The Amazonian Manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is a freshwater species of manatee found in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Venezuela.

The Center is located approximately twenty minutes from Iquitos at KM 4.5 of the road to Nauta.

The Manatee Center’s main focus is caring for orphaned manatees, with the aim of releasing them back into their natural habitat.

Visitors receive a brief introduction to the project and the species. and then have the opportunity to bottle-feed the young manatees.

During the feeding, there is the opportunity to stroke the manatees’ soft skin.

As well as giving manatees bottled milk, you can also feed them aquatic plants.

Manatees do not have incisors or canines, just a row of molars, which are continuously replaced: new teeth grow at the back and move forward to replace the older teeth at the front. The only other mammals that replace teeth in this way are elephants and kangaroos.

Manatee mothers are often accidentally killed by boat traffic, or intentionally killed by hunters for meat. The orphaned calves are then brought to the Center by concerned individuals or Peruvian authorities.

Aside from manatees, the Center also houses other rescued Amazonian species, such as this River Otter.

There are also baby South American River Turtles (Podocnemis expansa) at the Center, another species that has suffered a large decline in numbers in recent years.

The Center does not charge an entrance fee, but asks for donations to help towards costs, such as importing 'manatee milk' from Florida.

A visit to the Center is highly recommended and included on a number of Amazon Cruise itineraries.