Mary Ann Rogers - Rainforest Animals

Rainforest Animals

AnAmazing Fun Fact

PictureBook!

MaryAnn Rogers

Copyright 2013 by Mary Ann Rogers. All rights reserved. Noduplication without the express written permission of the author.

TheRainforest

Ourplanet has regions called rainforests that are warm and wet for most of theyear. Rainforests are lush and green and have been called the earthspharmacy, as more than one quarter of the natural medicines are derived fromthem. They are also responsible for 28% of the worlds oxygen throughphotosynthesis. Despite covering less than 6% of the Earths surface,rainforests are home to more than half of the worlds species of plants andanimals. Animals that live in this habitat have special characteristics thatallow them to thrive in wet conditions. Lets take a look at some of them.

Gorilla

Gorilla

The gorilla is the largestprimate on planet earth. They are one of the closest relatives to humans,having similar DNA, and are highly intelligent. Male gorillas can weigh morethan 500 pounds and have an arm-span of up to 8.5 feet! Females are about halfthe size of males. Gorillas are herbivores, and eat plants, bamboo shoots,leaves, etc. They do not drink water very often, because of the large quantitythat exists in their food. The name gorilla is derived from Greek, and meanstribe of hairy women. Gorillas live together in groups that usually includeone adult male and a few females with their young. A group of gorillas iscalled a troop.

Red-eyedTree Frog

Red-eyed Tree Frogs arebeautifully colored, tiny frogs that live in the rainforests of Central America.Males are only 2 2.5 inches long, while females are slightly larger, from 2.5 3 inches. They are arboreal animals, meaning they spend most of their livesin trees. The sticky pads on their feet help them jump from leaves to branches.Red-eyed Tree Frogs rely on camouflage for protection. During the day, theytuck their feet underneath themselves, close their eyes with their 3 eyelids,and blend almost completely into their environment. Red-eyed Tree Frogs are vibrantly colored, similar toPoison Dart Frogs. However, unlike Poison Dart Frogs, they are not poisonous.

Hornbill

The hornbill family of bird,which includes about 55 species, is found in the tropical and subtropicalregions of Melanesia, Asia and Africa. The birds are characterized by a long,curved, and often times very colorful bill. In most species, there is acasque on the top of the bill, which is often hollow and serves as a tool fortheir calls. Hornbills eyes are protected from the sun by large eyelashes.They also have binocular vision, which enhances their ability to detect prey.They are omnivores, with their diet ranging from small animals to fruit.Hornbills are also called Bucerotidae, which is derived from the Greek wordbuceros, which means cow horn.

Tarsier

The Tarsier is aunique-looking primate with enormous eyes and soft, silky fur. They live inmany Southeast Asian islands including the Philippines and Sumatra. Tarsiersare nocturnal and carnivorous in nature, feeding on insects, snakes and birds.The Tarsiers brain is only about as big as one of its eyes! They have aparticularly long bone in their feet called a tarsus, which influenced itsname. Tarsiers are shy animals with some preferring to hunt and sleep alone.They have excellent hearing and can produce vocal sound in high frequencies ofup to 70 kHz, which is higher than even a dog can hear!

Bengal Tiger

Bengal tigers are orange andblack-striped carnivores that are the largest member of the cat family. Theycan run very fast, reaching speeds of up to 40 mph, and are aggressive hunters,preying on a wide range of large and medium-sized animals. The tigers have beenknown to eat up to 88 pounds of meat at one sitting! The average weight of amale tiger is about 488 pounds; however, the biggest tiger on record was foundin 1967 and weighed 857 pounds, and was about 11 feet long! Bengal tigers areon the endangered species list, and are the national animal of India andBangladesh.

LeafcutterAnts

There are 47 species ofleafcutter ants, which cut and use fresh vegetation to bring back to theircolonies to chew and help create a fungus infused society. Aside from humans,the ants form the biggest and most complex social system in the world, withunderground societies and mounds spanning 6,500 square feet in diameter, and upto 8 million members. Each colony works together and has a queen or queens, and4 different groups of workers that perform particular tasks. They liveprimarily in South and Central American, and in Mexico. When they arecollecting their leaves, leafcutter ants must defend themselves from the phoridfly, which will attack them and lay eggs in the crevices of their heads!

IndianCobra

The Indian cobra, alsocalled spectacled cobra, is a poisonous snake that lives throughout South Asia,and primarily in India. Its venom contains a powerful toxin that paralyses themuscles of its victims. Cobras have long been used in a practice called SnakeCharming in which the animal is lured by a flute from a wicker basket in itsthreat pose. The animal does not actually hear the music, but rather respondsto the swaying motion of the instrument and the tapping of the charmers foot. TheIndian cobra sheds its skin about 6 times per year. This practice helps it stayhealthy.

Dragonfly

There are more than 5,600species of dragonfly on earth that live mostly near wet or damp places, as theylay their eggs in or near water. The dragonfly is one of the fastest flyinginsects on earth, with larger species flying at speeds of up to 10 mph! Theyare predators to pesky insects, such as mosquitoes, flies and ants. In someparts of the world, such as Indonesia, dragonflies are caught, fried in oil andserved as a delicacy. In other parts, such as Japan, the dragonfly is reveredas a symbol of courage, happiness and strength. Dragonflies are often mistakenfor damselflies. The two are related; however, damselflies are smaller and holdtheir wings differently.