Amazon Rainforest Facts and Information
Did You Know?
-
The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest covering over 5.1 million square miles! It’s so big the UK and Ireland would fit into it 17 times!
-
The Amazon is found in South America, spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
-
Running through the north of the rainforest is the Amazon River. Flowing a length of around 6,400km, it is the second longest river in the world. The longest is the river Nile, stretching an amazing 6,650km!
-
In 2007, Martin Strel swam the entire length of the Amazon river! Martin swam through the water for up to ten hours a day for 66 days!
-
Around 400 indigenous Amerindiantribes call the Amazon rainforest home. It’s believed that about fifty of these tribes have never had contact with the outside world!
-
The Amazon has an incredibly rich ecosystem – there are around 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 types of fish, 430 mammals and a whopping 2.5 million different insects. Wow!
-
The Amazon is home to a whole host of fascinating and deadly creatures! Electric eels, flesh eating piranhas,poison dart frogs, jaguars and venomous snakes roam the jungles of the Amazon.
-
One fascinating fish found in the Amazon is the Pirarucu. A menacing meat-eater, the pirarucu eats other fish and can grow to nearly 9ft long! And what makes it super deadly? It has teeth on the roof of its mouth andon its tongue!
-
This area of immense natural beauty is sometimes referred to as ‘the lungs of the Earth’. This is because the rich vegetation takes carbon dioxideout of the air, and releases oxygen back in. In fact, more than 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon.
-
Due to the thickness of the canopy(the top branches and leaves of the trees), the Amazon floor is in permanent darkness. In fact, it’s so thick that when it rains, it takes around ten minutes for the water to reach the ground!
Wildlife of the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon is one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Here are some of the wildlife that you can expect to encounter on a trip to the Amazon Rainforest.
A list of some of the most famous animals found in the Amazon rainforest:
Mammals
-
Jaguar
-
Puma
-
Capybara
-
Sloth (multiple species)
-
Giant river otter
-
Giant anteater
-
Tamarins and marmosets (several species)
-
Spider monkey (several species)
-
Woolly monkey
-
Capuchin monkey (several species)
-
Squirrel monkey (several species)
-
Uakari monkey (several species)
-
Titi monkey (several species)
-
Howler monkey (several species)
-
Saki monkey (several species)
-
Amazon pink river dolphin
-
Giant river otter
-
Tapir
-
Coatimundi
-
Kinkajou
-
Agouti
-
Paca
Birds
-
Hoatzin
-
Macaws and other parrots (many species)
-
Harpy Eagle
-
Toucans (several species)
-
Antbirds (antpittas, antshrikes, antwren, etc)
-
Kingfishers (many species)
-
Parakeets (many species)
-
Flycatchers (many species)
-
Woodpeckers (many species)
-
Tanagers (many species)
-
Manakins (many species)
-
Cock-of-the-rock
-
Guans (many species)
-
Storks and herons (many species)
-
Hummingbirds (many species)
-
Oropendola
Herps (reptiles and amphibians)
-
Anacondas and boa constrictors
-
Venomous snakes
-
Caiman (several species)
-
Poison dart frogs (many species)
-
Tree frogs (many species)
-
Iguanas and other lizards
-
Freshwater turtles
Fish
-
Arapaima or Pirarucu
-
Piranha
-
Arowana
-
Electric Eel
-
Giant Catfish
-
Neon tetras and other aquarium fish
-
Discus and angelfish
Native Amazon Rainforest Wildlife
(Brazil)
Source: https://travel.mongabay.com/
