Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
🇪🇨 Ecuador
Amazon, Ecuador 1414 spp. recorded
Cuyabeno is a flooded forest built around fourteen lagoons, and it is seen from a canoe. Squirrel monkeys cross the canopy over the water on most visits, woolly monkeys and red howlers feed in the same trees, and hoatzins — the strangest bird in the Amazon — sit in the lakeside branches barely bothering to move.
-0.322° S 75.783° W
🦜 Nature
621 Species sighted
28,738 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Nov Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 617 more species with insufficient data
Recent sightings in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
58Jan
49Feb
66Mar
49Apr
57May
65Jun
54Jul
66Aug
60Sep
65Oct
66Nov
59Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
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Laguna Grande
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Waita Amazon Lodge
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
White-lined Leaf Frog~80%+50%
Proboscis Bat~70%+20%
Russet-backed Oropendola~60%≈
Colombian Red Howler Monkey~60%+10%
Brown-eared Anole~60%+20%
White-tailed Titi~60%+40%
Yellow-rumped Cacique~60%-10%
White-throated Toucan~60%≈
White-winged Swallow~60%+10%
Miller's Saki~50%-10%
Broad-headed Woodlizard~50%+40%
Painted Antnest Frog~50%+20%
-
Nicky Amazon Lodge
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- Miller's Saki~80%+10%
Ecuadorian Squirrel Monkey~70%≈- Proboscis Bat~70%+10%
Yellow-tongued Anole~70%+20%
Garden Tree Boa~60%≈
Anaconda~60%≈
Black-mantled Tamarin~60%+20%- Brown-eared Anole~60%+20%
Brown-throated Sloth~50%≈
South American Common Toad~50%+10%- Russet-backed Oropendola~50%-10%
Giant Broad-headed Treefrog~50%+10%
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Río Cuyabeno west of Laguna Grande
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Cuyabeno (parking area)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- Proboscis Bat~80%+30%
- Anaconda~70%+10%
- Yellow-rumped Cacique~60%-10%
Great Kiskadee~60%+10%- Russet-backed Oropendola~60%≈
- Miller's Saki~60%-10%
- Ecuadorian Squirrel Monkey~60%-10%
- South American Common Toad~50%≈
- Brown-eared Anole~50%+10%
Common Woolly Monkey~50%≈- Black-mantled Tamarin~50%≈
- White-lined Leaf Frog~50%+20%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Low
Typical stay
4+
daysTrails
Easy
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 World-class
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.5
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 763
🐒 Mammals 297
🦎 Reptiles 186
🐸 Amphibians 168
1414 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
36 Threatened 41 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
4.6
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
65% 📊
Coverage (322 species at ≥5% of 1414 in the inventory)
23% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (8 bird, 2 mammal, 2 reptile)
67% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
175 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
42 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
42 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.0
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Easy High
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
In that first afternoon alone, True and I were lucky enough to spot a gilded barbet, a squirrel cuckoo, and some tamarin monkeys.
We found many birds including vultures, swifts, several different species of herons, and the cooking bird, a flock of which creates a cacophony of sound similar to boiling water.
I see a tiger heron I stop in my tracks and think what a stunning bird.
Woolly monkey mother and her baby (hiding behind the tree) A lizard our guide spotted from a couple hundred metres away So many toucans!
Before you go
What animals can you see in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?
1,414 species
Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve has 1,414 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Yellow-rumped Cacique (about 70%), Ecuadorian Squirrel Monkey (about 70%), Miller's Saki (about 70%), Hoatzin (about 70%) and Blue-and-yellow Macaw (about 70%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Anaconda (about 60%); among amphibians, South American Common Toad (about 40%).
When is the best time to visit Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve for wildlife?
January–February, May and October
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 60% in March–April, June–September and November–December.
Can you see an Ecuadorian Squirrel Monkey in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report an Ecuadorian Squirrel Monkey sighting in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, based on 124 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February, April–May and November (about 80%).
Can you see a Common Woolly Monkey in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Common Woolly Monkey sighting in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, based on 69 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May (about 80%).
Can you see a Colombian Red Howler Monkey in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Colombian Red Howler Monkey sighting in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June (about 70%).
Can you see a Hoatzin in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Hoatzin sighting in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, based on 630 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January–February and May (about 80%).
Where in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Laguna Grande
The richest sighting zone is around Laguna Grande, followed by Waita Amazon Lodge and Nicky Amazon Lodge, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve good for wildlife watching?
4.5 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve rates 4.5/5: 50th of 316 parks worldwide and 5th in South America. 46 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
