The golden-mantled tamarin (Saguinus tripartitus) has inspired the Anangu Quichua community, as this is the logo of Napo Wildlife Center! They are quite small – up to 24 cm/9.4 inches from nose to the beginning of the tail, and weigh up to about 500 grams / 1.1 pounds
They are not disturbed by people watching them from their canoes, nor are they interested in getting closer. What is in the sky is another matter, and they are constantly checking out movements and sounds above them – perhaps some of them have experienced a close encounter with the greatest of them all – the Harpy Eagle?
Getting close to any animal or bird in a dense virgin forest is quite difficult. What’s so special about Napo Wildlife Center is its location by the Anangucocha lake and all the creeks flowing into it and the one flowing out of it into Napo River. These creeks are natural opening in the canopy, and everything crossing or traveling alongside are behaving naturally. Floating quietly on these creeks with canoes is a non-intrusive exploration of the fauna here, and many close encounters are more likely. These monkeys are just 10-12 metres away and are all regarding the humans in their canoe as part of the non-threatening “background noise” of the Amazon.
Unfortunately I did not record their sounds, nor have I found any audio files online. If you would like to share it here please let me know 🙂
Yasuni National Park,
Ecuador,
-0.525278,-76.428889
Last updated on 8 November 2024
