Amazon Basin - Peru - page 940

Tambopata Research Center $$$
Offline map
(Rainforest Expeditions; www.perunature.com ; s/d 5 days & 4 nights US$1015/1590)
Cuzco ( 084-24-6243; [e-mail]; Portal de Carnes 236); Lima (
01-421-8347; [e-mail]; Aramburu 166, Miraflores); Puerto Mal-
donado ( 082-57-2575; [e-mail]; Av Aeropuerto Km 6, CPM La Joya)
Finally, about seven hours' river travel from Puerto Maldonado, this important research
facility and lodge is known for a famous salt lick nearby that attracts four to 10 species of
parrots and macaws on most mornings. Research here focuses on why macaws eat clay,
their migration patterns, their diet, nesting macaws and techniques for building artificial
nests. The lodge itself is fairly simple, with 18 double rooms sharing four showers and
four toilets, but because of the distances involved, rates are higher than the other places. If
you're interested in seeing more macaws than you ever thought possible, it's worth the ex-
pense, although the owners point out that occasionally, due to poor weather or other
factors, macaws aren't found at the lick. A stopover is usually made at Refugio Amazonas
on the first and last nights of a trip here. The last section of the ride is through remote
country, with excellent chances of seeing capybaras and maybe more unusual animals.
Have your passport ready at the Puesto Control Malinowsky. Book with Rainforest Ex-
peditions.

LODGE

PUNK CHICKENS

Listen carefully as your boat passes the banks of the Río Tambopata. If you hear lots of hissing, grunting and
sounds of breaking vegetation, it is likely that you have stumbled upon the elaborate mating ritual of one of the
Amazon's weirdest birds, the hoatzin. This is an oversized wild chicken with a blue face and a large crest on its
head (hence the nickname 'punk chicken'). Scientists have been unable to classify this bird as a member of any
other avian family, mainly due to the two claws the young have on each wing. To evade predators, hoatzin chicks
will fall out of the nest to the river and use their claws to help them scramble back up the muddy banks. The
clawed wing is a feature no other airborne creature since the pterodactyl has possessed. The hoatzin's appearance
is outdone by its terrible smell (caused by an exclusively leaf-based diet, which necessitates their having multiple
micro-organisms in their stomachs to aid digestion), which may well be the first indication they are nearby. Good
news for the hoatzin: their odd odor makes their flesh taste bad, so they are rarely hunted. In this age of rainforest
depletion, they are one of the few native birds with a flourishing population.