tambopata chuncho macaw clay lick amazon trips rainforest ,wildlife peru ,amazon trips ,manu reserve . As major seed predators, macaws and other parrots are engaged in an “evolutionary race” with plant species, which have developed a protection mechanism where their seeds contain chemical defences – toxins that are either distasteful or harmful to birds that eat them. Macaws engage in geophagy (eating soil) as a way to counter these toxins. Geophagy occurs at clay licks – special deposits of clay found along riverbanks – where macaws and parrots gather in large numbers to consume clay, which is high in sodium. The Tambopata National Reserve is a nationally protected area of tropical lowland forest in the Peruvian Amazon.
The Reserve was created by the Peruvian government in 1990 to protect the watersheds of the Tambopata and Candamo Rivers, and surrounding rainforest. The world’s largest clay lick, Colpa Colorado, is found here among the many clay licks of the Tambopata River. Almost 5,000 people inhabit the Reserve, making a living from slash and burn agriculture, small-scale gold mining, timber extraction, hunting and fishing, all of which threaten the forest and its biodiversity. A network of organisations and communities exist within the Reserve, with the aim of preserving biodiversity by improving awareness of the value of leaving the forest standing.
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