Animal life in the Oriente

The best thing about the jungle was that we got to see lots of amazing animals.  Our guides Jose and Javier were great at spotting them and explaining their behavior and habitat to us.

Ruby disguised as a parrot

Yo and Ruby with the PZs in our canoe

Probably everyone's favorite was the monkeys.  On our first full day, we saw squirrel monkeys, who follow the larger capuchin monkeys through the branches.  There were probably hundreds of monkeys in the trees next to us.  (Be sure to check out Ruby's blog post and video of monkeys!).  That morning we also saw a small night monkey in its tree, about to go to sleep after a busy night of foraging.  From the observation tower in the canopy, we saw a family of red howler monkeys resting in a tree top.  They stayed there the entire three hours we were up there.

red howler monkeys photographed through the scope

Oscar and Ruby high in a Kapok tree

Oscar checking out his three toed sloth -- be sure to read his blog post!

My next favorite animal was the hoatzin, or stinky turkey.  They were quite common where we were, and apparently black water tributaries are their main habitat.  Hoatzin are so strange, scientists don't quite know how to classify them.  They have a digestive system like a cow, and they emit a foul odor from their stomach gases when distressed.  Baby hoatzin have claws on their wings that allows them to crawl out of the water for safety.  I never got tired of seeing the stinky turkeys near the Napo Wildlife Center.

Stinky turkey

We also saw a plethora of birds -- different types of herons, kingfishers, hawks, scarlet macaws, parrots, a king vulture, and many smaller birds that I can't name.  The oropendula birds were also very common and fascinating to me.  They build large nests that hang from tree branches, and their song sounds like drops of water.  We saw this small screech owl, as intent on watching us as we were on watching it.

screech owl

I found it really interesting to learn about the relationship between animal species and between animals and plants.  The jungle is full of symbiotic relationship, parasitic relationships, and mutualism.  

Oscar already blogged about sloths and the sloth moth.  Leaf cutter ants have symbiotic relationship with a boa.  The ants could be seen everywhere carrying pieces of leaves in a row -- one type of ant carries the leaves, another tiny ant rides on the leaf to clean it, and yet another type of ant eats the leaves underground and poops.  The ant poop grows a fungus, which the ants eat for nutrition.  Back to the boa, the leaf cutter ants create a warm environment where the boa likes to lay its eggs.  The boa's presence protects the ants from predators.  Isn't it amazing how specialized this all is?

Silver winged trumpeters, a bird that we heard but didn't see, picks up a certain millipede that emits an ammonia-type smell when stressed.  The ammonia substance is used by the bird to keep its feathers free of parasites.

We saw white bark cecropias trees too, which stand out because they have no vines or flowers growing on them.  This is because a certain kind of ant eats the vegetation growing on the tree, thus protecting the tree.  In exchange, the ants live inside the tree, and these trees are mostly hollow because they're filled with these ants.  

The trees and plants are also incredibly varied.  Strangler fig trees don't grow from the ground.  Instead, they start as a seed dropped from above by a bird onto another tree.  The strangler fig grows roots down to the ground, eventually strangling and killing the host tree.  Some trees have trunks covered with flowers to attract pollinators.

These flowers attract pollinators

Other tree trunks are covered with sharp spikes to protect the fruit growing above.  

The indigenous people have specialized uses for many of plants.  Walking palms, socratea, literally have individual roots that allow the tree to move in search of light.  The roots are covered with spikes and make perfect graters.

Walking palm tree

We smelled a garlic plant that is used as a natural antibiotic.  It's traditional to bathe babies in garlic water too.  Plants provide pigment for every color of the rainbow.  A certain tree with beautiful red flowers has bark that can be cooked and used as a natural contraceptive.

Ruby with achiote dye

Jose getting painted by Ruby

Did you know that termites provide natural insect repellant?  Ruby was brave enough to stick her hand on a termite hive.  Once her hand was covered, she shook off the termites, which emitted a turpentine-type substance when stressed.  That substance truly kept mosquitos away!  I prefer that to deet but lack Ruby's courage.

Brave Ruby covered in termites -- it tickled!

Finally, the highlight of our jungle stay was our two night walks.  Darkness falls very quickly in the Amazon, and the sounds of the jungle change drastically too.  Our ears alone told us that insects were taking over as the birds went to sleep.  We saw spiders that build a joint web -- imagine a web filled with 100 spiders all working together.  We saw cockroaches, cicadas, praying mantises, and many other insects.  

These snails are mating -- jungle love!

And boy did we see ants.  I hadn't thought of this before visiting the jungle, but probably the biggest danger if I had to spend the night in the jungle would be ants.  There are bullet ants whose bite hurts so much it feels like you've been shot with a bullet.  (Our guide Jose said he was once bitten by a bullet ant, and a native guide lessened the pain by placing two sticks behind his ears).  The largest ant in the world lives in the Amazon -- it's almost two inches long and lives a solitary life.  One was patrolling the large Kapok tree where the observation tower is built.  I also brushed one off Oscar's shoulder during our second night walk -- luckily he didn't get bitten! 

I spotted two vine snakes -- one per night walk.  The first one was crossing a fern above my head.  The second was hanging out on tree branch just above eye level.  Jose picked up both snakes and let us check each other out.

Ruby and her new snake friend

Towards the end of our walk, a large frog the size of a small kitten placidly blocked our path.  It was clearly pregnant.  Our guide told us that this species of frog skips the tadpole phase.  The frog will give birth to hundreds of tiny, fully-formed frogs.  What a sight that would be!

The view of the lake from our cabin

Yo and Oscar happy to be heading out for a night walk

Oscar, Jose (in Gunks T-shirt!), and Ruby saying goodbye in Coca

Thank you again to Jose, Javier, and the rest of the staff at the Napo Wildlife Center.  Come visit us in NYC, where the wildlife is less exotic, but where you have friends!