The Floating City

The reason that humans are one of the most prolific species on earth is our adaptability – at least that’s what they said in my Anthro class. People have used various means to adapt to be able to live in nearly every climate on Earth. Human ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. . .

Next to Iquitos, on the Amazon River in northern Peru, is the floating city of Belen.

There is a 30 foot difference in the waterline on the Amazon between the rainy season (roughly February to July) and the dry season. In order to build homes in these conditions, many of the homes in Belen are built on stilts to cope with the variable water level.

Not all of the homes in Belen are built over the water, some are built on land. But all of these homes (and stores) are two stories high. In the rainy season, the first floor floods entirely and the families move all of their belongings upstairs until the water recedes.

The majority of the homes, however, are built on rafts of balsa wood (which floats) and tied to poles in the water or to other homes to keep them from floating away. Hundreds of homes float during the wet season and rest on dry land during the dry season, others are floating year round.

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Strike a Pose

In the mid-90’s an anthropologist from Lima, Peru set off on a boat down the Amazon River in hopes of contacting each of the tribes that live along the river and memorializing them in a unique way.

During his six-month trip, he traveled through all four countries along the Amazon: Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru. When he would encounter a new tribe, he would talk to the chief and explain his mission, and, in most cases, he was successful.

His mission? To make a lifesize mold of one member of each tribe in traditional dress – often with weapons or ceremonial objects. The results of his work are on display in the Amazon Museum in Iquitos, Peru – over eighty fiberglass sculptures of the largest indigenous Amazonian tribes.

There are men, women, and children in the collection. Some are in full ceremonial dress. Some are chiefs with very impressive jewelry and headdresses, others are common people out collecting food for the tribe.

In order to make the molds, the subject was completely covered in wet fabric and had to stand completely still for over an hour while the glue dried. Then the molds were cut into large parts and later reassembled in his workshop.

Sometimes relatives would cry during the process, not understanding that the person was only temporarily covered and would be completely unharmed an hour later.

What an interesting idea and a fascinating way to interact with these various indigenous cultures! Truly a treasure for future generations to enjoy. . .

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Amazon Animal Encounters Part 2: The Dark Side

Sadly, not all of my encounters with Amazon animals were positive. While in the Amazon basin, I also saw animals that had been illegally taken from the wild to live locally as pets or to be exported to other countries for pets, trophies, or to be used in traditional medicines. Unfortunately, the illegal wildlife trade is highly lucrative and is a serious threat to endangered and vulnerable species. And Amazon rainforest animals are among the most frequently trafficked.

The illegal wildlife trade has been estimated to be worth between $5 billion and $20 billion annually (since it is illegal, it is difficult to obtain accurate numbers). This makes the trade of living animals second only to the drug industry in illegal revenue generation. To make matters worse, the industry is growing quickly now that the internet makes buying and selling animals so much easier.

I’m not proud of the fact that the USA is the second largest importer of wildlife products (after China) and a major destination for the illegal pet trade. Birds, reptiles, marine turtles, corals, and many species of mammals are regularly seized by US customs in shipments coming from Africa, Asia, Central America, and South America. In one year alone, over 38,000 mammals, 365,000 birds, 2 million reptiles, 49 million amphibians, and 216 million fish were brought into the United States illegally.

These animals are smuggled across borders the same way illegal drugs are: in crates (with little ventilation,  food, or water) marked as something else to elude customs often with little regard for whether the animal lives or dies. Due to these conditions, nearly 80% of the birds and reptiles that are illegally smuggled die in transit. For those exotic pets that make it to their new "home," over 50% die before reaching the age of 2.

Government Poster in Peru About the Illegal Pet Trade

While this practice is illegal in Peru, authorities often look the other way. Parrots, snakes, and monkeys are common pets of villagers along the Amazon and the sale of these animals (and others) in open markets in the small towns on the river’s edge is frequent.  

In one village on the bank of the Amazon, I found myself in a restaurant that had purchased a number of animals to keep in cages in hopes of bringing in more business. (Unfortunately, I didn’t realize this fact until after we had entered, and after one bottle of water, I left the restaurant.) The living conditions of these animals were wretched and I have no idea what diet was provided to them. When I was asked to pay for the photos I took of the animals, I (and my travel companions) refused. I told the owners that I did not approve of the practice and was not going to support it. Unfortunately, as long as tourists choose to patronize establishments that are patronizing the illegal animal trade, the practice will continue.

On my boat on the Amazon, I met a number of people with baby animals (turtles, parrots, macaws, coatis, monkeys) they had captured and were taking to sell in larger cities. Some of the people were open and willing to talk about it, others were not and wouldn’t allow photographs of the animals they were traveling with.

One family had a baby coati (mammals in the raccoon family) that had been taken from his mother. If you’ve never seen a coati before, here’s one I saw in a park in Argentina:

The little baby on my boat was on a rope tied to a pole on the side of the boat.

For the most part, the family didn’t pay attention to him. In fact, at one point, he fell off of the side of the boat and was hanging off the side of the boat by the rope around his neck screaming. Fortunately, he was pulled back to safety before damage was done. I’m a huge animal lover and I and two Peruvians took a liking to him and spent much of our time trying to feed him and holding the poor little scared guy.

The monkeys, however, were the hardest for me to bear. There were two different monkeys on one boat, both only a few months old. And while primates are my favorite animals, and being around them, especially babies, is always a treat, knowing how they got here and the life they were facing was terrible.

The two monkeys on my boat were a capuchin and a squirrel monkey. Both are highly social animals and live in the wild in groups of 10-50. Baby monkeys stay with their mothers for the first few months and capturing them requires shooting the mother out of a tree (with the baby clinging to her back) and hoping the baby survives the fall.

While having the opportunity to hold a baby monkey was an amazing treat, knowing that he was heading to a life without others of his species, without the ability to run in the trees, and without any freedom to be a monkey, broke my heart. Although I'm smiling in these pictures, I would have traded the opportunity to hold these babies if they could have their life back with their families in the wild.

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Amazon Animal Encounters Part 1: The Bright Side

More than one-third of all animal species in the world live in the Amazon rainforest – an area consisting of nearly 3 million square miles. For example, the river alone has over 2500 species of fish (some estimate closer to 5000), more than twice the number known in the entire Atlantic Ocean!

One of these fish, the paiche, is the largest freshwater fish in the world. It grows up to 10 feet long and can weigh over 400 pounds! The scales from this fish, when removed and dried, can even be used as nail files.

Another Amazonian fish is the piranha. There are over 40 different species of piranha in the Amazon. And very few actually attack humans. Hollywood has made these fish much more dangerous than they are in reality. But, attacks can happen. Like sharks, piranhas can smell blood. I was advised not to swim in the Amazon with an open cut. I took that advice.

Then there’s the electric eel – actually a species of fish and not an eel. These fellows live on the bottom of the river but need to surface for air every 10 minutes or so. And they are fiercely avoided by the locals. They grow up to 9 feet and can weigh up to 50 pounds. And when threatened, they can deliver a 650 volt shock – even up to 8 hours after their death! I’m happy to say I didn’t see any of these guys in the wild either!

But I did have the chance to see many animals in the Amazon: some in the wild and some in reserves on the banks of the river.

While on my boat trip, I spotted several Amazon dolphins. These freshwater dolphins look a bit different from their ocean-going kin. Although they are gray as youngsters, as they mature, they turn a pink color. They are amazing to see jumping out of the river with the sunset behind them! Unfortunately, they’re quite quick so I failed to snap a picture in the wild. I really didn’t even get a good picture in the animal reserve, but here’s one fellow on his back hoping for a tummy rub. ..

Another big, cuddly river mammal is the manatee. There are four species of manatees and the Amazon manatee is the only freshwater species. These are smaller than the other species, but no less adorable. I visited a manatee sanctuary whose mission is to educate the locals on the necessity of these animals and to rescue orphaned youngsters and reintroduce them to the wild.

Manatees eat the plants on the surface of the river allowing the sun to penetrate the depths and nourish plants on the river bottom. Without manatees, many plant, and eventually animal, species wouldn’t exist in the river due to lack of sunlight.

Another cuddly guy with a bad reputation is the anaconda, one of the longest (and heaviest) snakes in the world. They grow up to 16 feet long and can weigh over 200 pounds as adults! Hollywood sure hasn’t helped the reputation of this animal! Anacondas are a species of constrictor so reports of them eating humans are extremely exaggerated.

The little guy in this picture is just a toddler – only 3 years old – who could be scared of him?!?

Caimans are decidedly less cuddly. Caimans are related to alligators and crocodiles. Most are small (3-4 feet) but one species grows to over 12 feet. While on a night hike, I came across one small guy, his red eyes reflected in my flashlight – not something that’s fun to see.

During the day (and in a reserve) I came across a slightly larger caiman.

Ha ha. Here’s the real guy – and note that I wouldn’t have the smile on my face if he weren’t behind a fence!

The Amazon is also home to over 1000 species of frogs, many of which are poisonous. (The non-poisonous one is the one in my hand!)

Oh, and lastly, I can’t forget the capybara, the world’s largest rodent. The capybara grows up to 4 feet long and weighs up to 150 pounds! I’m thankful that the rodents behind my condo in Chicago don’t get that big!

The capybara spend most of their time in the water eating plants. They even have webbed feet to be better swimmers!

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