Wildlife of the Ecuadorian Amazon
The top 10 coolest things I actually saw with my own two eyes in the Amazon Rainforest
10. A troupe of Howler Monkeys
My photos of the howler monkeys don’t do them any justice at all … they barely pass as evidence that we saw howlers. But what’s REALLY cool about howler monkeys is, well, the howling! Their howls can be heard for miles. It sounds like a sort of rumble. Super cool!
9. A Caiman
Just chillin’.
8. A Saki Monkey eating in a tree
SO FLUFFY!
7. A couple of Golden-Mantle Tamarin Monkeys eating fruit from a tree
Look at ‘em going for that fruit! Teamwork! These adorable floofs are endemic to this very specific patch of the Amazon rainforest - east of the Andes in Ecuador, and in Northern Peru. You won’t find them anywhere else in the world!
6. A leaf-mimicking katydid displaying in response to danger!
Here’s our girl katy
Just didding. Aka LOOKING EXACTLY LIKE A LEAF! How crazy is that resemblance?! Evolution is incredible!
And here she is … DISPLAYING!
Front (left) and back (right). The goal is to make it seem like she has HUGE eyes and is a giant animal who you absolutely do not want to mess with.
5. 3 different species of parakeet at a two different clay licks.
There are 3 species of parakeet in this photo. Can you find them all?
Maybe I should start writing books for children.
Where’s Waldo?! Can you believe how good the camouflage is as these birds fly through the jungle?!
Where’s Waldo, easier level (zoomed in).
Where’s Waldo, easiest level - against a non-green background.
I know he’s just a different species than the others, but I really enjoy calling the big guy Silly Dad. This is a different clay lick that isn’t visible from the river or the creek - you have to walk into the forest.
4. Macaws at a clay lick
At the same time every day, the macaws come to this particular spot on Añangu land, and they drink from the water and peck at the clay, giving this location the name “clay lick.” There are very few spots the macaws use as clay licks, and the reasons why are not 100% understood. Theories include gathering nutrients that are hard to get in their diet otherwise, and eating materials that help them digest toxins. The macaws arrive one at a time and carefully make their way down the trees to the clay lick, slowly and quietly, to avoid arousing the attention of a predator. Sentries stay up in the tree tops to look out for danger. If so much as the shadow or noise of a predator is perceived, a sentry caws and everyone takes off in one massive, colorful flight. We watched dozens of macaws lift off all at once and fly up and over the blind where we were quietly observing. It was incredible! It happened much too fast for me to get a picture or a video.
Good job, sir sentry!
I still can’t get over how colorful these guys are!
3. A Harpy Eagle and two Crested Eagles
I didn’t manage to get photos of the Crested Eagles, but here’s the Harpy eagle! Apparently, these two eagles are bucket list birds for serious birders. Super cool!
2. A family of Giant River Otters swimming together across Lake Añangu
How freaking cute is this?! Don’t be fooled though - working together, a family of giant river otters can take out a caiman! The family can grow to about 7 or 8 otters in this general area, but past that point, it would grow too large for the area’s resources, so otters split off to found new families farther away.
This one’s serving LEWKS.
#family
1. Not one … not two … but THREE (3) 7 meter long Anacondas sunning themselves.
I know it’s virtually impossible to tell how many Anacondas are in this photo … so you’ll just have to trust me. Our guide absolutely FLIPPED when he saw 3 of them together like this. At first we thought he was just hamming it up for the tourists, but when we got back to the lodge, he ran around telling the other staff about the 3-anaconda pile, and they reacted the same way! They were in fact SO excited that they all went and hopped in the canoe we’d just arrived in, and went to see the anaconda pile. So I’m satisfied that we actually did see something pretty rare and exciting!
Look at that eyeball!!!
Digesting is hard work.
We also learned that the 3 top predators in at least this area of the Amazon are the giant river otter, the caiman, and the anaconda. They can each kill the other, as well: a family of giant river otters can kill a caiman; an anaconda can eat a giant river otter or a caiman; and a caiman can kill an anaconda or eat a baby giant river otter. On top of competing for similar food resources, these 6 potential lethal events can and do occur, keeping populations of the top predators in check.
And a bonus slot for the funniest animal …
A 400lb fish that you can get to jump out of the water if you poke it with an oar!
Fish slightly visible, prime poking target
LOOK AT HOW BIG THIS THING IS coming out of the water!
SPLASH! I definitely got wet in the canoe. 100% worth it.
