Night Walks in the Yachana Reserve

Only a few minutes after setting off on our night walk, Andy, the Base Manager, directed our sights to a Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) , only metres away, snuffling about in the undergrowth. He explained its tolerance of our presence was much to do with the relatively poor eyesight of these mammals. Nine-banded armadillos, are often hunted for their delicate white meat throughout their range in South America, however they are safe in the Yachana Reserve from that threat and are commonly seen at night, if you keep your eyes peeled!

After making our way through hoards of insects, spiders and amphibians, we made it to the water hole, where we were greeted by a fat, seven inch long Smoky Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentodactylus), who did look a little grumpy to have his peaceful evening disturbed.

Despite the large number of recent tree-falls across the trails (due to a big storm prior to GVI Amazon's return to base camp for 2011), with the aid of a few machetes we were able to successfully reach the Cascada (waterfall), where the volunteers and staff were happy to swap their sweaty hiking clothes for bathing suits and swimming shorts. After a refreshing dip and a natural exfoliating mud-bath, it was back to base for a shower, a hot drink and a chance to show the other volunteers and staff some of the amazing photos we’d taken!

Fraser Ross - GVI Amazon Field Staff

Night Walks in the Yachana Reserve