Abstract
Of the twenty nine hundred species of birds found in South America, over one third make their home in the Manu National Park and Biosphere Reserve. Located in the Amazonian rainforest of southeastern Peru, Manu is the world's largest rainforest preserve. With over 4. 5 million acres of untouched wilderness, Manu is larger than the state of Massachusetts, yet not a single road traverses it. With the exception of a small group of primitive Indians living in Mann's most remote corner, Manu is uninhabitated. In 1977 UNESCO recognized Manu as a biosphere reserve and as one of the only preserves protecting an entire unhunted and unlogged watershed. The World Wildlife Fund has called Manu the most important rainforest preserve on the planet, for Manu protects more species of plants and animals than any place else on earth.Manu's remoteness has saved it from human influence. Nowhere else in South America can so many birds and animals been seen in an eden-like atmosphere, where wild creatures do not shy away from their potentially greatest predator - man. Stretching from the cloud forests at 10,000' to the lowland rainforests at 1,000', Manu is the last redoubt for the giant otter. Other extremely rare animals, including the black caiman and the harpy eagle, are readily observed along with twelve species of monkeys, the spectacled bear,