41 Facts About Yaguas National Park: Learn More About The Reserve

Helga Khumanthem
Oct 05, 2022 By Helga Khumanthem
Originally Published on Apr 18, 2022
Edited by Aubree Mosby
Fact-checked by Pratiti Nath
The sector of Loreto is home to one of the most tropical forest settings in the Peruvian jungle, and maybe even the world, Yaguas National Park.

If you're looking for an adventure, look no further than Yaguas National Park in Peru, South America.

This stunning jungle sanctuary is teeming with wildlife, a dream come true for people who wish to explore the rich Amazon rainforest. Its thick forests and roaring rivers provide the perfect backdrop for outdoor enthusiasts of all levels.

Peru's Yaguas National Park is a stunning jungle sanctuary that offers visitors plenty of opportunities for exploration and adventure. With its pristine rivers, lush vegetation, and impressive animal life, Yaguas is a nature lover's paradise.

This destination encompasses 3,354 sq mi (5,397 sq km) and comprises the districts of Maynas province and Pebas. San Pablo and Ramon Castilla make up the region. Yaguas National Park is regarded as one of the natural regions with the greatest biodiversity on the globe, with over 1,000 kinds of flora and wildlife.

Whether you're hiking through the jungle or exploring one of the area's many caves, Yaguas National Park is a must-see destination for anyone visiting Peru. So don't miss out on putting Yaguas National Park on your travel list!

Facts About Yaguas National Park

For naturalists and conservationists, the region of Yaguas National Park is a jewel trove.

In the river, one might notice freshwater pink river dolphins and manatees. In the atmosphere, there may be predator eagles or hoatzins.

Everywhere, the fast-growing nature of the rainforest is such that one might forget about man's influence, until running into evidence of illegal logging or illegal mining operations.

Numerous environmental surveillance groups, SERNANP included, have used the area in recent years and have named Yaguas National Park as a site for natural and geological research in an attempt to verify the immeasurable importance of the park and the necessity for its continued and increased security.

Its essential role as a carbon sink has also been noted, and it contains a small amount of varied species in this part of the land.

As global worries about carbon dioxide emitted into the climate change by the burning of fossil fuels increase, untouched forests such as this, which store air carbon, become increasingly helpful and need preservation.

The area covered by Yaguas National Park is densely wooded and unrestricted by roads. The only possible ways in and out of the new park are via the river.

A crucial factor of the Yaguas National Park conservation action is putting a ranger post at the main point of entrance, the Yaguas River.

Although indigenous communities will be able to travel freely by both land and waterways, individuals and groups interested in bringing large-scale operations and equipment into the protected area have little choice but to travel by water. 

Animals In The Yaguas National Park

Yaguas National Park shelters at least 3,500 types of plants (kapok and sandbox trees), 600 types of birds (blackpoll warblers and summer tanagers), 150 types of creatures (huge river otters and South American tapirs), and no less than 300 kinds of fish (Arapaima Gigas).

The local communities believe that a giant snake spirit watches over the Peruvian Amazon. They call it the 'Sachamama.'

Yaguas has between 3,000 and 3,500 species of plants, 110 amphibians, 100 species of reptiles, 500 birds, and 150- 160 species of mammals.

The Yaguas' rivers have manatees, river dolphins, giant otters, and woolly monkeys among the meander.

A new little catfish species were found in the ecosystem of Putumayo and Nanay Rivers of the Amazon Basin in the Loreto area. It has been named Mastiglanis yaguas.

It was discovered as territory of the Rapid Biological Inventory, held out in the River of Yaguas in 2010 by Max Hidalgo.

This discovery confirmed Yaguas National Park's reputation as a protected natural area with the most incredible diversity of fish in the Peruvian Amazon.

Importance Of Yaguas National Park

Before upgrading Yaguas to a new national park, the national service directed a series of estimations to determine which protection group would be best suited for the area.

This economic benefit is predicated on the anticipated well-being that the protection of biodiversity will bring to the associations located around the land in the Putumayo and Yaguas Districts, the Putumayo Province, and to the regional communities situated in the Pebas, San Pablo, and Mariscal Ramón Castilla Province.

The preservation of species for maintenance hunting was a benefit of a Peruvian government study controlled through its Conservation Strategy Fund.

The founded associations will save more than $5.2 million because defenses conferred by a national park will help cease declines in species on which residents are grounded.

The calculation was created using the white-lipped peccary, a mammal classified as 'Vulnerable' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The peccary is an essential part of the indigenous communities' diet.

The Field Museum of Chicago conducted its own research as well, doing several analyses in 2010.

The museum emerged confirming that there were around 500 -550 fish species in Yaguas. This makes up two-thirds of the freshwater fish variety in the country! It's amazing for not only Peru, but the whole world!

Within the Yaguas Reserved Zone, there are no human settlements. Nonetheless, intrigue is presently being jeopardized by illegal activities and some of the surrounding communities' exploitation of its splendid natural areas.

The project will be implemented and aims at achieving the formal declaration of the Reserved Area as one of the national parks by law by the government of Peru.

The government is able to reduce illegal business within the protected area by strengthening the power and vigilance capacity of the Peruvian Protected Areas Agency in the Reserved Zone.

It can also authorize the conservation of flora and fauna through a biological monitoring function and the support of fisheries plans to provide sustainable resources for surrounding communities.

Biodiversity Of Yaguas National Park

This amazing place is teeming with wildlife, including monkeys, pink river dolphins, and exotic birds.

The park is a harbor for animals, including birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, which are on the road to being extinct, such as the giant river beaver, the anteater, the black caiman, and the yellow-footed tortoise, with other species.

The flora of Yaguas is a combination of over 3,500 species. Nine are new to science and belong to Aphelandra, Calathea, Mayna, Cyclanthus, Carpotroche, Pausandra, and Palmorchis.

The place also offers different kinds of wood such as Cedrelinga, sandbox, Macrolobium Acaciifolium Benth, and Ceiba pentandra trees.

In January 2018, Yaguas National Park ensured that more than 2 million acres (0.8 million hectares) of Peruvian tropical forest stayed intact.

The park's boundaries are atop a map of aboveground greenwood biomass.

Satellite data and pictures were utilized to estimate the density of woody substances, and it was discovered that dark green zones are denser than light green parts. The second map puts the area amidst the more expansive forested regions.

These intact tropical forests are essential for supporting biodiversity.

They give trees and animals adequate space to maintain healthy populations, and they continue to evolve as they have over millions of years.

Undisturbed or connected forests can even help species answer to climate change by letting them migrate to areas with more moisture or warmer, cooler elevations.

The park does not just shield flora and fauna, it preserves an entire watershed that Corine Vriesendorp, the Andes-Amazon Program director, describes as a rare opportunity to preserve biodiversity. The watershed extends 125 mi (200 km) from the fountains to the mouth of the Yaguas River.

 The recent discovery of heavy machinery in the area has brought to light the requirement to intensify conservation efforts.

Casual gold harvesting involves cleaning large swaths of rainforest, unrestricted use of mercury, and subglacial disturbances to the river basin.

The new nomination should prove to be a decisive step in the long fight against illegal operations, which hurt sensitive fauna such as giant otters, river dolphins, manatees, and woolly monkeys.

Yaguas National Park has already been shown to be a rich area for scientific analysis, which has included photography, mapping, natural and social inventories.

The administration agency, SERNANP, has already documented some exciting results – discovering new species that include eight fish, a few amphibians, birds, and nine plants.

Impaired climate change has also played a role in Peru’s Yaguas National Park.

It has led to improved water quality in the wetlands' and tackles natural anomalies like erosion and flooding. The tropical fen bogs also retain an important accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere.

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Sources

https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/new-reserve-in-peru-will-protect-nearly-a-million-acres-of-pristine-forest/

https://www.conservation-strategy.org/project/cost-benefit-analysis-yaguas-national-park-peru

https://peru.info/en-us/tourism/news/3/16/yaguas-national-park--exotic-biodiversity-and-scenic-beauty-in-one-place

https://andina.pe/ingles/noticia-peru-get-to-know-new-amazon-fish-species-found-at-yaguas-national-park-813284.aspx

https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/peru-declares-a-huge-new-national-park-in-the-amazon/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaguas_National_Park

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Written by Helga Khumanthem

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English Language and Literature

Helga Khumanthem picture

Helga KhumanthemBachelor of Arts specializing in English Language and Literature

A dedicated and passionate writer, Helga brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and Language from Lady Shri Ram College For Womenand has a keen interest in charitable work, particularly in animal welfare, which drives her commitment to making a positive impact. Previously, she volunteered for the Friendicoes National Service Scheme, managing their social media platforms and organizing charity events for animals in need.

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Fact-checked by Pratiti Nath

Bachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology, Masters of Science specializing in Biotechnology

Pratiti Nath picture

Pratiti NathBachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology, Masters of Science specializing in Biotechnology

A Master's in Biotechnology from Presidency University and a Bachelor's in Microbiology from Calcutta University. Pratiti holds expertise in writing science and healthcare articles, and their inputs and feedback help writers create insightful content. They have interests in heritage, history, and climate change issues and have written articles for various websites across multiple subjects. Their experience also includes working with eco-friendly startups and climate-related NGOs.

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