It’s been an exciting week for our wetland restoration project, with rarely seen and new wildlife being spotted and heard in this regenerating habitat.
Even after being heavily impacted by human activity, a habitat can thrive with a diversity of wildlife again. Here at the Manu Learning Centre (MLC), this is what our scientific research is proving.
The MLC reserve was once farmland used to grow crops and rear cattle. Today, it stands as a thriving rainforest habitat for a wealth of threatened wildlife.
A recent paper published by our researchers shows that 87% of primary forest diversity has returned to the regenerating forest of the MLC reserve.
This week, we were reminded of this success as we saw and heard two species – the neotropical otter was spotted swimming in the wetland and the call of a neotropic cormorant was heard overhead.
Both species are known to live around the Alto Madre de Dios river that runs alongside the reserve but it is very rare to see otters within the wetland and there have only been a few sightings of them over the years, while it’s the first time that a neotropic cormorant has been heard within the protected area.
“What we’re doing in the wetland is trying to boost the species assemblage for this habitat”, explained our conservation intern, Coli Huffman, who has been managing the wetland restoration project. “In a few years time it would be amazing to sees large grazing mammals on this bank that we’ve created, like capybara and tapir. But really we just want to see wildlife utilising the improved habitat; we want to know that there are lizards laying eggs in the rock piles we’ve created and that kingfishers are using the perches we made. So really just seeing that what we did made a difference and that the species assemblage was boosted.”
There was a buzz of excitement in camp when we heard that an otter had spotted in the wetland; these charismatic animals are a joy to watch as they have a natural curiosity and have little fear of people.
Their trusting nature also makes them vulnerable and the species is a victim of illegal hunting. In 1970 alone, 14,000 Neotropical otter furs and skins were exported from Peru. This figure is believed to represent only half of the animals killed and excessive hunting resulted in the local extinction of the Neotropical otter over parts of its former range. Despite being listed as a protected species since 1973, illegal hunting continues to threaten the species.
Today, the major threat faced by the Neotropical otter is the loss of suitable habitats through human activities such as mining, ranching and water pollution. This is a serious problem here in the Manu region, despite it being a protected Biosphere Reserve. Illegal gold mining in particular has contaminated the rivers with toxic mercury. Chemicals accumulate in prey species and are then ingested by the otter. This has been blamed for Neotropical otter deaths and reproductive failure.
Despite these threats, there is little known about the Neotropical otter’s conservation status. They are listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, meaning that more research on the species is needed in order plan conservation strategies to protect them into the future. Knowing that they are finding a safe haven within the MLC reserve shows the importance of protecting regenerating forest.
Their trusting nature also makes them vulnerable and the species is a victim of illegal hunting. In 1970 alone, 14,000 Neotropical otter furs and skins were exported from Peru. This figure is believed to represent only half of the animals killed and excessive hunting resulted in the local extinction of the Neotropical otter over parts of its former range. Despite being listed as a protected species since 1973, illegal hunting continues to threaten the species.
Today, the major threat faced by the Neotropical otter is the loss of suitable habitats through human activities such as mining, ranching and water pollution. This is a serious problem here in the Manu region, despite it being a protected Biosphere Reserve. Illegal gold mining in particular has contaminated the rivers with toxic mercury. Chemicals accumulate in prey species and are then ingested by the otter. This has been blamed for Neotropical otter deaths and reproductive failure.
Despite these threats, there is little known about the Neotropical otter’s conservation status. They are listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, meaning that more research on the species is needed in order plan conservation strategies to protect them into the future. Knowing that they are finding a safe haven within the MLC reserve shows the importance of protecting regenerating forest.
