Curious about what animals live in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest? You’re in the right place! Here are our seven favorites.

What Animals Live in Ecuador’s Amazon Rainforest?
Ecuador is known for its biodiversity. In fact, Yasuni National Park is known as the most biodiverse place on earth!

The Ecuadorian Amazon has over 300 species of mammals, 800 species of fish, 1600 species of birds, and 350 species of reptiles. Some of these amazing animals include monkeys, piranhas, anacondas, tapirs, jaguars, and iguanas.

Check out my picks for the top 7 animals of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest!

7 Ecuador Rainforest Animals

1. Squirrel Monkeys

Squirrel monkeys are adorable monkeys that love swinging through the trees and eating fruit. They love the fruit of the Inga tree, commonly known as “ice-cream-bean” fruit. You can try this monkey’s preferred food as well, it tastes like vanilla cotton candy and it’s delicious!

2. Pink River Dolphins

 Pink river dolphins are very interesting creatures, albeit a little funny looking sometimes. They come in shades of gray and pink, varying in intensity. Something amazing about pink river dolphins is that when they get excited, the blush bright pink!

3. Yellow-Billed Jacamars

The yellow-billed jacamar may be little, but they are so brightly colored and full of life! Sporting a metallic green back, a rust chest, and a bright yellow beak, these fellas are dressed to impress.

Watch on YouTube

4. Pygmy Marmoset

Pygmy marmosets are adorable! They are the smallest primate found in Ecuador, and one of the smallest in the world. Weighing in at only 3.5 oz and only reaching heights of up to 6 inches, these are some tiny monkeys.

They are quite shy, but if you have a good guide and a keen eye, you might just see one. A sign that one might be nearby is if you see a tree covered in bumps; pygmy marmosets love to suck sap from trees. This leaves large bumps on the tree’s bark.

Watch on YouTube

5. South American Tapirs a.k.a Brazilian Tapirs

The South American tapir is Amazon’s largest land mammal in Ecuador. They weigh in at 550 lb and they are around 6 ft long. These big guys are unfortunately one of the Jaguars favorite prey. South American tapirs are classified as vulnerable, and their biggest threats are hunting and deforestation.

Young tapirs have white stripes and spots which make them absolutely adorable!

Watch on YouTube

6. Jaguars

Jaguars are amazingly beautiful cats and the third largest in the world. Sadly, their population isn’t as large as we would like it to be. The estimated amount of wild jaguars left is only 15,000.

They have the strongest bite of any big cat. So, not necessarily something you should cuddle, but they are amazing to look at!

Watch on YouTube

7. Three-toed Sloth

I love sloths! They have such a sweet face and they seem to represent my weekends: just hanging out, trying to do as little as possible.

They’re not being lazy though, they are showing off their energy-saving strategy. So if anyone ever calls you a sloth, just tell them that you are strategically conserving energ

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these Amazon animals! Which was your favorite?