Founded in 2000, the core area of the Central Amazon Ecological Corridor is the World Heritage listed Central Amazon Biosphere Reserve. The reserve was formed by joining several smaller protected areas together, including Jau National Park, Mamirauá Reserve, Amanã Reserve, and the Anavilhanas Reserve.
Description – Central Amazon Ecological Corridor
The Central Amazon Ecological Corridor covers the most pristine habitat in the Amazon Jungle, the watershed of the Rio Negro. The Brazilian Institute for the Environment (IBAMA) joined the smaller reserves together to offer more protection for the flora and fauna but also for scientific research. The area is a constantly changing mosaic of habitats, and it enables researchers to study the large scale effects of habitat change on surrounding biodiversity.
Anavilhanas Reserve
The area of the corridor towards the lower Rio Negro is called the Anavilhanas Ecological Reserve. The reserve contains flooded forest, high forest, sandy soil shrub land, and also flooded shrub land. Here you can find a rich diversity of wildlife, including a high number of animals that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth.
Animals of the Anavilhanas Reserve
The reserve protects the habitat of some of the most iconic species in all of Amazonia, including the threatened Amazon Manatee, jaguar; the world’s largest freshwater fish, the pirarucu; harpy eagles, giant river otters, caiman, black spider monkeys, and giant armadillos. The reserve also contains pink river dolphins, river otters, macaw parrots, toucans, among many others. For bird watchers, 60% of the birds observed in the Central Amazon have been seen in this section of the reserve. Records indicate there are around 25 species of amphibians and 42 species of reptiles, which is comparatively a small number for the Amazon. This is thought to be due to the flooded habitat, but black caiman and the South American river turtle are abundant. There is a high diversity of wildlife found in the reserve and of the Amazon’s 53 scientific families, only 13 were not found in the Anavilhanas.
Visiting the Central Amazon Ecological Corridor
The area is so remote it is off the flight path of planes and most other tours. To visit the reserve you can join a Tucano Amazon Cruise, which is the only tour venturing deep into the corridor. On the tour you can take many treks into the rainforest.
