What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Mayo region of Peru? Over 2000 species are identified, of course! Tucked in this lush landscape where the Amazon basin meets the Andes mountains, were 27 species of animals previously unknown to science. It makes us wonder, what else is out there that the scientific community hasn't seen? And who already knows about it? Check out photos of all the critters we mentioned — and more!Other ecosystems or critters you think would make a good episode? Let us know by emailing [email protected]!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey, short wavers, it's Regina Barber. And the story I have for you starts in northern Peru, where the Amazon basin meets the Andes Mountains.
The Altamayo is this lush valley surrounded by mountains. You have a high diversity of different soil types, different vegetation types, and microclimates as you change in elevation. And that creates this really dynamic and vibrant mosaic with all different kinds of life.
That's Tron Larson. He's an ecologist at Conservation International, a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Virginia. He says that this area in Peru straddles two preserves, the Altamira Protection Forest and the Cordillera Escalera Regional Conservation Area. And it's being deforested. It's also under threat of more deforestation.
Because all that lushness makes it a great place for growing major agricultural products like pineapples, coffee, and chocolate.
There's also significant human presence. It's very much a human-dominated landscape.
Trond and a team of 12 Peruvian scientists led a 38-day expedition into the area in the summer of 2022, guided by experts from the local indigenous tribe, the Awahun. And along the way, they set up data sensors to complete the survey. The goal was to create a management plan that benefits both the local people and the land, based on a survey of all the local plant and animal life.
The very first night after arriving, I wolfed my dinner down, and I was so eager to get out on the trail into the forest, get my headlamp on, and see what might be out there, things that I'd never seen before.
And almost immediately, it became clear. There were a lot more critters out there than they thought.
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