Animals of the Amazon
Puerto Maldonado, Peru 🌎
Just a short flight from Cusco or Lima will bring you to the steamy jungle town of Puerto Maldonado. Nestled at the confluence of the Madre de Dios River and Tambopata River, Puerto Maldonado is surrounded by wildlife-rich Amazon Rainforest. The Puerto Maldonado rainforest is composed of different protected areas, including Tambopata National Reserve, the Ese Ejja Communal Reserve, the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, and Manu National Park. When taken together, the rainforest around Puerto Maldonado represents one of the largest tracts of protected tropical forest on Earth. Here are some of the animals you can find in this part of the world.
Capybara
The capybara is the largest living rodent in the world and is native to South America. The semi-aquatic capybara spends most of its time grazing or swimming in the nearest body of water. They are shy and associate in groups along the banks of lakes and rivers. They normally feed in the morning and evening and spend most of the day resting under cover along the banks. They are vegetarian and in cultivated areas sometimes become pests by eating melons, grain, and squash.
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Caiman
All caimans are members of the alligator family, and together they are part of a larger group of animals called crocodilians (which includes caimans, alligators, crocodiles and gharials). Within caimans alone there are six distinct species including Spectacled Caimen, Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman and Black Caiman. The smallest caiman is the Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman, which grows to about 1.2-1.4 meters long. The Black Caiman, the largest, grows up to 5 meters in length!
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Giant River Otter
The Giant River Otter, endemic to South America, is both the world’s largest otter and largest member of the mustelid family, reaching up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length. With a streamlined body and webbed feet, this otter is a great swimmer well adapted to both terrestrial and freshwater environments. Giant otters are very social animals; their social calendars include grooming, hunting, resting, and communicating, which they do using nine different vocalizations — most of which are probably predator warnings or contact calls.
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Piranha
Piranhas are South American fish with razor-sharp teeth and a reputation for feeding frenzies. In fact, piranha means "tooth fish" in the Brazilian language of the Tupi people. However, not all piranha species have a taste for blood; some are vegetarian. All piranhas live in South America in rivers and lakes, and 20 different species are found in the Amazon River.
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