Well, we have made it to Lake El Dorado and are excited to see lots of cool animals! On the way here from Manco Capac we have already seen wattled jacanas, a large three-toed sloth, horned screamers, lots of parrots and blue and gold macaws, and plenty of pink dolphins! Also, last night we saw the eyes of a black caiman across the water! We hope to see more of these in the near future.

Today I am going to talk a bit about fish. These are some of the tougher animals to see as the water tends to be very silty or dark, and many of the species are dispersed in the flooded forest. However, they are an important part of the ecosystem. There are over 2,000 species of fish known to inhabit the Amazon waters.

A particularly interesting fish is the arawana (Osteoglossum). This fish can be identified by the two fleshy barbels at the tip of the lower jaw. These may help it sense insect vibrations on the water. It is locally known as the "water monkey" because it can jump out of the floodwaters to snatch beetles and spiders from nearby tree branches! Adults can propel themselves more than three feet out of the water, targeting small birds, bats and frogs.

As it swims along at the water's surface, the arawana's unique horizontally divided eye structure enables it to look both above and below the water for prey. This fish reaches up to three feet long and has large, prominent jaws angling upward at about 45 degrees. The arawana is the favorite food of the arapaima (Paiche) and is most often found in the shallower lakes.

There is a special relationship between the people who live in the flooded forest and these fish. A number of the local people volunteer to watch part of the park in exchange for the ability to harvest some of the young arawana. We have been told (but have not researched) that these fish hold their young in their mouths just after they hatch to protect them. In October, the park allows the people to gather a bunch of the adults, take the fry (baby fish), and return the adults to the lake. Doing this in October is best for the fish and the people are only allowed to take sustainable amounts. They store them in trays for transport to Iquitos. These fish are sold to the pet trade and many end up in aquariums around the world. It is said that people can get up to $1 for each fish. This can be a tremendous boost to the local economy, and, as long as it is managed well, shouldn't hurt the fish population.

A quick answer to an e-mail from last week: Someone was wondering what type of catfish we had featured in an earlier Notes From the Trail. We believe it is a Doradid. This is a general name for a group of armored catfish. The best known variety is the walking catfish (acanthodoras spinosissismus).

Well, we're off to look for some more neat animals in Lake El Dorado! Talk to you soon.

Jesse

(Some information from Amazon: Jungles of Peru. International Expeditions, Inc. and

Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River. Shedd Aquarium.)