Peru has some of the greatest biodiversity in the world. It belongs to the select group of mega diverse countries because of the presence of the Andes, Amazon rainforest, and the Pacific Ocean. [1] It has the fourth-most tropical forests of any country and the ninth-most forest area. The country is ranked among the five countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world according to various studies. [2] [3]
The 1993 Constitution of Peru recognized the natural resources and ecosystems of Peru as part of its heritage. In 1999, the National System of Natural Areas Protected by the State (El Sistema Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado, SINANPE) was established by the Peruvian government. [4] [5] They also created a map of protection and preservation of historical–cultural heritage and nature.
Peru has 76 natural protected areas (more of 15% of the country surface area) that are preserved by the national government: 15 national parks, 9 national sanctuaries, 4 historical sanctuaries, 17 national reserves, 3 wildlife refuges, 2 landscape reserves, 10 communal reserves, 6 protected forests, 2 hunting enclosed lands and 8 reserved zones. A map was also created containing the natural protected areas. [6]
National parks are places where the wild flora and fauna are protected and preserved. Natural resources exploitation and human settlements are forbidden.
Peru has over 1,800 species of birds (120 endemic to Peru), and 500 species of mammals and over 300 species of reptiles. [7] Peru has hundreds of mammals including some rare species like the puma, jaguar and spectacled bear, that live in the canopy so jungle lodges usually construct towers to observe life above. The Pacific holds a bounty of sea bass, flounder, anchovies, tuna, crustacean (crab or lobster), shellfish and seals. The Pacific also has a lot of sharks, sperm whales, and whales. The birds of Peru have an economic importance, because of the concentrations of guano deposits that are exported to different countries. Alpaca is also a native of Peru which is now domesticated for its fiber.
As of March 2009 scientists have discovered two new species of beetles, Eriopis canrash and Cycloneda andresii. [8]
Peru has over 500 species of mammals, of which about 70 are endemic and about 109 are threatened or endangered. These include spectacular species like the jaguar and spectacled bear and rare endemic species like the yellow-tailed woolly monkey.
In January 2007, scientists discovered a new species of cloud-forest rodent of the spiny rat family ( Isothrix barbarabrownae ) in Manu. [9]
In March 2009, scientists discovered a new species of mouse (Akodon sp.nov) [8]
Peru's national bird is the Andean cock-of-the-rock.
Peru has over 1,800 species of birds, the second-highest number of any country in the world. New species of birds are still being discovered and cataloged by scientists. 42 species from Peru have been officially added to science in the last 30 years. In January 2010, scientists found a new population of five long-whiskered owlets which are very rare in the wild. [10]
On February 22, 1990, Grace P. Servat found a new distinctive species of the tyrant flycatcher called the rufous twistwing. Which remained undescribed and unidentified until re-discovered by Daniel F. Lane in November 2002. Then on September 15, 2003, Frank P. Lambert obtained the first-natural history of the bird. [11]
The Manu Biosphere Reserve is believed to have the highest concentration of bird species in the world, with 1,000—one out of every nine on the Earth. [12]
Peru has around 300 species of reptiles of which around 100 are endemic. Peru's reptile fauna includes spectacular species like giant anacondas and caimans, as well as many other snakes, lizards and turtles.
There are about 380 species of frogs in Peru (based on this search at the Amphibian Species of the World website). It is easy to see a few species on night hikes in the lowland rain forest areas in Tambopata, Manu or Iquitos. Ten new frog species have been discovered over the past two years in the cloud forests of the Peruvian Andes.
Some species of frog found in Peru are:
In March 2009, scientists discovered a pygmy frog. [13] The pygmy frog is unlike many other species of frog because its eggs don't become tadpoles like those of most frogs. Also, they only lay two eggs.
Peru also has an equally diverse amount of plants. The coast of Peru is usually barren apart from some cacti that grow there. Hilly areas known as lomas such as Lachay, include many endemic species. [14] The river valleys also contain unique plant life. The Highlands above the tree-line is known as puna, where bushes, cactus and drought-resistant plants, such as ichu grass extend up to the zone of snow-capped mountains. The most spectacular plant in Peru is the gigantic Puya raimondii seen near Huaraz. On the lower slopes of the Andes are steep-sided cloud-forests with among it can sustain moss, orchids, and bromeliads. The very wet Amazon rainforest contains useful lumber, and resins plus strange canopy plants and palm trees. [1]
As of March 2009 scientists have discovered a new kind of plant Senecio sanmarcosensis which is part of the high-Andean wetlands vegetation. It is only found at 14,764 feet (4,500 m) above sea level. [8]
Peru has some good locations to watch all of this wildlife:
Manu National Park is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and Andean grasslands.
Huascarán National Park is a Peruvian national park that comprises most of the mountain range known as Cordillera Blanca which is part of the central Andes, in the region of Ancash. The park covers an area of 340,000 hectares and is managed by the Peruvian Network of Protected Natural Areas, or SERNANP. It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1985 by UNESCO, is also a well-known mountaineering spot, and harbors a unique biodiversity with plant species such as the Queen of the Andes, trees of the genera Polylepis and Buddleja, and animals such as spectacled bears, condors, vicunas, and tarucas.
Madidi is a national park in the upper Amazon river basin in Bolivia. It was established in 1995 with a total land area of 18,958 km2. Together with the nearby protected areas Manuripi-Heath and Apolobamba and the Manu Biosphere Reserve (Peru), Madidi is part of one of the largest protected areas in the world.
Jackson's climbing salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Guatemala. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. The salamander is among the 25 "most wanted lost" species that are the focus of Global Wildlife Conservation's "Search for Lost Species" initiative, as it had not been seen since 1975. It was rediscovered in 2017 at an amphibian reserve in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes.
El Sira Communal Reserve is a protected area in Peru created to preserve the biodiversity of the Sira Mountains and the ancestral sustainable use of the area's resources by the nearby native peoples. It also protects the headwaters of the Pachitea river basin. The reserve covers an area of 616,413 hectares (6,164.13 km2) within the regions of Huánuco, Pasco and Ucayali. The reserve was created in 2001 and in 2010, UNESCO recognized it as part of the Oxapampa-Asháninka-Yánesha Biosphere Reserve.
The Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve is the second largest reserve of the 56 national parks and protected areas in Ecuador. It is located in the Putumayo Canton in the Sucumbíos Province and in the Aguarico Canton in the Orellana Province. It was decreed on 26 July 1979 as part of the creation of the national protected areas system based on the recommendations of the FAO report on the "National Strategy on the Conservation of Outstanding Wild Areas of Ecuador".
The wildlife of Chile is very diverse because of the country's slender and elongated shape, which spans a wide range of latitude, and altitude, ranging from the windswept coastline of the Pacific coast on the west to northern Andes to the sub-Antarctic, high Andes mountains in the east. There are many distinct ecosystems.
The Peruvian Yungas comprise a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Peru.
The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin.
Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Regional Conservation Area is a protected area located south east of Iquitos, extending over the Peruvian department of Loreto, provinces of Maynas, Ramón Castilla and Requena. It was established by the Peruvian Ministry of Environment on May 15, 2009. The reserve is managed and funded by the Regional Government of Loreto.
Charles A Munn III is an American conservation biologist and ecotourism entrepreneur. Munn is the founder and owner of SouthWild, a conservation-based ecotourism company that offers photography safaris throughout South America. In 2013, Condé Nast Traveller listed him as one of worlds's three leading experts on wildlife tourism, and the only one for South America. From 1984-2000 he was a conservation field biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society. He also founded Peru Verde Conservation Group, the BioBrasil Foundation, and Tropical Nature Conservation Group. Munn is an American citizen but spends most of his time in Brazil and Chile. He is based in the Mato Grosso state.
The flora and fauna of Honduras reflects the country's geographical location inside the tropics. This has allowed for diverse species of plants and animals to be adapted, but some of them are now in danger of extinction. This has posed the Honduran government, offices and nature organizations to look after the protection of the local environment, like the creation of nature reserves.
The Solimões-Japurá moist forests (NT0163) is an ecoregion in northwest Brazil and eastern Peru and Colombia in the Amazon biome. It has a hot climate with high rainfall throughout the year, and holds one of the most diverse collections of fauna and flora in the world. The ecoregion is relatively intact.
The Iquitos várzea (NT0128) is an ecoregion of flooded forest along rivers in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia in the west of the Amazon biome. The forest is seasonally flooded up to 7 metres (23 ft) by whitewater rivers carrying nutrient-rich sediment from the Andes. The meandering rivers often shift course, creating a complex landscape of oxbow lakes, marshes, levees and bars, with grasslands, shrubs and forests in different stages of succession. During the extended flood periods fish enter the forest in search of fruit. The várzea is accessible by the navigable rivers that run through it, and has suffered from extensive deforestation to extract timber and create pasture for livestock.
The Venezuelan Andes montane forests (NT0175) is an ecoregion in the northern arm of the Andes in Venezuela. It contains montane and cloud forests, reaching up to the high-level Cordillera de Merida páramo high moor ecoregion. The forests are home to many endemic species of flora and fauna. Their lower levels are threatened by migrant farmers, who clear patches of forest to grow crops, then move on.
The Cordillera Oriental montane forests (NT0118) is an ecoregion in Venezuela and Colombia along the east slopes of the eastern cordillera of the Andes. The extensive region of submontane and montane forests includes distinctive flora and fauna in the north, center and southern sections. The ecoregion is home to numerous endemic species of fauna. Despite extensive changes due to logging, farming and ranching, large areas of the original habitat remain intact, and the ecoregion has rich biodiversity.
The Napo moist forests (NT0142) is an ecoregion in the western Amazon rainforest of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The Magdalena Valley montane forests (NT0136) is an ecoregion in the Andes mountains of central Colombia.
The Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests (NT0121) is an ecoregion in the eastern range of the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion covers the eastern slopes of the Andes, and includes montane forest that rises from the Amazonian rain forest, with cloud forest and elfin forest at higher elevations. It is rich in species, including many endemics. It is threatened by logging and conversion for pasturage and subsistence agriculture.
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