Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WILDLIFE
With its folds, bends and plunging river valleys, Peru is home to countless ecosystems,
each with its own unique climate, elevation, vegetation and soil type. As a result, it boasts a
spectacular variety of plant and animal life. Colonies of sea lions occupy rocky outcrop-
pings on the coast, while raucous flocks of brightly colored macaws descend on clay licks
in the Amazon. In the Andes, rare vicuñas (endangered relatives of the alpaca) trot about in
packs as condors take to the wind currents. Peru is one of only a dozen or so countries in
the world considered to be 'megadiverse.'
FOR THE DOGS: PERUVIAN HAIRLESS
Visit many of the ancient sites around coastal Peru and you'll be greeted by a strangely awesome canine sight: hair-
less dogs - some with small mohawks on the crown of their heads - bounding about the ruins. A pre-Inca breed
whose roots in the Andes date back almost 3000 years, the
perro biringo
or
perro calato
(naked dog), as it is
known, has been depicted in Moche, Chimú and Chancay pottery.
Over the centuries, as cutesy breeds from abroad have been introduced to Peru, the population of Peruvian hair-
less has declined. But, in recent years, they've started to make a comeback, with dedicated Lima breeders working
to keep the species alive, and the government employing them as staple attractions at pre-Columbian sites. In 2009
they were even awarded with their own commemorative stamp. The dogs may not be pretty, but they are generally
very friendly. And they do have one thing going for them: no fur means no fleas.
Animals
Wildlife enthusiasts come to Peru to see a rainbow of birds, as well as camelids, freshwater
dolphins, butterflies, jaguars, anacondas, macaws and spectacled bears - to name but a
few…
Birds
Peru has more than 1800 bird species - that's
more than the number of species found in North
America and Europe together. From the tiniest
hummingbirds to the majestic Andean condor,
the variety is colorful and seemingly endless;
new species are discovered regularly.
One of the most engagingly written books on rain-
forest life is Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata's
Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain
Forests of Central and South America
. Partially re-
searched in the Amazon Basin, it is an essential,
highly enjoyable primer on life in the lowland trop-
ics.
