Animals of the Tropical Rainforest
By: Furia Andress

The tropical rainforest is a unique ecosystem that is home to many plants and animals, in fact more plants and animals than we even know about. The plants found in the tropical rainforest produce much of the oxygen that is essential for our planet. In addition, many of the plants have unique healing properties against illness and disease.

Tropical rainforest is home to many rare animal species such as the Brazilian Tapir, found only in some areas of South America. Brazilian Tapir is a mammal which likes to live near water swimming and diving, feeding on leaves and small branches. Being naturally afraid of anything larger than itself it is harmless to man. It likes to live mainly near the lakes and ponds that are present in the tropical rainforest. Besides this there are many other unique animals that have made this beautiful rainforest their home.

Besides the animals this tropical rainforest is also the abode of many different and rare bird species such as the Crested Guan. This bird is found mainly on the northern tip of South America. It feeds on the fruit and seeds and prefers to live mainly on the trees, walking between the branches. It comes down on the ground only in search of water. It also feeds itself by collecting fallen fruits and seeds from the forest floor.

Many reptiles can be found in the tropical rainforest. One of the reptiles that can be found living in the forests of Indonesia and the Philippines is the Flying Dragon. This reptile is called the "flying dragon" because he seems to fly from one tree to another using his skin flaps. You'll find this reptile eating ants and other insects. When it comes time to breed they'll bury their eggs in the fertile soil of the rainforest.

Slow Loris adds to the list of select animals found in the tropical rainforest. It lives on tree tops in day and at night comes down to the ground to feed on shoots and leaves, small birds, bird's eggs, and insects. It is basically a lazy animal spending all its time either sleeping on the trees or hanging upside down from his feet. It also moves very slow fashion but doesn't stumble on the way down from the top to the forest floor.

A visit to the tropical rainforest wouldn't be complete without a few sightings of some of the snakes found only in this unique environment. One such snake is the Vine Snake, which can be found in central and northern South America. This snake prefers to eat small birds that it steals from nests or lizards that it finds on the ground and in the trees of the forest. The Vine Snakes name derives from the snakes appearance - a very thin snake (approximately half inch in diameter), which will stop what its doing when frightened by predator and hang from the trees, swaying from side to side. This hanging appearance looks much like the vines that are so common in this part of the rainforest.

There are many other animals that are indigenous to the tropical rainforests. Many of these animals have unique and different features that help them to survive in this beautiful, though sometimes harsh, environment. The wonders of the tropical rainforest continue to amaze us as more is learned about the plants and animals that live there.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Furia Andress is the webmaster for Furia Tropical, the best place on the internet for information about all things tropical, For questions or comments about this article why not visit: www.furiatropical.com/articles
You can get a unique content version of this article for your website or ezine.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated