Introduction to Peru Expedition

The Amazonian forests of Loreto, Peru are situated in the western Amazon basin and harbour some of the greatest mammalian, avian, floral and fish diversity on Earth. Operation Wallacea is joining a series of projects in this area that have been running since 1984 organised by Fund Amazonia and various conservation groups, universities and government agencies. The vision of these projects is to set up long-term biodiversity conservation using a combination of community-based and protected area strategies. The research and conservation activities use an interdisciplinary approach to find a balance between the needs of the indigenous people and the conservation of the animals and plants. 

The objective for the 2011 season is to complete the annual high and low water season monitoring programmes for fish, caimans, turtles, macaws, exploited mammals and birds, dolphins, manatees and primates at the Pacaya Samiria National Park. Expeditions 1 - 2 are in the high water season when the forests are flooded, whilst those expeditions from late June are in the middle of the low water season.

The Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve is the largest protected area in Peru spanning over 20,000 km2 of tropical rainforest and is a truly exceptional wilderness area. Situated deep in the rainforests of the western Amazon basin, at the point where the Amazon River begins its long journey to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacaya-Samiria reserve teems with aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. The two major rivers that bound the reserve are the Ucayali and Marañon, and they join to form the Amazon proper right at the point where the reserve begins. The huge floodplains of these majestic rivers have produced the low-lying flooded forests (Igapo) of the reserve, much of which is accessible on foot during the dry season surveys. The core areas of the reserve with no exploitation permitted are at the most upstream end. At the downstream end there are communities of Cocama Indians who are involved in reserve management and managing resources in non-core zone areas sustainably.

The Samiria River that runs through the heart of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve has a particularly large population of River Dolphins and is the last remaining refuge for the Amazon Manatee. Giant river otters are also returning and every year more are sighted in the rivers, lakes and channels. There are 12 species of primates in the Reserve, many of which are commonly sighted on the terrestrial and aquatic transects. Macaws and wading birds are very abundant, as are the game birds. Peccaries, deer, tapir and capybara are also on the increase and are often spotted during the terrestrial survey work, particularly when the water levels are high.
The Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve is working with the local Cocama Indians to guarantee that both the natural and human worlds can co-exist in harmony. Whilst their dress has changed, the Cocama Indians still live as they did centuries ago. They fish and hunt for meat, collect forest fruits and have small slash and burn gardens. They travel in small dug out canoes and live in thatched roofed houses made from trees and palm fronds of the nearby forest. The work that the project is doing is helping to develop management plans that incorporate both the needs of the Cocama people and the conservation of wildlife in the Samiria river basin.