Animals of the Rainforest Article
In the rain forests you can find more kinds of animals than anywhere else in the world. Rain forests have many layers of vegetation so there is room for various animals to thrive. Imagine an anteater on the forest floor passes by an ocelot. The ocelot jumps up onto a tree branch next to a snake. The snake slithers up a liana toward a monkey. The monkey climbs up the tree even further to find a toucan resting at the top!
Because the trees are so high, many rain forest animals have special features that help them to climb more easily. For example, monkeys, opossums, anteaters, and climbing porcupines have a prehensile tail. Prehensile tails act as a fifth limb that animals use to help them climb. An animal can also anchor itself to a tree branch using its tail, allowing it to find insects, pick fruit, and fight predators with its hands.
Tree frogs have adapted to life in the trees as well. Tree frogs have suction pads on their feet in order to cling onto slippery leaves and branches. They also have flaps of skin between their toes that act like parachutes, helping the frogs to glide from one tree to the next as if they were flying.
In the rain forest, living things depend on each other in order to survive. This is called a food chain. Plants are at the beginning of the chain. Plants make their own food from water and sun. Some animals eat only plants, fruit, and nectar. These plant eaters, such as the sloth, are called herbivores. Plant eaters are prey for carnivores, animals that eat other animals. These meat eaters, such as the harpy eagle and the jaguar, prey on birds, mice, lizards, monkeys and sloths.
Some animals have special ways to defend themselves from predators. Arrow-poison frogs are very colorful, warning other animals that they are poisonous and should not be eaten. Chameleons can change color so that they blend into their surroundings and are hard to see. Many other animals use camouflage as well, so they will blend into the background; a sloth is covered in green algae and blends into the leaves; the jaguar has a spotted coat and blends into the dappled light. Camouflaged, these animals can either hide from their predators or hide from their prey in order to launch a surprise attack!
The rain forest is home to millions of colorful animals and insects. Which rain forest animal is your favorite? With so many to choose from, it may be a hard decision to make!
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