Anna Ternova

22 November 2016
Amazon, the Flooded Forest
The Amazon River at one point in time, used to flow westward into the Pacific Ocean.
The rise of the Andes mountains, however, forced it to change its direction to flow eastward, into
the Atlantic Ocean. The river has many tributaries that spread out over a large area that floods
during heavy seasonal rainfall. This seasonally flooded area is named the flooded forest, and
accounts for two-percent of the entire Amazon. Unlike the upland forest, this one has adapted to
withstand long periods of flooding.
The caboclos are an indigenous group of people that live along the banks of the river and
depend on it for sustenance. They are accustomed to hunting and fishing as a way of life, and due
to years of living like this, have developed the traditional knowledge needed to survive in this
unique climate. The knowledge also came from recognizing the intimate relationship between the
fish, the river, and the flooding seasons. They mainly take only what they need to feed their
family and community, although overfishing and exploitation has been mentioned in recent
years.
The Amazon is home to some of the most diverse species in the world, where some are
found strictly in the region of the flooded forest. This includes the white uakaria bald, redfaced monkey with a full coat of white fur. Their largest consumption of food happens during
peak flood season, when the canopies start to produce their prime abundance of fruit. The same
goes for many of the fish within the floodwaters, like the tambaqui, which rely on seeds falling
into the water from the trees above as their main source of food. Another interesting way of
attaining food is seen by the arowana, also called the water monkey, which has been known to
jump as high as two meters in the air to grab insects off branches.
When the heavy rains stop and the dry season is on its way, life changes radically within
the region. Many of the fish who resided in the flood waters start to make their way upstream in
search of deeper waters. This in turn allows the boto dolphin to feed more easily as the fish are
now more concentrated in schools. The forest floors dry up and allow for other types of wildlife
to now use the ground below. Long stretches of sandy beaches are exposed alongside the river,
which allow for birds and turtles to create nests and lay their eggs right below the soft surface.
Towards the end of the dry season is when many of the offspring hatch so that they have plenty
of food available once the floods start again, and trees are in full bloom. This cycle of breeding,
feeding, and migration has existed for generations, and its consistency is obvious in how easily
the wildlife of the flooded forest reacts and responds to it.

Reflection
Throughout the course of this documentary, I was constantly surprised by new
information and facts of which I had never thought about before. For one, I never knew that the
flooded forest existedthe image in my mind when I heard the word Amazon was simply a
long river with trees and wildlife living on its banks. The fact that an entire forest can survive
living underwater for seven months at a time, dry up, then become flooded again is astonishing.
I always knew that there were people and communities that lived in the Amazon, but
actually seeing how the caboclos lived their daily lives changed the image in my mind. What I
may see as primitive houses and ways of attaining food, is completely normal to them. There is
such an enormous contrast between how they live and how I live, that it seems like a different
world altogether.
The diversity of wildlife was also astounding. The narrator frequently introduced a
species as being found only in this region of the world. One of the first animals he introduced
was the white uakari; it was a unique looking monkey, but I found it strange that it had a thick,
white coat of fur considering it lived in an area where temperatures would not reach anywhere
close to being described as cold. From first glance, it seems like a type of monkey you would
find in northern regions. Another animal that surprised me was the tambaqui fish. I have not
heard of fish eating seeds before, but this fish has even evolved into having the ability to crack
open tough-cased seeds, knowing that they could only eat what was inside. Interestingly enough,
the narrator mentioned that most of the fruit that feeds this diverse collection of animals is
actually poisonous to humans. Although the caboclos core source of food is fish, it was never
mentioned whether the poisonous seeds within the stomachs of the fish affected the people that
ate them, or how the fish was cleaned to get rid of them. The most surprising animal to learn
about, however, was the boto dolphin. I thought all species of dolphins existed only in the ocean,
but apparently numerous species of freshwater dolphins exist in the Amazonian rivers.
It is truly amazing to see how every animal has evolved to make what is available (like
food, and shelter) work for them. Some animals must migrate during the dry season in search of
food, whereas others can stay behind and eat the tree leaves that are poisonous to other species,
and others can eat certain types of fruits that others do not have the capability for (like hard
coconuts). Also, the fact that essentially everything is timed (dry seasons, breeding seasons, etc.)
goes to show how far mere instinct can go. It makes me think about how easily climate change
could disrupt the balance of the flooded forest and make it much more difficult for wildlife to
adapt to a new climate cycle and way of life.