Description of the attraction
The Bauaja-Sonene National Park, located in the southeastern Amazon of Peru, was established in 1996 to protect one of the few regions that remains untouched by the intense life of modern human society. It includes areas where a very high level of biological diversity of fauna and flora is preserved, in some places record rates were recorded.
The park protects a large number of species of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and fish, including many rare species that are endangered. Many of the species found within the park are endemic to Peru, including two species of parrots and at least 28 newly recorded species of butterflies.
In these forests you can see swamp deer, maned wolf, a unique species of eagle - South American harpy, giant anteater, anaconda, giant armadillo, giant river otter, black caiman, spectacled bear, jaguar and several species of monkeys. In 1992, an ichthyological research team found 93 species of fish in six different bodies of water, located only in the lower valley of the Bauaha-Sonene Park.
The park's mission is to protect and preserve more species of local fauna and flora, both in the lower part of the Amazon Valley, and in some highlands of the tropical foothills. The park also protects a number of areas that are home to wild pineapple and guava varieties.
In 2012, during a research expedition through the park, which was attended by 15 researchers of the Wildlife Conservation Society, 13 species of birds, previously unregistered, were identified, including the black and white hawk-eagle, Wilson's tricolor phalarope and ash cuckoo, two species of bats - Nikiforov's eared bat and tricolor bat, as well as 233 species of butterflies and moths.
Despite the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Bauaha-Sonene National Park remains vulnerable to various threats. The most pressing problems today are illegal gold mining and deforestation, over-mining of natural resources such as game, fish, fruit and palm leaves, and the construction of the Cuzco-Puerto Maldonado road.
