Plants and animals of the tropics. African rainforest fauna. Herbivore bat dracula

There are many different animals in the tropical forests, it will not be possible to pay attention to everyone, so we will focus on the most prominent representatives tropical jungle living all over the planet.

Animals of the American tropics

Let's get acquainted with tropical fauna from the forests of South America, here the most powerful predator is the jaguar. A yellow large cat in black spots perfectly climbs trees and inspires fear in all local inhabitants. The plains of Patagonia are rich in lakes, on which reeds grow in abundance, it is here that nutria with koipu marsh beavers live. These animals of the tropics eat the succulent roots of aquatic plants, and equip their nests with reeds and reeds.

Tropical monkeys from around the world

African rainforests are rich in monkeys, these are long-tailed small monkeys with greenish fur. Among them, the fingerless species of colobus stands out. These animals do not have a thumb.

The most beautiful representative of these monkeys is the Gverets living in Ethiopia. Direct relatives of African monkeys are macaques that live in tropical Asian forests. Characteristic representatives of the African tropics are baboons, which live mainly in the highlands.

Animals living in the tropics of Madagascar have certain characteristics, for example, lemurs, whose body is covered with thick fur, some of them are happy owners of fluffy tails. Their faces resemble animals rather than monkeys, for this reason they are referred to as semi-monkeys.

But not only near African continent you can find monkeys, for example, the dense forests of Sumatra are a haven for a great ape - an orangutan.

It is covered with red coarse hair, and adult males wear a large beard. The gibbon is very close to orangutans, it reaches more than a meter in length, it is distinguished by long limbs, which serve it for swinging on the branches and allow it to easily jump from one tree to another.

Animals living in the tropics are distinguished by originality and originality, each species is unique.

Wet Belt tropical forests in Africa stretches for almost 5 thousand kilometers from west to east and about 1600 from north to south. Cameroon Highlands - mountain range volcanic origin- separates the Guinean rainforest from the large forests of Zaire and Gabon. Both parts of the forest are not very different from each other: the entire territory is occupied by dense evergreen tropical vegetation. Once upon a time in ancient times, the rainforest extended much further east, north, and south, stepping across the Rift Valley into East Africa, and in some places even reaching the coast. It is possible that such forests covered the entire South Sudan to the very Ethiopian highlands and rose much higher along the mountain slopes than today.

Every year, fires approach the rainforest. The natural boundary between forest and savannah is a strip of thicket no wider than eight to ten meters, sufficient to protect the rainforest. Such vegetation usually dies from fire, and then it is restored again. The outer side of the strip facing the savannah - small shrubs and thick grass - delays the fire. The thicker shrubs and small trees behind them are usually no longer in contact with the fire, they are so tall that the shadow from them prevents the growth of grass that could help spread the fire. They are followed by even taller trees, and only then does the real rainforest begin.

If there were no external interventions, the natural boundary between tropical forest and the savannah would roam in one direction or the other, depending on climate change. It represents a clear dividing line between two forms of life: on the one hand, a forest with tall, constantly green trees, at their bases there is a dense shrub, but almost nowhere grass; on the other, a densely grassy savannah with small trees ten times smaller than those of the tropical forest. On the one hand, a sea of ​​sunlight, open spaces overgrown with grass and rare trees, on the other - dense shady wet forest where the sun does not penetrate. The contrast is unimaginable.

Where the rainforest borders the savanna, where the soil is more favorable for growth big trees, or numerous forest islands are formed along the rivers. This type of terrain, called a rainforest-savanna mosaic, is a favorite habitat for wildlife. Forest animals often graze in the savannah, but of the savannah animals, only waterbucks dare to enter the forest. On the border of savannas and tropical forests, in places where man has not yet penetrated, the natural balance is maintained. Currently, the rainforests are being destroyed by humans. Forest patches, especially in the mosaic area, are disappearing so fast that it is alarming. When the tropical forest is cut down, after 10 years, the so-called secondary savannah appears in its place; if it were protected from fires and people did not destroy it, in time it could again become a rainforest. The forest grows very slowly, because a protective zone of shrubs must first form. Grass grows much faster, so the savanna usually becomes the "aggressor" and the forest the victim, and little by little it recedes.

The rainforest looks nothing like the forests we know temperate zone. It is always shaded, the temperature is constant, the soil is moist, and these are ideal conditions for the rapid growth of trees. There are dead leaves on the ground, dead plants, roots, moss and ferns here and there, but everything rots at an incredible rate, so that the layer of humus is never as thick as in temperate deciduous forests. Everything that falls from trees and is edible is quickly destroyed by various animals, fungi and bacteria. Impenetrable thickets stand as a wall, and twisted trees make it difficult to see, between which there is a fern and a huge amount of moss, lianas hanging from the trees like a dense curtain. At eye level there is a lush deciduous shrub, and if a person wants to see what is happening behind him, he will have to bend down. Only in exceptional cases in the rainforest can you see more than 50 steps. Trees of the lower tier 15-30 meters high rise above the bush. They provide food for birds and other animals. The crowns of the trees of the lower tier are sometimes woven so densely that the canopy above them from the crowns of tall trees is not even visible.

The rainforest is a set of forest tiers. The crowns of tropical forest giant trees rise high above the lower tier, sometimes by 30-40 meters. Even in the dense interweaving of the branches of these huge trees, fertile soil is “suspended”, on which other plants grow. Tropical rainforests are very difficult to explore and I would not recommend anyone to go there alone. It often happens that a person, although he is familiar with the rainforest, loses his bearings and after a hundred steps he can get lost. In such forests it is always twilight, humid, calm, the air is heavy. You can hear the wind whistling in the crowns of tall trees, but below it is not felt at all. The silence is broken only by the cry of invisible birds, the crackling of a falling branch, the shrill voice of a monkey or the buzzing of insects. A person tries to step inaudibly, he experiences fear and horror.

Tropical rainforests differ from temperate forests in a huge variety of vegetation. In them, two neighboring trees rarely belong to the same species, but at the same time one can see large areas dominated by only two or three tree species. Among the huge trees of the upper tier, haya and entandrophragma trees are often found, and oil palm is typical for the lower tier.

African rainforest plants

There are up to 25 thousand species of plants in the African forest flora. Among them, there are relatively few species of palm trees, bamboos, but orchids grow in large numbers.

African rainforest animals

A limited number of species of large animals live in the rainforest, and yet among them there are various antelopes, many monkeys. Among the smallest animals can be called pangolins, pottos or flying spiny-tailed squirrels, reptiles, amphibians, ants, butterflies and other types of insects and invertebrates are very common. There are many birds here, but it is difficult to see them. In tropical forests, grass almost does not grow, so it is extremely rare to find animals for which it serves as food, but they are home to many animals that can eat leaves from trees, shrubs and climbing plants. These are bushbucks, elephants, buffaloes, okapis, bongos and duikers. Such forests are habitats for animals that can climb trees and feed on their leaves and fruits. These are gorillas, chimpanzees and baboons.

Two species live in tropical forests great apes: gorilla and chimpanzee. In Tanzania, some species of chimpanzee even live in a patchwork of rainforests and savannahs. In Zaire, there is a pygmy chimpanzee, or bonobo.

Monkeys such as marmosets, mangabeys and geese live in the rainforest. They are all smaller and lighter than chimpanzees and therefore better climbers than them. They find food mainly in the crowns of the tallest trees, sometimes just at incredible heights. When they are afraid of something, then, running away, they can jump from a height of 20 meters. Gverets jump especially far. Monkeys feed on various fruits, mainly wild figs. In the crown of a large fig tree, several species of monkeys can gather at the same time. The black-and-white white-shouldered guinea pig is the easiest to distinguish. There is a lot of it in the forests from the high mountains in the east of the continent to West Africa itself. In West Africa lives Gverets-Satan, who locals called the child of the devil. In the lowland forests lives the Red Gverets, a small quiet animal with a very beautiful skin that feeds on leaves and fruits.

Baboons live primarily in the savannah, but two species, the mandrill and the drill, have adapted to life in the rainforest and inhabit forests from Cameroon to the Congo River. They retained the habit of eating on the ground and living in groups. Little is known about the lifestyle of both species. Mandrills are one of the most beloved and popular zoo inhabitants. They attract the attention of visitors with their unusual appearance: the middle of the nose of the male is bright red, and on both sides there are expressive blue stripes. The drill has a black muzzle.

In tropical forests, dwarf forms of some animal species can be found. Pygmy Liberian hippos live only in the densest Guinean rainforests of Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. Elephants in rainforests are smaller than those in the savannah, with shorter tusks and rounded ears. Forest buffaloes, unlike the large black buffaloes of the Eastern and South Africa small and red.

The dwarf buffalo in this part of Africa is considerably smaller than the buffalo in the savannas. Usually buffaloes do not pose a danger to humans. When they are wounded, they go into the thicket. If the hunter decides to pursue a wounded animal, he will have to make his way through the thicket on all fours, and in such a situation the buffalo will certainly go on the offensive and can not only injure, but also kill the hunter with its horns.

Two species of large forest pigs are found in tropical forests - a large forest pig, discovered only in 1904, and a bush pig. The latter is very common. These animals eat everything that comes across, therefore, in areas where there is cultivated land, they are considered large pests. Bush-eared pigs live in groups of several hundred heads, but it is quite difficult to see them.

The only one large predator living in tropical forests - thunderstorm animals - leopard. Its main victims are baboons and bush pigs, so in this case, people consider the leopard a useful animal. The leopard lies in wait for its prey in the crown of a tree and is able to lie so quietly that you will not notice it even at a close distance. On the bark of trees, I often noticed deep scratches - traces of the claws of a leopard that climbed up. Once I saw a leopard lying literally three steps away, but he turned away, got up and left. It is curious how many times I was seen so close by leopards, the presence of which I did not even suspect?!

Some forest leopards are black. Many mammals and birds living in humid climate, a tendency towards dark coloration is generally noticeable. Some animals adapt to life in the rainforest, changing color to red, which can be observed in buffaloes. In the forests of West Africa, there are bushbucks and bushbucks, also red, while the bushbucks that live in the Ethiopian highlands are black.

Small rivers and streams flow through the tropical forests, forming shallow lakes and backwaters, often just pits filled with rainwater, in which elephants and buffaloes lie, waddling from side to side. Some forest animals come here to drink, while others do not feel the need for it, because along with the plants they eat, they get enough moisture. AT separate parts forests growing on sandy soils, it is very difficult to find water during the dry season. The Benin sands are so porous that even after a heavy tropical downpour, all the water is sucked into the ground, which after a few minutes becomes dry again, and no puddles remain anywhere. In places with a sufficient amount of water, the water deer lives, which belongs to the most primitive ruminant animals. Some signs bring it closer not to ruminants, but to camels. Often confused with him pygmy antelope - the smallest of all ruminants. She is the size of a rabbit, and when frightened, she disappears in three-meter jumps.

A significant part of the tropical forests is located on the hills. Rivers, originating in mountains or swamps, go down narrow gorges and, forming foamy whirlpools, rush to the plains, where their flow slows down. During the rainy season, the water level in the rivers rises, but spills are rare here. Much of the water soaks into the soil, even in places like the Cameroonian rainforest, which receives an average of 30 millimeters of rain a day.

The Congo Basin has extensive swampy areas and shallow small lakes. The forests growing in these swampy places are forced to adapt to life in eternal dampness. Here you can see special type a forest in which such a tangle of palm trees and wild reeds grows that it is practically impossible to get through it. In these thickets, sitatungs are very fond of lingering. The swamps cannot be explored on foot. You can only go by canoe, but the branches hanging low over the water make you bend under them every minute. Having passed through such a tunnel of dense vegetation, you find yourself on a quiet beautiful forest lake surrounded by tall bright green grass. Sometimes there you will see hippos, beautiful bright blue kingfishers, there are also large piebald kingfishers that feed mainly on fish. But there are kingfishers that eat mainly insects. Here, around quiet lakes, a real paradise for these birds: in one place you can immediately see up to five or more species.

The main "fisherman" in the waters of the rainforest is the screaming eagle. He lies in wait for his prey, sitting on tall trees, and as soon as a fish splashes on the surface of the water, he rushes at her. The Angolan vulture also occasionally feeds on small fish or freshwater crabs, although its main food is the fruits of the oil palm. The Cape otter, living in forest rivers, feeds mainly on crabs. You can often see how she lies stretched out on the sand or a rock, holding a crab in her paws and eating it like a person eats a watermelon.

Along river banks or roads, the rainforest gives the impression of an impenetrable wall. Only in the crowns of trees do various birds fly - rhinos, especially the black hornbill. When they fly from tree to tree, their powerful wings make a sharp whistling sound when flapping. Together with these birds, cuckoo-like turaco live there, especially the crested turaco. Thousands fly over the river in the evening bats, which feed on wide-mouthed kites.

The horror of all living things in the rainforests is caused by ants. They are most active at night and during the rainy season. When the ants begin their march, everyone, including the elephants, scatters. You can often see them moving in columns three centimeters wide. On closer inspection, you can see that small ants are walking in the middle, laying eggs. Guards are moving on both sides - large soldier ants with powerful jaws. If there is any obstacle on the way, they pounce on it and bite it. When ants go for food, they go in a wide chain and eat everything that comes in their way. Those who do not have time to hide are destroyed. Ant armies are driven out of their dwellings and people; the only way to get them to turn off the road is to cover it with a thick layer of ash or spray it with poisonous insecticides. Flocks of insectivorous birds are vigilantly watching the moving columns of ants. Several times I was the target of such marching ants and was pretty bitten and suffered for a long time from a terrible headache. Then, every time I saw these columns in the distance, I tried to bypass them. Small birds and young animals suffer greatly from ants. There were cases when ants climbed into the elephant's trunk, which led him to lose his mind.

The boiga snake also climbs trees beautifully, devastating bird nests. The Gaboon viper and the rhinoceros viper are very poisonous. It is not clear why these snakes have such a strong poison, because they feed on small rodents. After a snake bite, it usually immediately releases its prey, and then pursues, which is helped by the sense of smell. Only the Gaboon viper holds the victim tightly, and the dose of poison is so significant that it almost does not resist.

Many forest areas are inhabited by people who annually uproot more and more new forests and cultivate the land. The edges of the forest are gradually being captured by the savannah. It seems that the forests will be reduced, their place will be taken by fields and plantations. Throughout Africa, trees continue to be cut down and no one cares about new plantations. The reduction in forest areas will reduce humidity, which means Africa will dry out and become even more deserted.

The author, who is in love with his science - zoogeography, claims and proves that it is as interesting as everything connected with the life of animals in freedom. He talks amazingly about biological properties animals that help them exist in a certain environment, about the connections of fauna with plant formations, about the distribution of animals across the globe and about the factors limiting their settlement, about the history of the development of fauna on various continents.

Book:

Near the equator, the sun is high in the sky all year round. The air is highly saturated with water vapor rising from the damp earth. The seasons of the year are not expressed. It's swelteringly hot.

In such a climate, lush vegetation develops, the most exotic formation of our earth - the tropical forest. Due to the large role of rain in the formation of this formation, it is also called the rainforest.

There are three large tracts of tropical forests in the world: in South America they occupy almost the entire vast Amazon basin; in Africa they cover the Congo River basin and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea; in Asia, tropical forests occupy part of India, the Indochinese Peninsula, the Malay Peninsula, the Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, the Philippines and the island New Guinea.

The rainforest seems fabulous to everyone who first gets into it. Abundance of moisture, mineral salts, optimal temperatures create conditions under which plants form dense thickets, and deep shade makes them stretch upwards, towards the light. It is not for nothing that the tropical forest is known for its huge trees, which raise their crowns high.

Extremely characteristic of the tropical forest are epiphytes, which appear on the trunks and branches of other plants. These include both flowering and many species of ferns, mosses and lichens.

Some epiphytes, such as numerous orchids, draw their nutrients exclusively from the air and rainwater.

Under the canopy of the rainforest there are no grasses, only the rotting remains of leaves, branches and huge trunks of dead trees lie here. This is the kingdom of mushrooms. In conditions of heat and moisture, the decomposition and mineralization of the dead remains of plants and animals proceeds rapidly, which determines great speed biological cycle of matter.

If in a deciduous forest temperate climate three or four tiers are quite clearly expressed, then here, in the tropical thickets, we are immediately lost in a multitude of tiers and semi-tiers.

The richness of the flora is stunning. If five to ten species of trees are found in European mixed forests, then here there are many times more species per hectare of forest than they grow in general in all of Europe. Here you need to spend a lot of time and effort to find at least two identical trees. In Cameroon, for example, there are about 500 tree species and another 800 shrub species.

The wood of trees of the equatorial forest, where seasons are not expressed, does not have rings and is highly valued in industry, for example, ebony (ebony) and mahogany.

At any time of the year, the rainforest blooms and bears fruit. It happens that on the same tree you can simultaneously see buds, flowers, ovaries and ripening fruits. And even if the harvest from one tree is completely harvested, there will always be another nearby, all hung with fruits.

In this amazing environment lives at least wonderful world animals. The air, saturated with water vapor, allows many invertebrates, usually living in the aquatic environment, to live here on land. For example, Ceylon leeches are widely known (Haemadipsa ceylonica), which stick to the leaves of trees and lie in wait for prey (warm-blooded animals), a number of species of crustaceans, centipedes, and even amphipods.

All invertebrates, whose skin is not covered with a dense chitinous shell, feel really good only in the tropical forest, but in another place they are constantly in danger of drying out. Even an experienced zoologist can hardly imagine how much, for example, gastropods lives in any corner of the rainforest. Only one family Helicarionidae Africa has more species than all the mollusks in all of Poland. Gastropods live everywhere: underground, in fallen trees, on trunks, among branches and leaves, in various tiers of the forest. Even for laying eggs, they do not descend to the ground. Some gastropods of the Philippines (Helicostyla leucophthalma) They build wonderful nests for their eggs from leaves glued together with mucus.

Here are ideal conditions for the habitat of amphibians. In tropical forests, there is a huge variety of species of frogs, tree frogs, and toads. Many species lay their eggs in the axils of huge leaves, where water accumulates. Other species lay their eggs directly on the leaves, and their tadpoles undergo accelerated development inside the gelatinous shells of the eggs. There are also species in which the eggs are carried by the male or female on the back. This lasts more than ten days, while in our conditions the caviar would dry out in a few hours.

Insects in the rainforest multiply continuously and live here in huge numbers.

Perhaps it is on the fauna of insects that it is most clearly seen than animal world rainforest is different from tundra. In the tundra, a few species create a billionth population. In tropical thickets, a large zoomass is created due to the abundance of species. In the rainforest, it is much easier to catch a hundred specimens for a collection. various kinds than the same number of members of the same species. A large number of species and a small number of individuals are the main feature of both the flora and fauna of the tropical rain forest. For example, on the island of Barro Colorado in the Panama Canal, as a result of many years of research, about 20 thousand species of insects were discovered on several square kilometers, while in some European country the number of insect species reaches only two to three thousand.

In this diversity, the most fantastic in appearance animals arise. Tropical forests are the birthplace of all praying mantises that mimic the body shape of tree knots, butterflies that look like leaves, wasp flies and other artfully camouflaged species.

Wasps and bumblebees form permanent swarms, living in huge and continuously growing nests. Ants and termites are as common in the rainforests as they are in the savannas. There are many predators among ants, for example, the famous Brazilian ants (Ecitony) not building anthills and migrating in a continuous avalanche. On their way, they kill and devour any animal they meet. They can create a kind of nest from their own bodies, crowding into a tight ball. In the tropics, anthills or termite mounds are rarely found on the ground. Usually they are located high - in hollows, in twisted leaves and inside the stems of plants.

The year-round abundance of flowers explains why birds live only in the tropics, feeding exclusively on nectar or small insects found in flower calyxes. These are two families: hummingbirds of South America (Trochilidae) and African-Asian sunbirds (Nectariniidae). Similarly, butterflies: in the rainforest they fly by the thousands throughout the year.

The continuously ripening fruits serve as food for many groups of frugivorous animals typical of the tropics. Among the birds, the most numerous are parrots, large-billed American toucans (Rhamphastidae) and hornbills (Bucerotidae), which are replacing them in Africa; and in Asia - turaco (Musophagidae) with bright plumage and many others leading a similar lifestyle. Dozens of species of monkeys compete with birds. Fruit eaters spend their lives in the crowns of trees, in the upper tiers of the forest. Large fruit-eating bats are characteristic here. (Megachiroptera)- flying dogs and flying foxes.

In a tropical forest, the higher the tier, the more life.

The arboreal lifestyle is typical of many rainforest animal species. As a result, animals are predominant here. big size. So, various small monkeys - macaques and monkeys - live in trees, and a large gorilla (up to 200 kilograms in weight) is terrestrial, while chimpanzees, which are of medium size, lead a terrestrial-arboreal lifestyle.

Of the three Brazilian anteaters, the smallest is the pygmy anteater. (Cyclopes didactylus) leads an arboreal lifestyle, and a large anteater (Myrmecophaga jubata)- An exclusively terrestrial animal. The average anteater is tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) awkwardly moves both on the ground and along the branches and gets food here and there.

Everyone knows the tree frog tree frog (Hyla arborea) which, thanks to the suction cups on the fingers, feels confident both on the branches and on the smooth surface of the leaf. In the tropics, tree frogs are extremely widespread. But not only they have suction cups on their fingers. Frogs of three other families also have them: real frogs (Ranidae), copepod frogs (Rhacophoridae) and whistlers (Leptodactylidae). Toes with suction cups also have Indonesian tarsier (Tarsius) tree porcupines and some bats from different parts of the world: from America (Thyroptera), Asia (Tylonycteris) and from Madagascar (Myzopoda). When moving along the branches, the most reliable thing is to grab the branch on both sides like ticks. Monkey palms and feet are good, but not the best device of this type. It is better if half of the fingers wrap around the branch on one side, and the other fingers on the other side. This is how the paws of the African grasping frog are arranged. (Chiromantis), in some lizards and chameleons. Birds climbing trees - woodpeckers, toucans, parrots and some cuckoos - have two fingers turned forward and two back. Tenacious paws and suckers do not exhaust all possible adaptations for moving through trees. american sloth (bradypus)- this is another fruit-and leaf-eating animal that lives in the crowns. Elongated, hook-shaped claws allow him to hang in the thick of the branches without expending effort. Even dead, the sloth does not fall to the ground, and its remains hang on the tree for a long time until the skeleton crumbles into separate bones. Climbing parrots use their large hooked beak to cling to tree branches like a claw.

Many animals use a spirally coiled tail for clinging. Chameleons, some lizards and mammals use this "fifth paw". American monkeys: howler monkeys (Alouatta), capuchins (Cebus) coats (Ateles), woolly monkeys (Lagothrix), as well as American tree porcupines (Erethizontidae) great use of the tail when climbing.

Another way of arboreal movement is used by Asian gibbons. (Hylobatidae). The animal, strongly swinging on one arm, flies forward and clings to another branch, then again swings like a pendulum and again flies to the next branch. These jumps sometimes reach 10–20 meters. With this movement, the legs do not work at all, and therefore in gibbons they are short and weak. But the arms are very long and strong: after all, the longer the arm, the stronger the swing. The palms themselves have undergone corresponding changes: the thumb is small and hardly used, and the remaining four fingers are unusually elongated. These fingers form something like a movable hook, which can catch on a flashing branch when jumping.

Tropical birds are bad flyers. Both parrots and toucans are slow-flyers, but they are able to maneuver well in a complex weave of branches. Nowhere in the world are there so many gliding animals, a kind of "paratroopers", as in the rainforest. There's a flying frog here (Rhacophorus), making multi-meter jumps, during which she soars with the help of huge membranes, a flying lizard (Draco Volans), in which the protruding processes of the ribs are connected by skin used for soaring. flying squirrels (Sciuridae), dormouse (Aliridae) and some other animals glide on the skin stretched between the limbs. When jumping, the front legs are stretched far forward and to the sides, and the hind legs are pulled back, while the skin is stretched, increasing the bearing surface. A flying cat also uses gliding flight (Cynocephalus ) - strange creature, from the order of woolly wings, or kaguans (Dermoptera), somewhat similar to the lemur and partly to the insectivorous mammals of the rainforests of Indochina, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In the dense thickets of the tropical rainforest, orientation becomes a serious problem. Here, in front of a dense wall of trees, vines and other plants, vision is powerless. In the upper tiers of the forest it is difficult to see anything further than five meters away.

The sense of smell doesn't help much either. The air is still day and night. No wind penetrates the jungle, does not carry smells through the forest. However, the smell of smoldering and the heavy, intoxicating aroma of tropical flowers drowns out any other smell. In such conditions, hearing is most suitable. Small groups of animals wandering in the crowns owe only to hearing that they do not lose each other. Travelers often mention noisy flocks of parrots and monkeys. They are really very noisy, they constantly call to each other, like children picking berries and mushrooms in the forest. But all solitary animals are silent, silent and listen to see if the enemy is approaching. And the enemy silently circles around and listens to see if possible prey rustles somewhere.

Due to the dense tree canopy, the ground is not visible from above; in addition, the earth does not heat up much, and there are no updrafts in the air, so soaring birds of prey are not found in the rainforest.

A huge number of animals inhabit the upper tiers of the rainforest, but at the very "bottom" of it, on earth, life is also in full swing. In addition to numerous invertebrates, ungulates, predators and large anthropoid monkeys live here. It is in vain to look for large deer with spreading horns here: it would simply be difficult for them to move around in the thicket. In forest tropical deer, the antlers are small, often not branched at all. Most antelopes are also small, about the size of a chamois or hare. An example is the pygmy antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus) about 30 centimeters high at the withers, antelopes from the genus Cephalophus, or red chestnut, with light stripes and spots, the size of a chamois bushbuck antelope (Tragelaphus scriptus). From large ungulates to African forest bongo antelope lives (Boocercus eurycerus) reddish-chestnut in color, with thin rare vertical stripes and, of course, with small horns.

Or finally okapi Okapia johnstoni - a species first discovered only in 1901 and more or less studied twenty years later. This animal has been a kind of symbol of the secrets of Africa for many years. it distant relative giraffes are about the size of a donkey, with a body taller in front than behind, laterally compressed, with a red chestnut body, with black legs with a white stripe.

Please note: again a reddish chestnut color with white spots and stripes. This type of protective coloring makes sense only in the depths of the forest, where, against the reddish background of decaying vegetation, sunlight breaking through the dense canopy of the tropical forest lays down with white spots and gliding highlights. All these are relatively large animals lead a nocturnal, hidden lifestyle. If we meet two animals here at the same time, then this is either a couple, or a mother with a baby. Forest ungulates do not have a herd life. And this is understandable: nothing can be seen in the forest at twenty paces, and herding is losing its protective biological significance.

The elephant is the only animal that passes through the thicket, leaving behind a corridor cut through the living body of the forest. Where a herd of elephants feeds, there is a vast trampled space, like an arena under the arch of untouched huge trees.

Kaffir buffalo lives in the forests of Africa (Syncerus caffer), in Asia - gaur (Bibos gaurus). Both of these species willingly use the paths laid by elephants.

The impact of the rainforest has also affected appearance elephants and buffaloes. The forest elephant subspecies is undeniably smaller than the savannah elephants, and the forest buffalo is not only smaller than the savannah buffalo, but its horns are disproportionately small.

Just as in the savannah lions are constantly followed by jackals feeding on the remains of lion prey, in the rainforest many animals accompany elephants. Different types boars of the genus Hylochoerus and Potamochoerus perfectly adapted to life in the forest. Low, narrow, with a wedge-shaped forehead, with a powerful snout, they feel great in dense thickets. In places where elephants have knocked down trees or uprooted them, wild boars find themselves edible roots and rhizomes, insect larvae, etc. When the feeding place of elephants is completely dug up by wild boars, herds of forest baboons appear on it. Among them are mandrills-sphinxes (Mandrillus sphinx) with brightly colored snouts and buttocks and smaller black-nosed mandrills (M. leucophaeus) that dig into dug up ground in search of food.

Gorillas and chimpanzees make up a special group of higher anthropoid apes here. The former lead a terrestrial, the latter a terrestrial-arboreal way of life. They move easily in the rainforest, roaming in small groups and feeding on a variety of plant and animal foods.

In this post there will be scary, nasty, cute, kind, beautiful, incomprehensible animals.
Plus a short comment about each. They all really exist.
Watch and be amazed

SCHELEZUB- a mammal from the order of insectivores, divided into two main species: the Cuban flint tooth and the Haitian. Relatively large, relative to other types of insectivores, the beast: its length is 32 centimeters, and the tail, on average, 25 cm, the weight of the animal is about 1 kilogram, the physique is dense.


MANED WOLF. Lives in South America. Long legs wolves are the result of evolution in matters of adaptation to the habitat, they help the animal overcome obstacles in the form of tall grass growing on the plains.


AFRICAN CIVETA- the only representative of the same genus. These animals live in Africa in open spaces with high grass from Senegal to Somalia, southern Namibia and eastern South Africa. The dimensions of the animal can visually increase quite strongly when the civet raises its hair when excited. And her fur is thick and long, especially on the back closer to the tail. Paws, muzzle and end of the tail are completely black, most of bodies spotted.


MUSKRAT. The animal is quite famous, thanks to its sonorous name. It's just a good photo.


PROEKHIDNA. This miracle of nature usually weighs up to 10 kg, although larger specimens have also been noted. By the way, the length of the body of the prochidna reaches 77 cm, and this is not counting their cute five to seven centimeter tail. Any description of this animal is based on comparison with the echidna: the paws of the echidna are higher, the claws are more powerful. Another feature of the appearance of the prochidna is the spurs on the hind legs of males and the five-fingered hind limbs and the three-fingered forelimbs.


CAPIBARA. Semi-aquatic mammal, the largest of modern rodents. It is the only representative of the capybara family (Hydrochoeridae). There is a dwarf variety of Hydrochoerus isthmius, sometimes considered as a separate species (capybara).


SEA CUCUMBER. Holothuria. Sea-pods, sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), a class of invertebrates of the echinoderm type. Species eaten are common name"trepang".


PANGOLIN. This post just couldn't do without it.


HELL VAMPIRE. Mollusk. Despite its obvious similarity with the octopus and squid, scientists have identified this mollusk in a separate order Vampyromorphida (Latin), because as soon as it has retractable sensitive bee-shaped filaments.


AARDVARK. In Africa, these mammals are called aardvark, which means "earth pig" in Russian. In fact, the aardvark in appearance very much resembles a pig, only with an elongated muzzle. The ears of this amazing animal are very similar in structure to those of a hare. There is also a muscular tail, which is very similar to the tail of such an animal as a kangaroo.

JAPANESE GIANT SALAMANDRA. To date, this is the largest amphibian that can reach 160 cm in length, weigh up to 180 kg and can live up to 150 years, although the officially registered maximum age giant salamander is 55 years old.


BEARDED PIG. AT different sources species The bearded pig is divided into two or three subspecies. These are the curly-haired bearded pig (Sus barbatus oi), which lives on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, the Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus barbatus) and the Palawan bearded pig, which, judging by the name, live on the islands of Borneo and Palawan, as well as in Java , Kalimantan and the small islands of the Indonesian archipelago in South-East Asia.




SUMATRAN RHINO. They belong to the equine-hoofed animals of the rhinoceros family. This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the entire family. The body length of an adult Sumatran rhinoceros can reach 200 - 280 cm, and the height at the withers can vary from 100 to 150 cm. Such rhinos can weigh up to 1000 kg.


SULAWESI BEAR CUSCOUS. An arboreal marsupial living in the upper tier of lowland tropical forests. The coat of the bear couscous consists of a soft undercoat and coarse guard hairs. Color ranges from gray to brown, with a lighter belly and limbs, and varies by geographic subspecies and age of the animal. The prehensile, hairless tail is about half the length of the animal and functions as a fifth limb, making it easier to move through the dense rainforest. Bear couscous is the most primitive of all couscous, retaining primitive tooth growth and skull features.


GALAGO. its big fluffy tail clearly comparable to squirrels. And the charming muzzle and graceful movements, flexibility and insinuation, clearly reflect his feline trait. The amazing jumping ability, mobility, strength and incredible agility of this animal clearly show its nature as a funny cat and elusive squirrel. Of course, it would be where to use their talents, because a cramped cage is very poorly suited for this. But, if you give this little animal a little freedom and sometimes allow him to walk around the apartment, then all his quirks and talents will come true. Many even compare it to a kangaroo.


WOMBAT. Without a photograph of a wombat, it is generally impossible to talk about strange and rare animals.


AMAZONIAN DOLPHIN. Is the largest river dolphin. Inia geoffrensis, as scientists call it, reaches 2.5 meters in length and weighs 2 centners. Light gray juveniles lighten with age. The body of the Amazonian dolphin is full, with a thin tail and a narrow muzzle. A round forehead, a slightly curved beak and small eyes are the features of this species of dolphins. Meets Amazonian dolphin in the rivers and lakes of Latin America.


FISH-MOON or MOLA-MOLA. This fish can be over three meters long and weigh about one and a half tons. The largest specimen of the moonfish was caught in New Hampshire, USA. Its length was five and a half meters, data on weight are not available. In shape, the body of the fish resembles a disk, it was this feature that gave rise to the Latin name. The moonfish has thicker skin. It is elastic, and its surface is covered with small bony protrusions. Fish larvae of this species and juveniles swim in the usual way. Adult large fish swim on their side, quietly moving their fins. They seem to lie on the surface of the water, where they are very easy to notice and catch. However, many experts believe that only sick fish swim in this way. As an argument, they cite the fact that the stomach of fish caught on the surface is usually empty.


TASMANIAN DEVIL. Being the largest of modern carnivorous marsupials, this animal is black in color with white spots on the chest and rump, with a huge mouth and sharp teeth has a dense physique and a stern disposition, for which, in fact, it was called the devil. Emitting ominous cries at night, massive and clumsy Tasmanian devil outwardly it resembles a small bear: the front legs are slightly longer than the hind legs, a large head, and the muzzle is blunt.


LORI. Feature Lori - large eyes, which can be bordered by dark circles, between the eyes there is a white dividing strip. The muzzle of a lory can be compared to a clown mask. This most likely explains the name of the animal: Loeris means "clown" in translation.


GAVIAL. Of course, one of the representatives of the detachment of crocodiles. With age, the muzzle of the gharial becomes even narrower and longer. Due to the fact that the gharial feeds on fish, its teeth are long and sharp, located with a slight inclination for the convenience of eating.


OKAPI. FOREST GIRAFFE. Traveling in Central Africa, journalist and African explorer Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) encountered local natives more than once. Having once met an expedition equipped with horses, the natives of the Congo told the famous traveler that they had wild animals in the jungle, very similar to his horses. The Englishman, who had seen a lot, was somewhat puzzled by this fact. After some negotiations in 1900, the British were finally able to purchase parts of the skin of a mysterious beast from the local population and send them to the Royal Zoological Society in London, where they gave the unknown animal the name "Johnston's Horse" (Equus johnstoni), that is, they identified it as a member of the horse family. . But what was their surprise when, a year later, they managed to get a whole skin and two skulls of an unknown animal, and find that It looks more like a pygmy giraffe from the Ice Age. Only in 1909 was it possible to catch a live specimen of Okapi.

VALABY. WOOD KANGAROO. To the genus Tree kangaroos - wallabies (Dendrolagus) include 6 species. Of these, D. Inustus or bear wallaby, D. Matschiei or Matchish wallaby, which has a subspecies D. Goodfellowi (Goodfellow wallaby), D. Dorianus - Doria wallaby, live in New Guinea. In Australian Queensland, there are D. Lumholtzi - Lumholtz's wallaby (bungari), D. Bennettianus - Bennett's wallaby, or tharibina. Their original habitat was New Guinea, but now wallabies are also found in Australia. Tree kangaroos live in the tropical forests of mountainous regions, at an altitude of 450 to 3000m. above sea level. The body size of the animal is 52-81 cm, the tail is from 42 to 93 cm long. Wallabies weigh, depending on the species, from 7.7 to 10 kg males and from 6.7 to 8.9 kg. females.


WOLVERINE. Moves quickly and dexterously. The animal has an elongated muzzle, a large head, with rounded ears. The jaws are powerful, the teeth are sharp. Wolverine is a “big-legged” beast, the feet are disproportionate to the body, but their size allows you to freely move through the deep snow cover. Each paw has huge and curved claws. Wolverine climbs trees beautifully, has sharp eyesight. The voice is like a fox.


FOSS. On the island of Madagascar, such animals have been preserved that are not found not only in Africa itself, but throughout the rest of the world. One of the rarest animals is Fossa - the only representative of the genus Cryptoprocta and the largest predatory mammal that lives on the island of Madagascar. The appearance of the fossa is a bit unusual: it is a cross between a civet and a small cougar. Sometimes the fossa is also called the Madagascar lion, since the ancestors of this animal were much larger and reached the size of a lion. Fossa has a squat, massive and slightly elongated body, the length of which can reach up to 80 cm (on average it is 65-70 cm). The legs of the fossa are long, but thick enough, with the hind legs higher than the front ones. The tail is often equal to the length of the body and reaches 65 cm.


MANUL approves of this post and is only here because it should be. Everyone knows him.


FENEC. STEPPE FOX. He agrees with the manula and is present here in so far as. After all, everyone saw him.


THE NAKED DIGGER puts the manula and the fennec fox in karma and invites them to organize a club of the most feared animals in Runet.


PALM THIEF. A representative of the decapod crustaceans. Which habitat is the western part of the Pacific Ocean and the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean. This animal from the family of land crayfish is quite large for its species. The body of an adult individual reaches a size of up to 32 cm and a weight of up to 3-4 kg. For a long time it was mistakenly believed that with its claws it could even split coconuts, which it then eats. To date, scientists have proven that cancer can only eat already split coconuts. They, being its main source of nutrition, gave the name palm thief. Although he is not averse to eating other types of food - the fruits of Pandanus plants, organic matter from the soil, and even their own kind.

Tropical rainforests cover less than 6 percent of the Earth's surface and scientists estimate that at least half of the world's animal species live there. In fact, there are many millions of species of tropical mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects that scientists have been unable to count. Thousands of species of insects have not yet been discovered. Thus, it will undoubtedly take many decades for science to fully answer the question "what animals live in the rainforest."

photo: Dave Rushen

Of course, science is already familiar with large quantity tropical animals and birds. Tropical forests are covered with dense, tall trees near the Earth's equator, which receive 2000 mm of precipitation per year. Which animals live in rainforests depends on where the rainforests are located, in Central America or in the northern part of South America, in equatorial Africa, in South Asia down through the islands of the South Pacific to northern Australia.

photo: Martien Uiterweerd

The animals of the various rainforests around the world have evolved thousands of miles apart and therefore differ from continent to continent and even from forest to forest. However, all rainforests are similar in many ways, many of the animal species in them are also similar. For example, all rainforests offer a breathtaking array of bird species, as well as birds from the wettest rainforests including parrots.

photo: Nick Johnson

In the countries of Central and South America, the large macaw familiar to us lives; The African rainforests are home to the African Gray Parrot, which is famous for its ability to imitate sounds, including human speech. Cockatoos and a few Australian parrots live in Asia, the South Pacific and the Australian forests.

photo:Debbie Grant

What animals live in tropical forests? Mostly big cats acting as top predators. In the tropical forests of Central and South America, where the ecological niche is occupied by jaguars and cougars. African rainforests are run by leopards. In the South Asian rainforests, tigers and leopards are the top predators.

photo: Thomas Widmann

The rainforests are home to a number of primate species: spider monkeys and howler monkeys in Central and South America. Baboons, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas in Africa. Gibbons and orangutans in South Asia.

photo: Pierson Hill

From the reptile rainforests, the pythons of Africa and Asia are counterparts of the anaconda in the Amazon jungle. Venomous snakes abound in all rainforests, bushmaster and coral snakes in South and Central America and cobras in Africa and Asia, from alligators and caimans in the Americas to many species of crocodiles in Africa and Asia.

List of tropical animals in the Amazon:

Jaguars, Pumas, Ocelots, tapirs, capybaras, bushmasters and caimans (several species; the largest being the black caiman), harpies, macaws, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, capuchins, squirrel monkeys, piranhas, leaf cutters.

photo: Jon Mountjoy

List of tropical animals of Africa:

leopard, okapi, Nile crocodile, mambas (several species poisonous snakes), gray parrot, crowned eagle, chimpanzee, bonobos, gorilla, mandrills, baboons, colobus, tiger fish, termites.

List of tropical animals of Asia:

Tiger, Leopard, Lazy Bear, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Elephant, Buffalo, Cockatoo, Black Eagle, saltwater crocodile, Burmese python, cobras (several species), Orangutan, Gibbons, macaques.

photo: Stephen Hampshire

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