Lake Of Giants

In the Peruvian Amazon, a family of giant otters fends off hundreds of caiman to dominate a lake. Only through teamwork and guile can they beat their reptilian rivals, says PHILIPPA FORRESTER.

- Philippa Forrester

IT’S 4.30am, dark and hot, on a late November morning. Needles of rain are bouncing off black water and a tree floats by. But wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James has only one thing on his mind as his small boat putters across the fast-flowing River Manu in the Peruvian Amazon. Five days after leaving England, he has reached his destination – a wooden raft in the middle of a large oxbow lake called Cocha Salvador.

As grey light seeps across the sky, the expanse of water on which Charlie is floating becomes distinct from the forested banks. The humidity starts rising sharply. Manu National Park, the most bio-diverse place on Earth, begins to wake up.

A black caiman cruises silently past, eyes level with the surface, barely visible bumps atop long toothed jaws. Macaws stir and call, and rainforest insects chirp and hum – noises Charlie has not heard for 10 years. He is still waiting for the sounds that he travelled all this way for.

Suddenly, the still air erupts into whistles, sliding-scale squeals and energetic banter. The caiman sinks, the water closing over the top of its head, leaving no trace of the animal’s 2.5m-long bulk. For now, the reptile exits stage left among the overhanging bank side vegetation as the lake’s resident ‘mob’ appears centre stage.

OTTER OBSESSION

Here, at last, is the family that Charlie has waited so long to see again: a boisterous gang of giant otters, each up to 1.8m long, with sleek bodies, seal-like heads and huge webbed feet. They dive, leap and raise their heads high above the surface, peering curiously to see who is on their lake.