Capuchin Monkey Territory

With luck, on this trail youmay meet a troupe ofBrown Capuchin monkeysa r b o r e a l , r e s t l e s s a n dcunous.They usually go around ing r o u p s o f s o m e 2 0individuals with a dominantmale, recognizable by hislarge size. Several callsmay be heard of tenwhistled whereby theycommunicate. wi th eachother.

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They eat mostly fruit thoughsome insects, bromel iadshoots and leaves as well asnestl ings are also part ofthei r d iet , a l l o f which theyfind in the trees.

Any foor i yorr nr i l ; l r t th ink ofoffering lhcrr is bad for theirheal th. Besides, though theyl o o k f r i e n d l y , t h e y c a nb e c o m e a g g r e s s i v e ,especia l ly the adul ts .

Feeding any wi ld l i fe in thepark is forbidden. Don't gettoo close and never try to,t ouch them, a sens ib le im e a s u r e t o a v o i d /contracting any disease theymaycarry.

lf you do not interfere with]their habits you can watchltheir natural behaviour. Theyare one of the four species ofmonkey found in Argentina.

Recommendations

Macuco lrail is perhaps the best opportunity offered by the park toexperience nature. Remember that the forest is the result of mil l ions ofyears of evolutionary adaptation so it is best to adapt to nature and notexpect nature to adapt to you. Bear in mind the fol lowing suggestionsand you wil l be helping us protect the park.

Hccrl the recommendation on the signs, brochures and the NationalPark's pcrsonnel.

Never leave the trai l .

Avoid making any noise. This wil l increase your chances of seeing andhearing; wi ldl i fe.

Respect the animals, neverfeed ortroublethem.

Enjoy the f lora and fauna in their natural sett ing. l f you want somememento there is nothing better than a photograph.

Just as animals do, leave only your tracks; do not remove stones, plantmaterial. l f possible bring yourtrash out with you.

Any comments wil l be welcome. Leave them with a ranger or at theInformation desk.

lguaz0 Nat ional ParkGeneral Office

Victoria Aguirre 66 - 3370 Puerto lguazt - MisionesTel:(0054) 37 57 -4207 221 4232521 420382

iguazu@apn.gov.arPark Rangers: Tel . 420180lnformations: fel. 491445

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here on out you can enjoy a walk through rainforest and be ifl direct contact with nature.The dense vegetation makes it difficult to see wiwil l f ind animal tracks and discover al l manner r

Park.at each of the i

the females is olive green asopposed to the striking blackand white of the male. ltsSoan i sh name "Ba i l a r i n "(dance r ) r e fe rs t o t hespectacular dances severalmales oerform on the "lek"(dancing ground) to attractthe females in courtship.After mating the female ist o t a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o rn e s t i n g , i n c u b a t i n g a n dcaring for the fledglings.

so sharpen your senses. lf you are observant youinsects. Keep quiet to listen to the calls of the birds

which are numbered on posts, to better

2- Temporary stream

This l itt le stream comes from the depths of the forest and is fed byrainfall; i t dries up occasionally when rain is scarce. Nevertheless itis important for different forms of l i fe. Insects and small vertebrates,such as mosquitoes and frogs, need water for the early part of theirl i fe-cycles.

Larger animals use i t for dr ink ing and as a t ra i l to move around in thedense vegetation. The seed of some species of plants aredispersed by flowing water.

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1- White-beardedManakinHereabouts one can oftenhear clicking sounds. Theunlikely source is a smallbird some 4 inches long theWh i te -bea rded Manak inthat is exclusive to theforests of South America.T h e s o u n d s a r e t od e t e r m i n e t e r r i t o r i a lpossession. The plumage of

- Pioneer plants

a c lear ing in the;t occurs through theof a great tree, thetation takes decades toto full-blown forest

e f i r s t s tage i s by'asses, canes and fast-

soecies of smallerrees such as T rema

i c r a n t h a , S o l a n u mranu loso lep rosum o r

pachystachya,is last well-known for its

i c i na l p rope r t i es i nu r i n g c o u g h s a n d

>ry ailments such asis or asthma.

hese oioneer soecies arehe f irst healers of the scarecause they can toleratextreme conditions such asard sun-baked soils andaucity of nutrients

ver time conditions areimproved and becomea d e q u a t e f o r t h eestablishment of a secondstage; finally the rainforestcan relurn.

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There are studies under wayt o d e t e r m i n e w a y s o fsustainable harvest of thisresource in the forestsoutside the park.

5- The Bamboos

Bamboos or canes, locallynamed "tacuaras", are of thegrass family and have a lifecycle in which all specimens ofa specie flower and seed at thesame t ime, then d ie of fmassively. Some of the mill ionsof seeds will be food for rodentsand birds, while some willgerminate to produce the nextgenerat ion of canes. Thecycles take from 1 5 to 40 years.

In this park grow five species ofbamboo. The following detailsmay help you to identify them:

a- TACUAREMBO (Chusquearamosissima)S l e n d e r ( u p t o 1 . 3 c mdiameter), no thorns, solid,branching, well leafed, smoothb a r k , l e a n i n g o n o t h e rvegetation.

b- TACUAPi (Merostachysclausseni)About 3 cm diameter, nothorns, hollow, fragile, greenishgrey, rough to the touch when afinger is rubbed along it againstthe grain"

c- YATEVO (Guadua trinii)L a r g e 5 o r m o r e c mdiameter, and up to 't5 mlong, gracefu l ly arching,with vicious hooked thorns,rough to the touch, palegrayish green in colour,

d- TACUARUZU (Guaduachacoensls)The giant, 16 cm diameter,and often over 20 m long.Thorny, lust rous greenwhen new, dirtier when old.Grows by the water.

e- PITINGA (Chusqueatenella)Looks like tacuarembo, butit is hollow.

4- The Palmito

The palm you can see is thePa lm i to wh i ch can berecognized by its gracefuland well-ordered fronds and ii t s s l ende r t r unk . Thef lower ing head is paleyellow. Small insects suchas bees and wasps poll inatethe florets. The fruit is

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spher ica l and b lack. l ts , . 'abundance offers a goodresource to many animalsand birds that feed on itt o u c a n s , p e c c a r i e s ,monkeys, agoutis, and eventhe large tapir.

The growing tip (palm heart)is wrapped in the greenbases of the fronds. lt iswhite, tender and delicious.For this reason it is muchsought as a gourmet salad.The tree needs to be some15 years old to have aharvestable "heart". Theextraction of this delicacvkil ls the plant.

In Argentina poachers satisfythe demand for "hearts ofpalm". Troops of illegal palmcutters steal into the oarkand cut down many Palmitosthat are now becomingscarce, with the consequenteffect on the wildlife that usesit as a source of food. Theproduct is canned underprimitive conditions.

One can eat Palmitos if oneis assured (on the label)they come from sustainableexploitations to help the parkconserve this lovely species.

6- The Arrechea Waterfall

Here the Arrechea stream takes a leap over the edge of thebasalt. Many thousands of years ago the lguazU falls werehere, having since then receded along the main riverbed due toerosion. Today the small stream flows where mighty watersthundered. This lovely cascadeis something l ike 20 m high, thewatr:r is cold and clear because of their origin within the forest.ln r;riny periods freshets have gougedout the pool at the foot ofthe waterfall.

MACUCO NATURE TRAILGet ready for your walk. Read sorrre of themind before start ing out.

Length of the trai l7000 m outand back .

Est imated t ime of yourwalk3 hours .

F ina ldes t ina t ionArrechea stream's waterfall and pool

Opening hoursWinter: 8 am to 5.30 pm (March to September)Summer: 8 am to 6.30 pm (Octoberto February)

Do not take the trai l af ter 3 pm(winter) or 4 pm (summer).

Do not stay in the natural pool after 4 pm (winter)or 5 pm (summer). So as to return with the day l ight

Recommended scheduleEarly morning is best. Remember that the parkcloses at 6 pm (winter)and 7 pm (summer).

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Macuco Nature Trai l Access

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Different stretches havedif ferent demands:

E a s y : 3 2 0 0 m ( )

M e d i u m h a r d : 1 5 0 m ( )

D i f f i c u l t : 2 0 0 m ( - " - )

lnformative andlnterpretive materialsavai lable

Request the " Precaucionescon la fauna silvestre" abrochure as to dangerousan imals you migh tencounter.l f y o u a r e s p e c i a l l yinterested there is also abrochure l ist ing the birdsyou may see

You should be awarethat:

T h e t r a i l h a s n e i t h e rbathrooms nor bars; takei n s e c t r e p e l l e n t . W e a rcomfortable clothes andfootwear, a hat and sunblock. l f you have smal lchi ldren with you or seniorci t izens, think about theinconvenience of doinqth is long ish t ra i l .

Interpretive stations

On the trai l you wi l l f indsix wayside stations withn u m b e r e d p o s t s t h a trefer to this brochure.They are in te rpre t ivestops to tell you morea b o u t t h e r e s o u r c e sthere abouts.

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