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Peru



 

Wildlife

Peru has the greatest bio-diversity in the world, thanks to the presence of the Andes, Amazon and Pacific. There are 53 protected natural areas throughout the country. There are over 1,800 species of birds (120 endemic to Peru), hundreds of mammals including rare cats like jaguar and pumas, bears, and river dolphins; the coast is rich in marine life and a great place to see sea-lions and myriad seabirds.


Flamingos in the Andes. Enlarge image

The plants are equally diverse. The Coast may seem barren apart from cactus but certain hilly areas known as lomas such as Lachay get enough mist to sustain plants, shrubs, insects and hummingbirds. The river valleys also hold unique plant-life. The Highlands above the tree-line is known as puna where bushes, cactus and drought-resistant plants, such as ichu grass extend up to the zone of snow capped mountains. The most spectacular plant is the gigantic Puya raimondii seen near Huaraz. On the lower slopes of the Andes are steep-sided cloud-forests among which sustain mosses, orchids, bromeliads. The very wet Amazon has huge tropical trees (many contain useful resins or timber) plus strange palms and canopy plants.

Peru has many endangered animals. The coastal desert has fewest species, but one can still see deer, iguana, skunk and giant turtle. The Highlands are famous for the presence of wild camelids alpacas and vicuñas which were hunted for wool and meat. Likewise, there are deer, chinchillas and viscachas in this region. The fast-flowing streams are home to the torrent duck. The cloud-forest is the domain of hummingbirds and the rare spectacled bear. Condors range throughout the country, but are rarely seen.

In the Amazon, there is a diverse fauna including monkeys, jaguar, snakes, crocodiles, wild boars, macaws, parrots and hundreds of other kinds of birds. It is possible to watch caiman alligators and turtles in the rivers or fish for piraña. One should point out that all the life is well hidden in the forest — it takes a good guide and binoculars to spot these gems. Much of the life is found in the canopy so jungle lodges usually construct towers to observe life above.

The Pacific holds a bounty of of seabass, flounder, anchovies, tuna, crustacean and shellfish. It has also sharks, sperm whales and whales. Birds have an economic importance because of the concentrations of guano deposits that are used as fertilizer.