Expedition to Peru

A group of 22 students and three members of staff headed off to the Peruvian Amazon at the beginning of July to carry out biodiversity surveys in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. This is a community conservation project that allows the local indigenous people, the Cocama Indians, to manage the forest and use it sustainably. The data we collected will go towards monitoring the recovery of the ecosystem and helping to manage the reserve in the future.

As we cruised up river on the boat Ayapua we entered one of the world's great wildernesses – a tract of Amazonian jungle covering over two million hectares in area, with the most elusive flora and fauna. All of us without exception had a ‘spine-tingling' experience of the Amazonian jungle with twice daily expeditions taking small groups of us along the river and into the rainforest, aided by very knowledgeable and helpful Peruvian guides. There were birds everywhere - macaws, herons, great egrets, toucans, kingfishers, vultures and a variety of different hawks. There were also sightings of numerous animals – pink and grey river dolphins, caimans, red howler monkeys, saddleback tamarins, capuchin monkeys, three-toed sloths, agoutis and a boa constrictor.

Back in Iquitos we visited a manatee rescue centre, where we were allowed to bottle feed the young and learnt more about the factors which have caused these lovely creatures to become endangered. We also went to an Animal Orphanage where we met other elusive denizens of the forests such as a jaguar and ocelot and a baby sloth who was carried around on the front of one of the volunteers t-shirts.

Mr Whiteley