WILDLIFE VIEWING

Most Amazonian animals are extremely shy and difficult to spot, especially by day as the majority is nocturnal. However, look carefully along the trail and you will soon discover the clues that animals leave behind in passing; foot-prints, foraging scrapings, a scat or two.

When walking near the Gallocunca stream (Trail 1), peer along the muddy banks for the footprints of Otters, Caiman, Brocket Deer, Tapir and wild boar (Peccaries).

To spot animals by day try to make as little noise as possible and stop frequently to listen. More often you will be able to locate an animal by its call or by the sound it makes running across the ground or overhead in the branches than by sight alone.

Towards the end of each trail, along the river bank near the lodge, is an area of secondary forest. This type of forest is fairly recent (having been cut down for agriculture some 20 years ago) and is dominated by a few fast growing species of tree such as Balsa, Cecropia and Apeiba (the monkey's comb). The undergrowth here is a little sparser and the sun's rays penetrate directly to the forest floor. Large patches of Bamboo and Heliconia (Bird of Paradise flowers) are well adapted to this forest type and flourish here.

At night the forest takes on a whole new dimension. The lamentations of millions of insects brings the night alive, and armed with a powerful flashlight it is possible to catch glimpses of eye shine from the many nocturnal animals; spiders, tree frogs, Night Monkeys, arboreal Porcupines and if you are lucky the ubiquitous Giant Bamboo Rat, more often heard than seen!