Foundation in 1977 - zones A, B, and C - animals and plants
- Manu Wildlife Center before the reserve
Map of the Manu Biosphere Reserve with Zones A, B, and C and
tourist locations
from: Dilwyn Jenkins: The
rough guide to Peru; Rough Guides, New York, London, Delhi;
6th edition September 2006; www.roughguides.com
Manu Biosphere Reserve
founded by UNESCO in 1977
Encompassing almost
two million hectares of virgin cloud-and rainforest on the
foothills of the eastern Andes, the Manu area was created in
1973 as a national park, and then elevated to the status of
Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977. In 1987 it became a World
Natural Heritage Site. About half the size of Switzerland, the
Manu Biosphere Reserve covers a total of 1,881,200 hectares of
relatively pristine [untouched] rainforest, from crystalline
cloud-forest streams and waterfalls down to slow-moving,
chocolate-brown rivers in the dense lowland jungle - a
uniquely varied environment.
The only permanent residents within this vast area are
-- the teeming forest wildlife;
-- a few virtually uncontacted native groups who have split
off from their major tribal units (Yaminahuas, Amahuacas and
Machiguenga);
-- the park guards;
-- and the scientists at a biological research station
situated just inside the park on the beautiful Lago Cocha
Cashu, where flocks of macaws pass the time cracking open
Brazil nuts with their powerful, highly adapted beaks.
Zones A (highly protected), B
(research and tourism), and C (settlements)
The reserve is divided into three zones. By far the largest,
Zone A is the core zone, the National Park, which is strictly
preserved in its natural state. Zone B is a Buffer Zone,
generally known as the Reserved Zone and set aside mainly for
controlled research and tourism. Zone C is the Transitional or
Cultural Zone, an rea of human settlement for controlled
traditional use (p.557).
Animals in Manu reservation
For flora and fauna, the Manu is pretty much unbeatable in
South America, home to 20,000 vascular plant types (one
five-square-kilometer area was found to contain 1147 species
of vascular plants, almost as many as in the whole of Great
Britain), with over 5000 flowering plants, 1200 species of
butterfly, 1000 types of bird, 200 kinds of mammal and an
unknown quantity of reptiles and insects. Rich in macaw
salt-licks, otter lagoons and prowling jaguars, there are
thirteen species of monkey and seven species of macaw in Manu,
and it still contains other species in serious danger of
extinction, such as the giant otter and the black caiman (Melanosochus niger)
(p.557).
Giant otters and other
animals in the Manu reserve
The latter is best known for the giant otters that live there;
because of this, canoing is not permitted, but ther is a
floating platform which can be manoeuvred to observe the
otters fishing and playing from a safe distance (though your
guide has to book a time for this): 30-50m is good enough to
observe and photograph them, though as this is Manu's most
popular tourist area, you're likely to meet other groups and
there can be severe competition for access to the platform.
Other wildlife to look out for includes the plentiful caimans,
including the two- to three-meter white alligators and the
rarer three- to five-meter black ones, and you can usually see
several species of monkey (including dusky titis, woolly
monkeys, red howlers, brown capuchins and the larger spider
monkeys - known locally as maquisapas).
Sometimes big mammals such as capybara or white-lipped
peccaries (called sajinos
in Peru) also lurk in the undergrowth (p.558).
Plants in the Manu reserve
The flora of Manu is as outstanding as its fauna. Huge cedar
trees can be seen along the trails, covered in hand-like vines
climbing up their vast trunks (most of the cedars were taken
out of here between 1930 and 1963, before it became a
protected area). The giant catahua
trees, many over 150 years old, are traditionally the
preferred choice for making dugout canoes - and some are large
enough to make three or four - though second choice is the lagarto tree.
The Manu Wildlife Center
before the natural reserve - bamboo, wood and palm houses -
animal world on the ground and in the trees
Just east of Zone B, but often visited in combination with it
or with Zone C, is the Manu
Wildlife Center, a comfortable lodge some ninety
minutes downriver from Boca Manu by motorized dugout
[shelter]. Owned by Manu Expeditions and the non-profit Selva
Sur Conservation Group, it's located on privately owned
rainforest and is built of the same sustainable local
materials that the native Machiguenga Indians use - bamboo,
wood, and palm-frond roofing - and all rooms are screened with
mosquito nets.
It operates close to a superb salt-lick where small parrots
and larger more colourful macaws can be seen. It claims to be
strategically located in an area of forest that has the
highest diversity of micro-habitats in the Manu, and tierra-firme (lowland
forest that doesn't get flooded), transitional flood plain,
varzea and bamboo forest are all found close by, and an
astounding 530 bird species have been recorded in one year
alone.
The Blanquillo macaw and parrot salt-lick is only thirty
minutes away by river, with floating blinds to access the
wildlife attracted here. About an hour's walk through the
forest there's also a large colpa
where tapirs and Brocket deer regularly come. The center also
features mobile canopy towers, making it possible to see more
birds and even monkeys [in the high trees]; access to these is
by rope and harness [belts], but ehere's also a static canopy
platform with a spiral stairway (p.559).
