Exotic Animals In The Rainforest

1. Exotic Animals In The Rainforest By: Erik Weber

2. Southern Cassowary • Found in Northern Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding islands. • Eats mainly fruit, vegetation, insects, and fungi. • Known as the “gardeners of the rainforest” because they eat the seeds of a fruit, then deposit it somewhere else in their feces. • Live in dense foliage and swampy areas of New Guinea and Australia. • Second heaviest bird on earth. • 4.5 to 6 feet tall when fully grown. • Male and female birds look the same. • 3 toes, with very sharp claws on each foot. The inner toe has a bigger claw to protect the bird from predators.

3. Great Hornbill • Found in India, parts of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand • Primary food is fruit • Also eats lizards, insects snakes and small mammals • Like the Southern Cassowary, the Great Hornbill helps “garden” the rainforest • Weighs 5 to 7 pounds • Between 2.5 and 3.5 feet in length • Large casque on top of beak and forehead • Lives inthe high canopy of the rainforest

4. Okapi • Found in the rainforests of Congo, Africa • Eats shoots, bugs, leaves, grass, fungi and fruit • Lives in forest clearings and places without dense foliage • Weigh between 460 and 650 pounds when fully grown • 6 to 8 feet in length • 5 to 6 feet tall

5. Piranha • Found in South America • Generally eats smaller fish • Will attack larger fish and mammals if there is a school of piranhas • Live in the rivers and streams of South America • Can grow to be 1 foot in length

6. Binturong • Found in south-east Asia • Also known as bearcat, Asian bearcat, and Asian civet • Females are up to 20% bigger than males • Has a prehensile¹ tail that assists in climbing trees • Lives up in the trees of the rainforest • Can not jump from tree to tree, so it has to climb all the way down then back up again, to move from tree top to tree top • Eats mostly fruit • Also eats insects, birds, and rodents • Has odor glands underneath its tail • The odor the glands give off is said to smell like popcorn ¹fitted to assist with

7. Capybara • Found in various regions of South America and Panama • Eats grasses, fruits and, water plants • Live near rivers, lakes, and streams • Grow up to be about four feet long • Weigh up to 100 pounds • Webbed toes to help with swimming • Able to hide in water by sticking their noses out of the water while the rest of their body is submerged • Worlds biggest rodent

8. Poison Dart Frog • Found in South America and parts of Central America • Eats termites, crickets, flies, and ants • Lives near streams, marshes, and rivers • Grows between one and seven centimeters (.5-3 inches), depending on the species • Lay their eggs in water • Eggs take about 12 days to hatch

9. Red-Eyed Tree Frog • Located in southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America • Eats mainly insects, such as crickets • Sometimes eats smaller frogs • Live in lowland rainforest next to ponds, rivers, and streams • Males grow up to two centimeters in length • Females grow between three and four centimeters in length • Known for bright colors and bulging red eyes • Hides it sharp colors when it sleeps

10. Manatee • Found around the world in tropical warm water areas • Eats different types of oceanic and freshwater plants • Lives in warm water coastlines and rivers • Grow up to be 10-12 feet in length • Weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds • Greatest threat is human development • One of the manatees closest relatives is the elephant

11. Common Palm Civet • Found in the Himalayas, southern China, and the Philippines • Eats small vertebrates, insects, ripe fruits, and seeds • When the civet eats coffee cherries, the coffee bean passes through the digestive tract, making an expensive coffee, called kopi luwak, that sells for more than $100 a pound • Weighs between four and 11 pounds • 17-28 inches (head and body) • 16-26 inch tail • One of the few species in the rainforest that isn't endangered

12. Aye Aye • Found only on the island of Madagascar • Weighs between six and seven pounds • Medium sized lemurs • Lives in the upper canopy of the rainforest • Nocturnal • Taps on trees with its middle finger to try to find wood-boring insect larva underneath the bark • Primates, related to monkeys, chimps, and humans

13. Bengal Tiger • Largest cat in the world • Consists of about 80% of all tiger population • Prefer to live in the depths of the forest • Can reach nine feet in length • Weighs well over 600 pounds • Females weigh between 200 and 300 pounds • If a tiger had all its hair shaved off, its skin would still have stripes on it • Very territorial and defensive • Like to live alone • Will feed on larger of medium sized prey, but if prey is scarce they will settle for smaller prey

14. Made ByErik Weber