Amazon Rainforest Animals and Facts About These Creatures

The Amazon Rainforest is known as the World’s largest tropical rainforest which contains a variety of species such as mammals, birds, reptiles, and more. Rainforest Animal List includes almost every type of species. This variety of species attracts a number of wildlife photographers. Even photographers take a huge risk to capture perfect shots of Amazon Rainforest Animals. They used to go inside the core area of the rainforest.

A great number of tourist also visits this place for its natural scenic beauty and variety of rainforest animals. This exotic place contains 427 mammal species, 1300 bird species, and 378 species of reptiles. The forest contains more than 400 species of amphibians.

Almost 400 tribes live in the Rainforest. They have their own language, exclusive culture, and territory. Many of them remain isolated from the modern world. There are some of the tribes still practice Cannibalism.

Some of the rare species names come up from rainforest animal lists such as Golden Lion Tamarin, South American Tapir, Giant Otters, The Uakari Monkey, White Cheeked Spider Monkey, Lazy Bear.

Some names of most dangerous Amazon Rainforest Animals are Bullet Ant, Jaguar, Brazilian Wandering Spider, South American Rattlesnake, Poison Dart Frog, Green Anaconda, Electric Eel, etc.

Amazon Rainforest Animals Types

Let’s have a look into the rainforest what are the animals we can find out.

Jaguar

Jaguar is one of the most dangerous Carnivorous among rainforest mammals. The scientific name of Jaguar is Panthera Onca. Jaguar has a very powerful jaw and they recognized as the third largest among big cats. Just behind Tiger and Lion.

They are good swimmers as well as good climbers. Jaguar is one of the deadliest in hunting among animals. They stalk foods after hunting and roaming inside a deep forest. Jaguars hide very well at the time of hunting. There is no chance to escape from the target at the time of hunting. Optimum age of a Jaguar is 20 years or more than that. The coat of a Jaguar is almost similar to Leopard skin.

Macaw

It is one of the most beautiful and famous bird. Macaw is remarkable among Amazon Rainforest Birds. This bird is famous and adorable all over the world for its bright color and long-tail.

Macaw is also famous for social interactive nature. There are so many people around the world who keeps Macaw as a pet. But it requires high maintenance. This kind of bird is also used to perform shows like Circus. Macaw eats seeds, fruits, palm fruits, flowers, etc. there is a large variety of species of Macaw can be found.

Sloth

This species is another remarkable among rainforest mammals. Sloth is very adorable in nature. They are so lazy in nature and can sleep for the whole day. They have known as one of the slowest mammals on earth. Specifically, Three-Toed Sloth is known as the slowest mammals of Earth. They are very friendly, unlike Two-Toed Sloth. They can be found as hanging on the trees. Sloth consume insects, fruits, leaves as diet.

Toucan

This is another member of the Amazon Rainforest Birds. Toucan can be easily recognized from their long beak. Total 42 species of Toucan live in the world. The different color combination can be observed for different kinds of species.

They consume small birds, insects, and small lizards as diet. Another remarkable behavior of Toucan, they nest in the cavities of trees.

Toucans are socially interactive in nature. Therefore many people kept Toucans as a pet. Another interesting fact is the name “Toucan” comes up from the sound that the bird makes.

Amazonian Manatee

This species can exclusively found in the list of Amazon Rainforest Animals. The species live in freshwater habitat. They do not have any swim bladders, thus they store gases inside them and use it for downing inside the water and rise up.

This animal can be recognized by smooth rubbery skin and face resembles with Pigs. Sharks, Crocodiles, Alligators attacks and eats Manatee. As a herbivorous, it consumes grass, water hyacinths, and water lettuce. Sometimes they consume floating palms too.

Wandering Spider

The Brazilian Wandering Spider is one of the most dangerous and infamous for their killing record. After biting it releases toxins and as a result within 30 minutes victim will die.

The most common symptoms include high or low blood pressure, fast or slow heart rate, abdominal cramping, blurred vision, etc. The burning pain of the site of the bite is another symptom with seating and goosebumps.

This spider is one of the deadliest and poisonous species and can also compare with “Tarantula”. Small kids are the most attacked victims among civilians.

Blue Poison Dart Frog

Another poisonous creature among Amazon Rainforest Animals. It can be easily recognized by Blue Colored Skin and Black spots on it.

They stay near the water body mostly. Mostly wake in the day time. Hopping around and catches beetles, flies, spiders, termites, caterpillars, etc.

As the name suggests it is one of the most poisonous creatures and them infamous for their toxic skin. It makes them one of the deadliest in the world.

Giant Anteaters

This creature is also called “Ant Bear”. It is a famous Rainforest Mammal. They can be recognized easily by their long bushy tail, large size and cylindrical face.

These animals do not have any teeth. They mostly feed ants and termites. They do not attack humans specifically. Anteaters are very shy in nature and try to avoid any kind of interaction with humans.

Emerald Tree Boa

This species of boa is non-venomous. Mostly found on the trees. Fully green colored skin is a notable characteristic of the creature. The adult grows about 6feet of length. And also has highly developed teeth.

A fact describes that this creature has a slow metabolism. Thus it feeds mostly lizards and frogs. For the color of “Emerald Green,” the name is specified as Emerald Tree Boa. Thus it is famous among Reptiles in the Amazon Rainforest.

Green Anaconda

As we are already aware of the name, this species of snake is one of the longest snakes in the world as well as one of the heaviest snakes. Green Anaconda belongs to a non-venomous category of boa that highlighted in the list of Reptiles in the Amazon Rainforest.

As per Guinness Book of World Records, this species has been remarked as the longest among any living animal in the world. It is very difficult to find out the maximum size of Anacondas.

Green Anacondas generally eats various kinds of fish, birds, mammals and other smaller reptiles. When their target is near a water body and pauses to drink water, anaconda strikes and coils around the body of the prey. They don’t eat or swallow until the target dies in suffocation.

Spider Monkey

This species of monkey has a special attribute as its long tail is strong enough to hold the branches of trees. When they hold braches with limbs and long tail, they shaped like “spider”. Hence the name has been given.

The diet of Spider Monkey includes leaves, fruits, nuts, bird eggs, insect larvae, etc. This species has a very aggressive type of nature and tries to avoid any kind of human interaction.

Spider Monkey is one of the critically endangered species in the world. A number of Spider Monkey left in the world is declining day by day. Jaguar is one of the main predators of Spider Monkeys. Other predators are Pumas, Ocelots and Large Snakes.

Red-Bellied Piranha

We are already aware of the name Piranha. One of the most deadly predators among fishes. Several Hollywood movies have been made related to this species. Red-Bellied Piranhas are mostly infamous as man-eater species.

Piranhas have very sharp teeth. Those are very similar to Shark’s teeth. Piranha’s diet consists of small fish, worms, carrion, seeds, etc. Red-Bellied Piranha eats 2.46 grams in each day. However, this species is an endangered in the world nowadays. It kept remark as one the deadliest among Amazon Rainforest Animals for showing cannibalism.

Electric Eel

Electric Eel has a snake-like body. Although it belongs in the category of fish. Generally lives in ponds or murky streams.

It produces over 600 Volts of electricity with the help of abdominal organs. Such organs are made of electrolytes. They use this electricity for self-defense. Crocodiles, Sharks and other predators generally attack Electric Eel.

They consume small fishes, small mammals, etc. However, some humans prefer to eat Electric Eel. Unlike other types of eel, Electric Eel has a shape similar to knife fish.

Harpy Eagle

This is one of the most elegant looking birds. The harpy eagle is also called Royal-Hawk in Brazil. It is one of the largest and most powerful among the eagles.

This carnivorous species likes to hunt down mammals like sloths, monkeys, and opossums. They also consume large birds like macaws and curassows.

For its elegant looks, Harpy Eagle is one of the favorite birds to capture by photographers. Many channel broadcast shows related to Harpy Eagle.

Uakari

Another exotic name from the list of Amazon Rainforest Animals. Uakari belongs to species of monkey. This mammal stays in large numbers inside the Amazon Rainforest. The main identification of Uakari is the red face and hairy brownish body.

Uakari also called Bald Uakari. They are mostly omnivorous. Uakari consumes plants and animals. They also eat seeds, fruits, leaves, and flowers. They have several similarities with humans such as ears and a bald face. Usually, they found in the trees and on the branches roaming around.

Bullet Ant

It is commonly used the term to address Paraponera Clavata. The painful bite of the bullet ant justifies its name. It can be compared with the pain of gunshot.

The painful sting injects venom. It feels like a burning pain. The areas they bite produce rashes. But the venom only causes pain and no death threats is there. The pain of the sting remains a full day. Thus also known as “24-hour ant”.

They consume nectar and small arthropods. Animals generally keep a distance from bullet ant and human does too.

Potoo

This kind of bird normally looks like an Owl. Great Potoos especially looks more like Owl. Great Potoo is one of the largest birds. It can be 19-24 inches in length. The identification of Potoos is dark grayish to dark brown feathers. Yellowish bright eyes pop up from the head.

Potoo eats flying insects, beetles, grasshoppers and termites. They also prefer to eat small birds. Great Potoo has a very distinguished sound. That is one of the identifications of Potoo. However, this species is also endangered category nowadays.

Potoo is not socially interactive. And unlike owls Potoos cannot be treated as a pet.  Potoo is a bird tries to hide. Therefore it is difficult to find them. Many photographers and researchers also search for this bird for long times.

Spectacled Caiman

Spectacled Caiman is another thrilling member among Amazon Rainforest Animals. This species belongs to the crocodile family. It is commonly known as White Caiman also known as Speckled Caiman.  It can grow up to 1.5-2.5 meters and weigh 7-40kgs.

These animals belong to the small and medium-sized crocodilian family. Therefore normally they don’t attack humans. However, they do bite sometimes for self-defense. That can cause trauma and infections. Caimans also found in Florida in great numbers.

The lifespan of Caimans is roughly 30 to 40 years in the wild. And can live up to 60 years at optimum. We can identify them from their long and strong jaws. They consume birds, fish, amphibians, insects and small mammals. One of the dazzling species listed as Amazon Rainforest reptiles.

King Vulture

One of the exotic and largest birds among the Amazon Rainforest Birds. We can identify it with its amazing look and color. This species can be found in large numbers in South America.

They are not predators as they don’t hunt to get food. Their diet includes dead fish, lizards, sloths, monkeys, other small reptiles, wounded animals, and newborn calves.

Conclusion

Therefore from the brief descriptions of different Amazon Rainforest Animals, we can imagine an incredible picture of the Rainforest. Along with the scenic beauty, this incredible variety of species attracts a great number of people to visit the rainforest. Despite having several life risks for wildlife photographers, tourists and researchers this place is a must-visit.

We can observe new channels, the internet or newspapers that people die or gets injured or even lost inside the rainforest. Instead of all the drawbacks people do a study about the rainforest and visit this place at least once in a lifetime.