Amazon Rainforest Tours and Travel | Animal Species of the Amazon River
Though a multitude of fascinating fish species are found in the pristine waters, the real celebrities of the river for visitors on Amazon tours are the mammals, reptiles and amphibians that swim here too.
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Species of dolphins and manatee are among the saltwater species that adapted to freshwater conditions after the river changed course with the lifting of the Andes. It is the main habitat of the world's largest species of river dolphin, the pink-hued Amazon River Dolphin. Usually referred to as the boto, the "bufeo colorado" (pink river dolphin) can grow to nine feet. An animal of legends, the boto is said to be capable of disguising itself as a human for the purpose of seducing unsuspecting virgins. The boto's behavior and habitat are studied in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve southwest of Iquitos in northern Peru. International conservation organizations consider the boto threatened or vulnerable.
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Also found here is the five-ft tucuxi, (pronounced too-coo-she), the name given the "bufeo gris" (gray river dolphin). These two species live in the murky waters where narrow whitewater tributaries join the main channel and in the flood forests, making them a difficult species to track. Of the two, the tucuxi is easier to see since it swims with more of its head above water and travels in groups of two to nine animals.
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One of the world's four species of manatee, the Amazonian manatee, inhabits these waters. It can reach nine feet and weigh over 1,000 pounds. Growing to five feet with a three-ft tail, the endangered giant river otter roams the Amazon and is always a treat for visitors on Amazon tours. Highly social and territorial, extended family groups are found in the shallow tributaries and oxbow lakes. Voracious carnivores, the giant river otter's diet consists mainly of fish but it also eats mammals, birds and whatever else happens along its path. The species is highly endangered due to hunting, and the Amazon is one of the last protected habitats for the few thousand of these creatures that remain in the world.
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Among the myriad of reptile species in the Amazon are crocodiles and alligators as well as various species of caimans, including the highly endangered black caiman. One of the world's largest snakes, the non-venomous anaconda lives in the shallow areas of the river, subsisting primarily on fish, and when it ventures into the forest, adds mammals to its diet.
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Some twenty-five species of freshwater river turtles inhabit the Amazon in the flood forests where they lay eggs before returning to the river channel. The largest is the giant Amazonian river turtle (Podocnemis expansa, also known as the arran or South American river turtle). It can weigh over 100 pounds and is found in the blackwater and whitewater tributaries from the upper Amazon to the southern Amazon region of Brazil. The species is endangered due to loss of habitat, predators species and because their meat and eggs are also appreciated by humans.
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Read about the birds, rainforest wildlife and Amazon River fish species one is likely to encounter on Amazon tours in our articles devoted to these subjects.
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