Las Piedras in the Biodiversity capital of Peru
The department of Madre de Dios is known as the ‘Biodiversity capital of Peru’ for good reason- preliminary studies by expert botanists and zoologists found such high diversity in groups such as mammals, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, trees, and herbaceous plants that the rainforest in the area gained international recognition, leading to pioneering projects aiming to protect the forest for future generations and to the area becoming a popular eco-tourist destination.
Wilflife Highlights
With Las Piedras Amazon Tours you can expect to see a wide variety of wildlife, appealing to the specialist naturalist or to those of us with a more general interest in nature. Key mammal species include the rare giant otter, resident of oxbow lakes; tours to the most remote areas regularly afford good observations of black spider monkeys, a species sensitive to human disturbance and absent from destinations close to more populated areas. Charismatic bird species such as white throated toucans, red and green macaws, blue and yellow macaws, scarlet macaws, parrots, parrotlets and parakeets; the strange lakeside hoatzin and many other bird species contribute to the amazing atmosphere of the living rainforest.
Other species popular with our guests include the side-necked turtles, black caiman (up to 4.5m long) and the monkeys- red howler monkeys, brown capuchin monkeys, white fronted capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, night monkeys, dusky titi monkeys and saddleback tamarins.
The lush green vegetation and abundant colourful butterflies contribute to an unforgettable experience of the Amazon rainforest.
Las Piedras Amazon Tours is experienced in affording our guests good observations without disturbing the natural behaviour of the wildlife- visits to wildlife hotspots such as oxbow lakes, macaw or mammal clay licks, or the forest canopy can be particularly rewarding.
Wildlife Hotspots: The River
The river Las Piedras is rich in wildlife, both in diversity and numbers of sightings. Throughout the course of Las Piedras River, white caimans can be seen sunbathing on the sandy beaches and lines of side-necked turtles resting on the exposed logs attract butterflies to feed on their tears. Families of capybaras, the world's largest rodents can be seen crossing the river or wallowing in the mud. Early in the mornings it might be possible to spot deer and tapirs, or with special luck even a jaguar. Monkeys are commonly seen from the boat; typically the small squirrel monkeys that roam in huge troops of up to sixty, but capuchin, howler and spider monkeys can also sometimes be seen. Bird life is abundant; species include cocoi and capped herons, ringed kingfishers, pied lapwings, large-billed terns, osprey, black skimmers and horned screamers. Las Piedras has an astonishing macaw population, with more macaw clay-licks than any other river.
Wildlife Hotspots: Forest Trails
Even a short walk on the forest trails close to the Las Piedras Amazon Tours eco-lodges regularly afford sightings of rare and unusual mammals, birds and butterflies, as well as impressive trees and medicinal plants. The most popular observations include the eight species of monkeys, toucans, macaws and forest birds such as trogons and motmots. Stands of Guadua bamboo in the forest are the habitat of a number of rare and endemic bird species, including Peruvian recurvebill, rufous-headed Woodpecker, white-lined Antbird and Goeldi’s antbird. Mammals such as agoutis, collared and white-lipped peccary can be heard and sometimes seen, and night walks may reveal the nocturnal residents such as armadillos and paca. Ocelot, jaguar and puma all use the lodges’ trails for nocturnal hunting, but are rarely seen!
Wildlife Hotspots: The Canopy
The canopy is a different world from the forest floor –bright sunlight illuminates the tree tops and here are species which rarely come down to the darker, lower levels of the forest. From our spectacular canopy platform at ARCC, the undisputed highlight is the mixed flocks of tanagers and other birds. Species include blue dacnis, plum throated cotinga, paradise tanager, green and gold tanager, white shouldered tanager, turquoise tanager, opal crowned tanager and masked crimson tanager. Other species include aracaris, scarlet macaws, bare necked fruitcrow and swallow-wing puffbirds. Monkeys can be seen high in the canopy; the acrobatic spider monkey is often seen here swinging through the trees in search for fruit, or the passive howler monkey just laid out on a branch.
Wildlife Hotspots: Macaw Clay Licks
A macaw clay lick is an exposed band of clay found in certain river cliffs, which attracts large numbers of parrots, parakeets and macaws and other bird species, who come to feed daily on the clay. Common species include red and green macaws, chestnut-fronted and red-bellied macaws; mealy, blue headed and yellow-crowned parrots, and dusky headed and cobalt-winged parakeets. Other visitors may include white-eyed parakeets, orange-cheeked parrots, white-bellied parrots, scarlet macaws, blue and yellow macaws, piping guans, and chachalacas.
So why do they eat the clay? Parrots and macaws are seed and fruit eaters; the fruiting trees often produce strong toxins in the seeds and unripe fruit to discourage the birds from eating them. The parrots have discovered a way around this obstacle however; eating clay which contains kaolin helps to detoxify their systems. The clay also contains traces of essential minerals, including salt. Macaws and parrots are social animals, so the daily clay lick activity has become a social affair. At dawn the parrots and macaws start to arrive, perching in surrounding trees. They squabble, play and groom each other, almost always with their partners.
When their numbers are sufficient, (to avoid possible eagle attack), they go down to the clay lick in a spectacular display of colour and noise.
Macaw clay licks are usually most active from July till November, when unripe seeds are the main diet of the parrots and macaws.
The Las Piedras clay licks can be observed from either the river or from our hidden blinds, offering good photography opportunities.
Wildlife Hotspots: Mammal Clay Licks
Mammal clay licks are found within the forest, rarely at the river edge as with bird collpas. They appear to be nothing more than a mud bath, but the exposed earth attracts many terrestrial animals, usually at night including: tapirs, deer, sloths and paca. In the day peccaries and even monkeys will visit the licks. They consume the clay bordering these holes, churning up the wet earth in the centre into thick mud. Clay is an essential part of the daily diet of many of the terrestrial mammals that feed on hard to digest fruits, seeds and leaves. A mammal clay lick can be an excellent location for observing otherwise hard to see mammals.
Wildlife Hotspots: Oxbow Lakes
Giant river otters are the highlights of a visit to an oxbow lake in the Las Piedras river system. These 2m long predators live in family groups of up to six individuals. They prey exclusively on fish, consuming up to 4kg of fish each per day. Otters are sensitive to disturbance from people but with careful visitor management the wild otters become accustomed to the presence of people in canoes on the lake or at observation points on the banks, allowing good observations of their natural behaviour as they fish and play.
The other impressive predator of the oxbow lakes is the black caiman- individuals up to 4.5m long are known. They are predominantly nocturnal, but can sometimes be seen during the day.
Oxbow lakes are rich in birdlife. Species include the strange hoatzin, also capped heron, Amazon kingfisher, anhinga, Neotropical cormorant, sungrebe, wattled jacana; yellow rumped casiques build their hanging nests at the lake edge. A trip on an oxbow lake also affords good views of the forest wildlife such as monkeys, macaws and parrots.