Animals That Live in the Brazilian Rainforest
Situated mainly in the country of Brazil, the Brazilian rain forest region, most commonly known as the Amazon rain forest, is located on about 1.7 billion acres of land and contains a huge diversity of animal wildlife. Dangerous snakes like the anaconda live side by side with friendlier animals like the howler monkey and the three-toed sloth.
Other People Are Reading
-
Jaguar
-
Found in many areas of the Amazon rain forest section of Brazil, the jaguar is the largest cat located in this region. Averaging just over 6 feet in length in its fully grown stage of life, the jaguar uses its very strong and sharp teeth to tear into the flesh of its prey, including sea turtles and caiman crocodiles. Usually hunting its prey at night because of its superior night vision abilities, the jaguar is a solitary animal. The average weight of a fully grown jaguar is around 225 lbs. and this cat likes to go into river beds in the tropical rain forest to hunt for fish.
Howler Monkey
-
Living in groups that usually contain between 10 to 18 other monkeys, the howler monkey averages about 2 feet in length and can weigh 13 lbs. when fully grown. Subsisting on a daily diet of fruits and leaves found in the Amazon tropical rain forest region, the howler monkey is considered prey by the many jaguars and large birds that hunt this monkey on a regular basis. The loud sounds this monkey belts out can be heard for miles away and is known to be one of the loudest land animals in the world.
-
Three-toed Sloth
-
Found sleeping in the trees located in the Amazon rain forest region, the three-toed sloth is the slowest moving mammal on Earth. Equipped with legs that contain three large claws on each of its paws, the three-toed sloth averages about 2 feet in length and weighs around 9 lbs. when fully developed. Because of their dark gray coloring, this animal can hide from predators very easily while lurking behind the gray-colored large trees in the Amazon rain forest.
Vampire Bat
-
Hunting its prey at night, vampire bats that live in the Amazon rain forest area fly to its victims and bite down hard on the prey's skin to pierce through its flesh in order to drink its victim's blood. Since these bats weigh just over 1 ounce on average, the vampire bat can feed on its prey while it sleeps without waking the victim up. A chemical in this bat's saliva contains the ability to numb any animal that the bat sinks its teeth into. This numbing chemical helps keep the sleeping prey from knowing what is going on until the bat has received enough blood from the victim.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit monkey image by Ramona smiers from Fotolia.com
