The Jungle
is as dense and thick as the mind can picture. Every sensible
characteristic is different and quite noticeable. The air is thick
with humidity and welcome to the skin. The music of the jungle
sounds rehearsed. Take a deep breath, and inhale the cleanest
air on the earth. Pleasant sights of the entire topography remind
the interloper of the colorful storybook one favored as a child.
When one can taste the edible flavors of the jungle, all of the other
senses merge.
Manu National Park is located in southeastern
Peru and is one of the largest parks in South America. The area
of the park encompasses parts of the Andean Department of Cusco, and
the jungle department of Madre De Dios. Manu protects over 4.5
million acres of territory that are rich in flora and flauna species
in a variety of habitats including high Andes, cloud forests and lowland
tropical rain forests.
UNESCO officially recognizes this natural
paradise as a world heritage site. In 1977, they designated Manu
as a World Biosphere Reserve because it contains the best existing example
of biodiversity in protected areas of rain forest, as well as endemic
areas of cloud forest.
The majority of forests in the world
have been altered by humans. Fortunately, Manu has remained intact
and untouched by civilization. Thus, observe a variety of animals
in their natural habitats, including: Giant Otters, Black Caiman,
Jaguars, Spectacled bear, the Tapir, the Ocelot, 13 species of primates
and an estimated one thousand species of birds including seven species
of Macaws.
Manu also contains 10 per cent of the
world's vascular plant species including several species of figs and
palms, as well as countless species of medicinal plants that scientists
are current cataloging. A single hectacre of forest in Manu can
have up to 220 species of trees. While a hectacre of temperate
forest in Europe or North America may only have twenty tree species.
The native people of this small village,
before entering the cloud forest, like to laugh.
Waking up to the cloud forest is welcoming.
The butterflies of the jungle abound.
We heard a story about a group of scientists who travel the globe searching
for butterflies that have numbers and letters on them. To date,
almost the entire alphabet has been discovered and numbers from one
to zero have been fully discovered. (Above Left) This
butterfly isn't shy when it comes to making new friends, as it lands
on the cheek of this girl. We think it was enjoying the salt taste
from her skin. This butterfly has a natural numbering on it "98",
which is quite amazing. (Above Right) These
translucent butterflies use their backgrounds to help camoflauge them. Seeing translucent butterflies was almost like being on another planet. (Below Left) This butterfly stopped long enough to welcome
a good photograph. (Below Right) The Coca plant used
much by Incas and early civilizations thrives in this area.
The headwaters of the Alto Madre De
Dios river.
Madre De Dios river by full moon.
A spectacular view traveling down river
to witness the morning rituals of the parrots and macaws who feed off
the clay on the river banks and return there each morning to perform
the same ritual. (Above) Scarlet Macaws (Macaws are different
to parrots for their long tails) fly by and show off their colors. There are twenty different spots in Manu where the Macaws go to feed.
In this particular location, one can view seven different species of
Macaws and over fifteen different species of parrots. The birds
mate for life, and will usually be seen flying around in pairs.
Long before seeing these beautiful birds, one can hear them from a good
distance.
Scarlet's making their morning rounds. This flower is appropriately named: Hot Lips.
The strong Black Caiman is headed for
a swim. This side-necked turtle was about
ready to jump.
When trying to predict or rely on a time
schedule to view animals, we found it to be the exact opposite.
There is a lot of waiting for a short period of action. The impression
exists that merely showing up in a jungle, one is immediately gratified.
To view nature, one must become submersed in the surroundings.
If one desires the immediacy, then the best bet is to visit a zoo.
Boca Manu after a small rain storm
moves through. Boca Manu is a little village where the Manu, the
Madre De Dios and Alto Madre De Dios rivers, converge.
These ants are having a little get
together. The horned frog is awaiting his moonlight snack.
There is so information to take in while
in Manu, that it compares to cramming for an exam. While walking
throughout the trails of Manu, the eyes simply can't move quickly enough
to capture everything. So, we decided to find a good spot and
observe Manu. Take it all in and live it.
(Above left) A fantastic view during
the early morning hours on Salvador Lake. (Above right) This monkey
(Black Spider) was just as interested in us as we were him.
Salvador lake is an oxbow lake created by the river changing courses
during the rainy season quite some years back. It is one of the
purest, most natural environment for animal species in Manu. It
is also home to the fantastic and endangered Giant Otter.
The Giant Otters of Manu are highly endangered
and are in Appendix I of the threatened animals of the world.
There are 300 left in the entire world and we were fortunate to view
5% of them. Giant Otters live only where there is healthy waters,
a rich choice of fish and where the rainforest environment is still
intact. The otters are bio-indicators and allow us to assess the
condition of the waters in the tropical rainforest of South America.
Their presence tells us that nature is in balance.
This Giant Otter was not shy and we
paid him later for this photo. Notice the white markings on the
neck, which biologists use to identify them.
The Matsiguemka are one of two native
tribes that live in the Jungle of Manu. They were extremely friendly
and shared many of their things with us. (Above left)
This tribes man is showing us how to play a musical instrument that
is a cross between a violin and guitar. (Above right) Messing
around and shooting hunting arrows these tribesmen have no problem hitting
the target from 35 feet. One of the most exciting things
about the jungle is being submersed in it as a way of life. To
fully understand how to open the senses for the jungle the natives are
the tempo setters and there is much to learn as there is in any new
environment.
Hand in hand, our group with huge
smiles around an a monster Kapop tree. This is just one side of
three around the tree. It is estimated that this tree is only
400 years old, while its base circumference is well over 135 feet.
*Feature written and photographed
by Phillips, June 2001. All details regarding names of animals,
insects, trees, and other scientific information was provided to us
by our certified guides from Manu. The Manu Biosphere reserve
zone has also much information about the native tribes and nearly instinct
giant otters. All information, additionally was experienced by
Phillips first hand.
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