Exotic Animals In The Rainforest

By: Erik Weber

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.

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 in the high canopy of the rainforest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Made ByErik Weber