Monkeys!

 Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Overnight and continuing today we made our way back downstream on the Ucayali. This morning before breakfast we had the top deck to ourselves and we saw a number of new birds on the bank where the boat moored overnight (such as the spot-breasted woodpecker below). After breakfast we explored the Magdalena River by skiff; watching parakeets and woodpeckers building their nests was a highlight, as was seeing a king vulture soar not too far above us.  In the late morning we had a lecture on fish in the Amazon watershed (over 5600 species, 80% of them in the catfish and characin families). Some of the larger fish species are endangered by sport fishing, and one of the remedies is to raise them in small scale fish farms which also helps the local economy. We are to visit one of these on Sunday.

For the afternoon we sailed downstream on the Ucayali and then back upstream on the Yarappa. Our guide, Erickson, told us that this was an afternoon for monkeys, and it certainly was! The Yarappa is lined with lodges, some for fishing and some for more extended eco-tourism. A troop of Woolly Monkeys has gotten accustomed to traffic on the river and hang out close enough for good viewing and photography. Then, in a rare treat, we traveled further upstream to a new eco-lodge being built by Erickson’s uncle, where we were able to see a young Red-faced Uakari and four Noisy Night (Owl) Monkeys. All are pictured below because words will be inadequate for how special these viewings were. As the sun started to set and we headed back to the boat, we saw a lesser anteater (Tamandua) methodically destroying an ant trail on the side of a shoreline tree. 

Pictured: king vulture, Spot-breasted woodpecker, Red-faced Uakari, Noisy Night (Owl) Monkeys, Woolly Monkey, Tamandua (Ucayali subspecies).