It's Chonta time!
Over the last month or so there has been a lot of animal
activity around base due to the presence of a Chonta palm (Bactris gasipaes) in the middle of our base camp. The
palm tree produces grape like bunches of tennis-ball sized red fruit around
this time every year. The ripening of these fruits has attracted the attention
of mixed parrot flocks including Blue Headed Parrots (Pionus menstruus)
and Dusky Headed Parakeets (Aratinga weddellii) in addition to the more
commonly seen Oropendolas (Psarocolius sp.) and Caciques (Cacicus sp.).
Volunteers and staff alike have been quick to grab their binoculars when there
is bird activity around the tree, and parrot spotting has become somewhat of a
competition!
Once these fruits find their way to the forest floor they
are quickly devoured by Black Agoutis (Dasyprocta fuliginosa) commonly
seen around camp and the less commonly seen Green Acouchis (Myoprocta pratti)
and Nine Banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus). We placed one of our
camera traps at the bottom of the tree and have recorded a high level of
activity throughout the day and night.
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| Green Acouchi |
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| Our extremely hard-working ranger, Don Abdon |
Chonta fruit isn’t only good for animals, it is a commonly
eaten food by people here in Ecuador’s rural communities. The fruits are boiled
like potatoes with a pinch of salt and often mashed. We have eaten Chonta here
on base too when we have the expert culinary skills of local students
completing work experience with us from the Yachana Colegio. Chonta can also be
drunk and is fermented to make Chicha in Huaorani and Kichwa cultures. It is
chewed and fermented to make this mildly alcoholic drink, strength can be
adjusted depending upon the occasion – something to keep you going on a walk in
the forest – or a party drink for the wedding of a family member!
The wood of the Chonta is also used to make small pathways
around peoples land and up to their houses. Another Chonta tree recently felled
and processed was used by our super hard-working reserve ranger, Abdon to
repair our stretches of Chonta walkway. So this tree not only attracts wildlife
right to our door step, it can feed us, make us merry and ensure that we don’t
get muddy feet! An amazing tree, I hope you agree!
Philip Brown – Assistant Base Manager, GVI Amazon 2010 to Present
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