Las Tortugas Lodge and Yacuma River mammal records (2023, Bolivia)

SUMMARY: On a two-night stay at Las Tortugas Lodge, on the banks of the Yacuma River, I saw 14 mammal species, excluding three identified only at genus level. Mammals included five primates, Bolivian River Dolphin, Crab-eating Fox and Common Four-eyed Opossum. I also saw 7 reptile species including Yellow-bellied Liophis and South American Sipo. The lodge is 4 km south of Santa Rosa de Yacuma (Beni Department, Bolivia) and 85 km northeast of Rurrenabaque.

Paul Carter (paulcarter@pacapix.com). Posted 2024 Nov 29.
Links to other Bolivian site reports can be found at my Bolivia page.

CONTENTS
A)  Mammal records
B)  Mammal images
C)  Reptile records
D)  Bird images
E)  Site information and logistics
F)  References

Abbreviations: Ph – Photographed. NP – Not photographed. iNat – iNaturalist. MDD – Mammal Diversity Database. 24-hour time is written as “hhmm” e.g. “3:49 PM” is written as “1549” or “1549h”.

A. MAMMAL RECORDS
Mammal images are posted in the next section.

1. Common Four-eyed Opossum (Philander canus), split from Philander opossum. PH. Camp area forest. 2023 June 9. iNat post. Image below.
2. Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus). PH.
3. Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). PH. Camp area forest.
4. Greater Bulldog Bat (Noctilio leporinus). NP. Seen in flight.
5. Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris naso). PH. Image below.
6. QUERY – Myotis sp. 1: Silver-tipped Myotis (Myotis albescens)? PH. 2023 June 8 2147h – one night-roosting on a tree near Las Tortugas Lodge; seen from the river. One image below; more images at iNat post. GENUS LEVEL ID.
7. QUERY – Myotis sp. 2: Riparian Myotis (Myotis riparius)? PH. 2023 June 8, 2147h. A few seen night-roosting in the dining room roof at Las Tortugas Lodge. One image below; more images at iNat post. GENUS LEVEL ID.
8. QUERY – Phyllostomus / Artibeus sp. PH. 2024 June 9, 1946h.
9. Crab-eating Fox (Cerdocyon thous). NP. A pair at the camp area forest. 2023 June 9, 2115h.
10. Bolivian River Dolphin (Inia boliviensis). PH.
11. Greater Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris). PH. Common on riverbanks.
12. White-bellied Arboreal Rice Rat (Oecomys bicolor). PH. June 9, 2056h. iNat post (2 images); 1 image below.
13. Bolivian Red Howler Monkey (Alouatta sara). PH.
14. Black-and-gold Howler Monkey (Alouatta caraya). Image below.
15. Azara’s Night Monkey (Aotus azarae). PH. Seen in the camp area. Image below.
16. Tufted Capuchin (Sapajus apella) AKA Brown Capuchin (iNat, 2024). PH.
17. Black-capped Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) ssp Bolivian Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis). PH. Habituated. Image below.

Recent mammal records by others in the area: A female Jaguar was seen near Dolphins Lodge whilst I was at Las Tortugas Lodge (I was shown photos).

B.  MAMMAL IMAGES

#1 – Common Four-eyed Opossum

#5 – Proboscis Bat

#10 – Greater Capybara

#10 – White-bellied Arboreal Rice Rat

#13 – Black-and-gold Howler Monkey

#14 – Azara’s Night Monkey

#16 – Black-capped Squirrel Monkey

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C.  REPTILE LIST

1. Yellow-bellied Liophis (Erythrolamprus poecilogyrus). PH. Las Tortugas Lodge. One seen June 8 1928h. iNat post. Image below.
2. South American Sipo (Chironius multiventris). PH. June 9 1134h. iNat post.
3. Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger). PH.
4. Yacare Caiman (Caiman yacare). AKA Southern Spectacled Caiman. PH. Common.
5. Gold Tegu (Tupinambis teguixin). PH. One seen June 8 1505h. Image below.
6. Yellow-headed Sideneck Turtle (Podocnemis unifilis). AKA yellow-spotted river turtle. PH. Common.
7. Geoffroy’s Side-necked Turtle (Phrynops geoffroanus). PH. Common.

#1 – Yellow-bellied Liophis

#5 – Gold Tegu

D.  BIRD IMAGES

Jabiru Stork (Jabiru mycteria):

Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin):

E.  SITE INFORMATION AND LOGISTICS
I visited Las Tortugas Lodge on 8 – 10 June 2023. I took a standard 3d/2n “Pampas Tour” tour run by Mashaquipe. As a single traveler I was put together with two other guests, Mo and Michael, for canoe trips which worked out well. Tour cost was 1700 BOB/p. See https://mashaquipe.com/. The tour included car transport from Rurrenabaque to a local ferry stop 1 km NNE of Las Tortugas Lodge. From there it was a 20-minute trip by motor-canoe up the Yacuma River to Las Tortugas Lodge (-14.124680 / -66.783460) on the riverbank. Site excursions from the lodge were mostly boat trips up and down the river, including one night trip after dinner. We also went by car 6 km to Laguna Brava for a sunset boat trip there and once did a swamp walk looking for anaconda but did not find one. At night I also walked the lodge area and tracks just beyond the perimeter (be careful where you step; there is some filth you don’t want to step on).

F.  REFERENCES

• Emmons L (1997). Neotropical rainforest mammals: a field guide (Second edition). Text by LH Emmons, Illustrations by F Feer. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. ISBN 0-226-20721-8 (paperback).
• Lynx Edicions (2020 Feb / 2020c). Lynx Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
• MDD-1/12: Mammal Diversity Database (2024 Jan 5). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.12) [Data set]. Zenodo. Published 2024 Jan 5.

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