The
western Amazon rainforest, found in Peru, is known to have
the greatest diversity of flora and fauna found in the world.
Biologists refer to this region as the "green paradise"
of the Amazon forest. Within this region there exist exceptional
national parks and reserves that contain the best wildlife
viewing experiences to be found in the Amazon.
The
most mega-diverse region in all of the Amazon may be the
the Area de Conservacion Regional Comunal de Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo
(ACRCTT). Only Amazonia Expeditions has tourist facilities
with access to this magnificent reserve. Peru's first state
reserve, it covers an expanded area of precious, ecologically
diverse western Amazon rainforest. Exceeding 1.1 million
acres, its approx. 1,600 square miles covers appreciably
more land area than does the state of Rhode Island (1045
sq. mi). The ACRCTT was originally designated a reserve
by the Peruvian government in 1991 to protect the range
of the rare red uakari monkey, an orangutan-looking monkey
with a bright red face. Subsequent scientific research has
found one of the world's richest variety of plants, amphibians,
reptiles and birds. In 2003, Chicago's Field Museum's Rapid
Biology Inventory #11 found more species of mammals and
trees in the ACRCTT than any other documented natural area
in the entire world fieldmuseum.org
esp.pdf.
Thought
to be a Pleistocene refugia (a zone that remained forested
during the last ice age, when most of the Amazon became
dry savanna), many species have been found here which exist
nowhere else in the world. The reserve's mammal diversity
has been proven to be the greatest of any region in all
of the Amazon. The number of primate species is the highest
of any protected park or reserve in the world. Scientists
studying birds, amphibians, and plants have found the respective
species assemblages to be "outstanding, unusual and
exceptional".
The diversity of other species is also outstanding. Our
bird list has 540 species (email us for a copy or click
here to view the list online), including several
species that cannot be seen on other tours. Several new
species of frogs and butterflies have recently been described
here as well.
Ongoing
scientific research supported by Amazonia Expeditions is
directed to conservation management of the reserve's biodiversity
as well as the introduction of sustainable economic practices
among the native indigenous communities. Click
on Tahuayo River Amazon Research Center for more information.
Brazilian Rainbow Boa
For
a map of the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo click here.
Sloth
