To optimize your chances here are some general rules for serious wildlife watchers

1. Go more than three days, don't try to squeeze the trip of a lifetime in less than a work week.

2. Pick a place that is far from major cities.Take binoculars. The animals are there and need to be found. Sometimes they are far away and the best view is behind lenses

3. Wear darker clothing that assimilate to forest colors( no bright white) animals pick that unnatural shade out from quite a distance.(even though darker colors attract more Mosquitos)

4. If sitting and waiting in a blind. Stop spraying that offensive insect repellent, Wear long sleeves and a mosquito head net if you need to.

5. Get out early to see wildlife, do not wait until 9 am to leave on an excursion. There is more activity early in the morning, animals are less skittish and more available for viewing as they forage for their breakfast.

6. Try to walk as quietly as your guide while on jungle treks.Observe obstacles on the trail and avoid tripping over them.Whisper to your partner or guide as to not spook any animals.

7. Look past the foliage that is in front of you. Peer fifty yards ahead into the canopy of another tree, look through the peep holes the jungle provides. Look for movement of branches that do not coincide with the wind.

8. Go on night hikes, nighttime is wonderful to see all different types of creature great and small (take a good flashlightmaglite xl50 and up ).

9. Try to get out camping for a few days, you will have better opportunities at dawn and dusk. The lodge is very nice, it will be even better when you come back!

10. Remember that the rainforest is not like going to a zoo or an open savannah where animals are available for viewing from distances, the forest is thick and confusing to the unaccustomed eye. Everything alive in the jungle fights for its life daily.

Otorongo Expeditions Amazon River Lodge