a
Tayra	8%	26%	1
Jaguar	2%	8%	1
Ocelot	0.3%	1%	1
Brown Agouti	13%	40%	5
Abundance of mammals in general	n-a	n-a	1

BIRDWATCHING AT TAMBOPATA:

A typical week long trip to Tambopata, with a good birding guide, should yield around two-three hundred species. When travelling with an interest in birdwatching, i.e. when you want to dedicate most of your day to actively seeking and identifying birds, please let us know beforehand so that we can assign an appropriate guide. Also, although Posada Amazonas is a good birding location, Tambopata Research Center is superior because it offers a greater habitat variety at very accessible distances, and more importantly, it is located in forests that have been untouched by hunters for decades, thus harboring carrying capacity population of large "game" birds: guan, currasow, macaws, etc. If you do not have the minimum five days required for a solid Tambopata Research Center itinerary, then Posada Amazonas is a good three or four day substitute: it offers lake birds, a canopy tower and parrot clay licks. Also remember all programs to Tambopata Research Center, spend at least two nights at Posada Amazonas, giving you a chance to bird the lake and climb the canopy tower.

PHOTOGRAPHY IN TAMBOPATA

The Amazon, with its magnificent scenery and diversity of fauna and flora is a photographer’s paradise. However it is a challenging environment for natura and wildlife photography.

The first challenge photographers will face is with their camera equipment. Even before the first wildlife encounter, you will have to deal with elements that can cause havoc with your camera equipment. The high level of humidity, the ever changing weather conditions and even plastic-melting insect repellent will be a challenge to even the most reliable equipment.

The second challenge comes in the form of the wildlife. Even though many tourists/photographers have left the lodges with some very good images of macaws, river otters and even the extremely rare jaguar, we feel that it was because of good luck and being at the right place on the right time. Photography in the rain forest is a painstaking process and a game of long waits and Zen-like patience. Most people arrive at Posada Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center after having viewed documentaries of the Tambopata area produced by the Discovery Channel or the BBC and have seen the pictures taken by famous professional photographers like Tui De Roy, Franz Lanting, Andre Bartschi or Heinz Plenge. These photographers visit the area on many occasions and spend months working to capture their images relying on climbing gear, tons of scaffolding, laser sensitive devices to detect movement and the expert help of teams of Rainforest Expeditions’ staff and guides. It is a natural but unrealistic reaction to believe that a person with a good camera and some powerful zoom lenses can achieve the same results in a visit of a few days.

In general, you will require lenses above 300 mm to produce good wildlife photography. ASA 200 film or above is recommended for the rain forest where it tends to be dark. For macrophotography, a flash will be required often. To make sure your equipment is protected from the elements, we recommend the use of river bags or waterproof camera cases. The use of dry bags and silicon gel are highly recommended to alleviate the problem with humidity, rain and the occasional water splashing in the canoe during the trips on the river. The use of a tripod at the clay lick is recommended and lenses ranging from 500mm to 1000mm are necessary for the clay lick. The use of flash is not recommended when photographing the macaws at close range. With the large amount of visitors trying to photograph the "chicos" at the lodge, the strong light from the flash will damage their vision.

READINGS ON TAMBOPATA RESEARCH CENTER

MACAWS WINGED RAINBOWS. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (USA). January, 1994.
THE MACAWS OF TAMBOPATA. BIRD TALK (USA). June, 1994.
HOMELESS MACAWS. INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE (USA). September, 1994.
ONE OF NATURE’S GREATEST SPECTACLES. WILD BIRD (USA). December, 1994.
CONDE NAST TRAVELER. Winner. ECOTOURISM AWARD. July 2000.

READINGS ON POSADA AMAZONAS

MY TREETOP BRUSH WITH A HARPY. INTERNATIONAL WIDLIFE (USA). July/August 1998.
LEARNING BOTH WAYS: LESSONS FROM A CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY ECOTOURISM COLLABORATION. CULTURAL SURVIVAL. (USA). Summer, 1999.
THE WORLD’S ULTIMATE OUTPOSTS. AUDUBON (USA). September – October, 1999.
CONDE NAST TRAVELER. Winner. ECOTOURISM AWARD. July 2000.