to hire local tour operators and certified naturalist guides who can take visitors either to areas where sloths are regularly observed or to responsible reserves that offer non-interventionist wildlife sightings,” he explains. The next step is patience. Contrary to popular
belief, sloths don’t spend their days hanging upside down. They sleep for much of the day, blend into the canopy and move with such deliberate slowness that even expert guides can struggle to spot them. But that’s part of the appeal. “The most
rewarding Amazon experiences are often the least predictable,” says Chris Bladon, product lead at Pura Aventura, a B-Corp tour operator specialising in nature tourism, especially in areas like Latin America. “Animals are often elusive, the forest is vast and if visitors arrive expecting encounters with specific species, they may leave disappointed.” He believes that responsible wildlife tour
oprators should ask visitors to embrace uncertainty rather than resist it. “It encourages visitors to appreciate the Amazon as a living ecosystem rather than a checklist of species, and to value encounters because they’re genuine, not because they’re guaranteed.” It’s a philosophy also embraced by UK tour
company Naturetrek, which has been running wildlife holidays for four decades. Its Brazil itineraries cover habitats ranging from the Amazon to the Pantanal, where sloth sightings are possible, but never promised. “Our tours are very much focused on wildlife-
watching — ‘watching’ being key,” says operations manager Tom Mabbett. “Our guests don’t just want to spot an animal and take a quick photo or tick it off their list — they’re genuinely interested in learning about all aspects of natural history, and this is reflected in how we run our tours.” That means keeping a respectful distance
and allowing animals to behave naturally. “As naturalists and wildlife enthusiasts, we’d much rather use our binoculars or a telescope to enjoy an extended period watching a creature from a distance, allowing it to go about its day undisturbed, than try to get closer and risk scaring it away,” Tom says. In many ways, that approach offers something
far more rewarding than a selfie ever could. Sloths are among the rainforest’s strangest animals: mammals whose shaggy fur hosts algae and moths, who descend from the canopy just once a week to relieve themselves and who can swim surprisingly well despite spending most of their lives suspended in trees. In a world where wildlife sightings can often
be packaged and promised, there’s something refreshing about an encounter that can’t be predicted; to witness a sloth moving silently through the leaves and seemingly oblivious to your presence. The goal of wildlife travel isn’t to capture the perfect image, and the very fact that nature doesn’t perform on demand is what makes it so extraordinary — a philosophy that’s increasingly being championed by responsible tour operators across Latin America.
THR EE MOR E
ETHICAL ADVENTURES
1
Night monkeys on the Peru-Colombia border
In Vista Alegre, the Musmuki Tourism Association offers low-impact walking tours to see the endemic Musmuki night monkey. Sacred to the Tikuna people, the monkeys are threatened by unethical tourism. With support from Colombia- based NGO Entropika, former monkey traders have turned to conservation and guiding.
innative-amazon.com/about
2
Rescued critters in Costa Rica
Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center is a zoo-turned-wildlife-refuge located just outside Costa Rica’s capital, San José. It rescues, rehabilitates and releases some 3,000 animals a year and provides lifetime care for around 700 creatures that can’t go back into the wild. The latter can be spotted when you walk through its 13-acre botanical garden.
rescatewildlife.org
3
Baird’s tapirs in Belize Set inland, the Rio Bravo
Conservation and Management Area is a 254,000-acre private reserve overseen by the local NGO, Programme for Belize. The landscape of hills, plains, forests, savannahs and swamps is home to endangered species such as Baird’s tapirs and Yucatán black howler monkeys. Stay at one of two lodges within the reserve for an immersive wildlife experience. programmeforbelize
lodgingandtours.com
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER – LATIN AMERICA COLLECTION 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
