Bahuaja Sonene

The Bahuaja-Sonene National Park was created as a result of the land organization of Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone. This National Park is placed in the departments of Madre de Dios and Puno, in the provinces of Tambopata and Sandia, respectively. It has an area of 537 053,25 hectares, which comprises the former Pampas del Heath National Sanctuary and part of the Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone. It is part of an area bordering the Madidi National Park in Bolivia.

This Park hosts several species of the wild fauna now threatened such as: the giant otter or river wolf (Pteronura brasiliensis), the short-eared dog (Speothos venaticus), the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) and the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja).
As in the Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone, there is a huge diversity of birds and insects in this area such as butterflies, dragonflies, and wood ants. It also preserves the only sample existing in Peru of the so-called pampas or tropical wet savannas, and the species representing the wild fauna living in this ecosystem such as: the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) and the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). These animals do not exist in any other part of the country.



The Heath river and its pampas make up a unique ecosystem in Peru. This river not only gives access to the famous Pampas Heath, but also includes a large extension of clayey terraces that seem to be associated to the colpas of macaws and other animals. The approximately 8,000 hectares of pampas are pastures periodically flooded, regenerated by occasional fires during the arid season. The origin and age of the pampas are unknown, but their future is associated to the periodical fires. The pastures that are regenerated in the pampas not burnt by the fire, do not have a long period of life. Among the principal objectives of the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park we can mention the conservation of landscape beauties in the south jungle, and the protection of the only sample existing in Peru of the tropical wet savannas and their wild flora and fauna, particularly the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) and the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus).

This zone offers great opportunities for the conservation of species because there is no permanent human population; that is why it is possible to find animals here that are endangered in other zones of the Amazonia such as the lowland tapir or forest cow (sachavaca or Tapirus terrestris) and the black spider monkey (maquisapa or Ateles paniscus). At Bahuaja-Sonene, mammals like the marsh deer (Odocoileus dichotomus) and the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the strongest canine in the Amazonia, are protected species. The park is a shelter for birds because it hosts 450 species, 17 of them are typical from Peru, 28 are amphibians, and 74 are mammals. Among the mammals, marsh deers stand out because of the interdigital membranes in their paws, which allow them to walk through swampy zones without sinking.