Flood update: May 11 - June 24, 2021
[Our internet access has been very limited since we've minimized expenses, so here are updates from the past few weeks]
In the beginning of May, the Tapiche Jungle Reserve in the Northern Amazon of Peru experienced the first real "summer days", as our local staff members here at the lodge call it. The heavy rains typical of the high water season stopped, the sky was beautifully blue and clear, and the sun was shining strongly all day. The water level began to go down, with obvious changes from one day to the next. By the first week of May, we could observe the water level sinking as much as 20-30cm overnight! Every day we had to move our floating dock and our boats to make sure they wouldn't end up on dry land the next morning.
First, the water pulled back from the highest lodge structures around the kitchen and our hammock house. By May 11, the water only covered the lower parts of the lodge and the beach in front of it. All photos you see below except for the last one were taken at that time. Notice how our river house was still surrounded by water and how the river seemingly flowed into the lodge area. The water was still very high, but in only one week the water level had gone down about one meter. From there, the water level kept receding steadily, revealing more and more of the beach in front of the lodge. Finally, the water level went down so much that it retreated completely from the lodge area and the forest, leaving a clear difference between the forest and the riverbed.
Between the beginning and middle of June, the muddy river shore started to be revealed and the beach in front of the lodge had dried up enough that we could start planting our corn field (we will show you some photos of our corn field in the next weeks). We expected the water level to keep going down steadily, but, surprisingly, it stagnated around mid June. At the moment, the water level is about 1.5 meters higher than it has been at this time of the year in the past. The last photo impressively shows the contrast of how the Tapiche river has retracted back into the river bed and the beach now is fully dried up and full of little corn sprouts. You can observe about 2m of height difference between the forest ground and the river, where the river had flooded the forest just 2 months ago.
You might remember that last year at this point we had already found the first turtle nests - the first nest of the Yellow-spotted River Turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) in 2020 was found on June 22. Now in June 2021, the white sandy beaches along the Tapiche River are still under water and have yet to be revealed. As this year's flood started later than it used to in past years, it makes sense that the water level hasn't gone down as early as before. However, our team at the Tapiche Jungle Reserve is ready and waiting for the Turtle Nesting Season 2021 and are looking forward to sharing this year's Turtle Rescue project with you virtually again!
We're not really sure what's causing all these abnormalities in the flood pattern, though we suspect that climate change is playing a role. The time between abnormal flood years seems to be shortening from once every two or three years to almost every year now...But don't lose hope! Our forest and animals populations are healthy, and the animals that we see remind us every day about the power of conservation and nature's astonishing resiliency when given a chance to thrive. We believe that, with your help, we can continue to protect this forest and its inhabitants and perhaps tip the balance towards regeneration and vitality in the future.
We really hoped that we would be back to receiving guests on a regular basis by now and having a regular income. We are happy and grateful that throughout the last two months, we were able to welcome our first 6 guests to the reserve after almost a year and a half. Thank you Katharina & Nikolai, Sarina & Alessio and Steven & Georgia for deciding to visit the Tapiche Jungle Reserve! You have made an important economic impact and have also raised our spirits and morale.
For those who are not comfortable traveling just yet but want to support the reserve and the Turtle Rescue Project 2021, you can still make a big difference by supporting our conservation work with a donation: https://gofund.me/472e0a00
Remember to check back here on the blog and follow our social media channels (IG, FB @tapichejungle) to stay updated about this year's Turtle Nesting Season.
Much jungle love to all!
