Segment Two of the Great Primate Safari of 2023

(15 -21 July 2023)

Finally I was able to return to South America and attempt to do some of the routes I had taken in the early and mid 90’s but this time with proper guides and better camera gear!  And of course with a structed target list.  Brazil was supposed to be my expedition in 2019 or 2020, but that tiny little virus changed everything and caused a delay.  And as I aged, and time began to tick down before I have to retire and my income becomes less predictable and far less than it is today, I decided to do a major two-month expedition to three countries in South America to see as many of the amazing fauna as possible. 

So with the help and expertise of Regina Ribeiro and Marluce Boute of Boute Expeditions, Xavier Munoz of Neblina Forest and Budget Rental Car, Chile, I planned for nearly a year and came up with an expedition plan that was to take me to Brazil’s Mata Atlanta (Atlantic Rainforest), Brazilian Amazona, the

Cerrado and Pantanal as well as Ecuadorean Andes and Lauca, Chilean Altiplano.  Of course there are too many amazing locations on the continent to put in to a short two-month expedition, we all worked hard to try to provide experiences in most of the major biomes of South America. 

Since there is so much to cover from this mega-expedition, I am writing five trip reports on the links below:

Mata Atlantica

Brazilian Amazona

Brazilian Cerrado and Pantanal

Ecuador’s Andes

Lauca, Chilean Altiplano

Link to complete species list for the “Great Primate Safari of 2023”

Link to the Birds Species List

Regina and Marluce were brilliant.  I initially thought about trying to do some of the trip on my own but it became very clear very quickly that I would have  

been a moron to try this with the limited time I had.  So I approached Regina who was highly recommended by many of my mammal watching colleagues with my main target list and she took it and a few weeks later came back with an amazing itinerary that covered nearly all of what I was hoping for.  The complexity of this itinerary cannot be overstated. Intimate local knowledge was necessary to know the logistics for reaching the targets’ areas while at the same time marrying complex airline schedules and road time in to the equation. This trip had so many areas where a late or canceled flight, a road closure, a prolonged storm or any unexpected impediment could have been disastrous. But after dozens of flights and transfers, there was never one instance where the itinerary was not precisely what I experienced. And out of 49 days in the field, I had 49 days of good weather!!!

At first glance the trip itinerary seemed a bit risky in that it allowed for very short periods of time in many of the locations where my targets could be found.  Any wildlife watcher knows that it is always best to plan a couple days at least in a location to give better chances in seeing the targets.  But my time frame was non-negotiable so I basically went with Regina’s and Marluce’s plan with only very minor changes rather than cut portions of the trip out completely.  There were many flights involved which saved a lot of travel time.  Brazil is frickin’ huge!   The below map to the right shows the main destinations for my trip:

In this report, I will focus on the fauna of Brazil’s Amazona region near and in Manaus.

 Most trips to the Brazilian Amazon start in the mega-city, Manaus.  I visited here in 1996 and was impressed by its size then, but now, 2023, I was blown away by how massive this metropolis has become!  Manaus, for the mammal watcher, serves as a launching off site for expeditions deeper into the up-river locations where very rare and spectacular primates and other mammals can be spotted. 

For me, this trip was ambitious, but my time was very limited.  For the Great Primate Safari of 2023, I put most of my emphasis on the Atlantic Rainforests of eastern Brazil.  I had a couple other major targets on my bucket list that required trips to the Altiplano and Ecuadorian Andes and of course the Corrado and Pantanal regions of Brazil.  Even squeezing in a few days in the Amazon was pushing it a bit.  But with the planning brilliance of Regina and Marluce from Boute Nature Tours, not only was I able to fit it in, but I was also able to do it with a minimal amount of pain.

An additional person helped plan a couple days of my stay in the greater Manaus area.  I met Dayse Campista in our Primates in Wild group, for which we both serve as administrators.  After a couple years of chatting back and forth and me growing increasingly jealous of her amazing images of species such as the Golden-faced Saki and the Pied Tamarin, I asked if Dayse could guide me around her area for a couple days and she agreed.  And after those two days actually happened, a new friendship AND a great species list were had!

Here are some useful links for this expedition

Birds of Manaus and nearby Amazona

Scenery of Manaus and nearby Amazona

Iranduba 

I arrived in Manaus at an ungodly hour and decided to sleep in a bit on day one, so my first day with Dayse was a bit short.  But we took advantage of the remaining daylight by driving across the Rio Negro, something that was absolutely impossible the last time I was here.  We spent some time exploring the river edge near Iranduba .  It was a bit hot, and the sun was intense so finding mammals was a bit difficult although we did come across a small group of Humboldt’s Squirrel Monkeys on the main road.  This was the first of many lifers for me in this area.  (I am pretty sure I saw them the last time I was here, but I was not into careful or specific identifications back then, so very few species that I saw then are showing on my current species lists.)

Dayse informed me that several years ago that the area was very good for mammals but after the new bridge was built, development was rampant, and the situation changed for the worse.  Along with the normal subdivisions and normal forms of development, one of the things that has cleared amazing amounts of forests is cemeteries! Yes, that is the new trend for the outskirts of Manaus evidently. 

After a lovely lunch of native river fish, we headed back to Manaus.  As it was a bit late for any of the mammal highlights of the town, Dayse asked me if I wanted to see an avian spectacle.  Very glad she did too!  We went to a small strip mall in the north, central part of the city was a nightly roost of tens of thousands of White-winged Parakeets would occur.  Although we were the only ones there this evening specifically to view the spectacle, it has been documented in various documentaries over the years.  Watching the waves of parakeets come in one after another was actually very impressive.

 INPA (National Institute of Amazonian Research)

The main area in Manaus to try for Amazonian mammal species, aside from the famous MUSA Tower and Reserve, is the massive garden belonging to INPA, situated right in the heart of the city.  There are at least three species of primates there that can be seen relatively easily – Golden-faced Saki, Guianan Squirrel Monkey, and if you are lucky, the Pied Tamarins.  If I remember correctly there are only three or so of the tamarins so even though the gardens are manageable in size, one still needs a bit of luck to see them there.  The Saki and the Squirrel Monkeys on the other hand, all you need to do is show up for the morning buffet at around 7AM.  They come in from all corners of the forest for their plate of pumpkin and bananas.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching them gorge themselves while at the same time trying to photograph them in more natural settings, which is a challenge when there is a big tray of free food right in front of them!

While in the INPA gardens, we strolled a bit and came across a couple lovely Red-rumped Agoutis, another lifer for me.  The highlight bonus mammal for me was the Pale-throated Sloth which was directly above us most of the morning before we eventually saw it!  He was very mobile and actually quite visible compared to the Northern and Southern Maned Sloths I had seen in the Mata Atlantica.  I was hoping for a Brazilian or Guianan Squirrel, which are seen rarely in the INPA gardens, but I dipped.  In fact, I never did see any for the entire expedition!  Based on what I was told, it is very difficult to see squirrels these days. 

I enjoyed a visit to the Amazonian Manatee Recovery Center in INPA.  There we saw several individuals of different ages being cared for and fed in preparation for eventual release back into the Amazonian river systems.

After a very productive morning with Dayse at INPA, I decided to rest for the remainder of the afternoon.  But this point in my expedition, some 24 days in, I was beginning to feel fatigue a bit and took advantage of certain times for a bit of sleep!  And I knew the next couple days were going to be challenging as I was doing down river a bit in search of more primates and other mammals and the conditions were going to be rather basic.

 Species List for Manaus & the Ariau River System

Order Primates

1.      Alouatta macconnelli - Guyanan Red Howler, Manaus

2.      Alouatta seniculus - Colombian Red Howler or Venezuelan Red Howler - Ariau River & Rio Negro Manaus

3.      Saguinus bicolor - Pied Tamarin - Manaus

4.      Saimiri cassiquiarensis - Humboldt's Squirrel Monkey - Ariau River & Rio Negro Manaus

5.      Saimiri sciureus - Guianan Squirrel Monkey – Manaus

6.      Sapajus apella - Tufted or Brown Capuchin – Manaus

7.      Cebus albifrons – White-fronted Capuchin (no images)

8.      Pithecia chrysocephala - Golden-faced Saki – Manaus

Order Pilosa – Anteaters

9.      Tamandua tetradactyla nigra - Southern Tamadua - Ariau River & Rio Negro Manaus

10.  Bradypus tridactylus - Pale-throated Sloth – Manaus

Order Cetacea – Whales

11.  Inia geoffrensis - Amazon River Dolphin - Ariau River & Rio Negro Region Southwest of Manaus

Order Sirenia – Manatees

12.  Trichechus inunguis - Amazonan Manatee – Manaus (CAPTIVE)

Order Rodentia

13.  Dasyprocta leporina - Red-rumped Agouti - Manaus Brazil