Exotic, rare and incredible, these are just a few words to describe the rainforest animals in our world. Guarded from the eye by thick foliage and supported by an incredible ecosystem like the rainforest, animals have colorful bodies and unique characteristics that a very few other animals show. Unfortunately, dwindling rainforest means these animals are also becoming rarer and rarer.
Scientists have estimated that rainforest animals make up almost 50% of the animal species in the world. It means that in a small and densely populated area, there are as many different species of these animals as is there in the rest of the world. It is quite mind boggling to think of and even more amazing to watch. But of course not all rainforests animals can be easily spotted. Take for instance the rainforest chameleon. It can blend with any color in the rain forest making it almost impossible to spot. And then you have the red eyed tree frog, which looks like a devil in a green suit. All you can see of it through the leaves is the red eye.
Rainforest animals have unique qualities since these forests have only two seasons - the rainy season and the dry season. The constant rain makes the animals adapt differently to eating, hunting, procreating etc. The food chain is also hugely different as there aren't any clear predators. Take for instance a jaguar. Lithe, streamlined and able to use the dense forest to its advantage it is an incredible predator in the rainforest. Until of course it accidentally meets an Anaconda or a Boa Constrictor, each capable of crushing this mighty predator like match sticks.
But the fight between the predators and the prey is much more intense among the smaller of the rainforest animals. Especially the weak have incredible defensive systems that can be found only in the rainforests. Take for instance the Monarch Butterfly. It is colorful and poisonous to the predators that eat them. So, in a move unique to rainforest species only, the monarch butterfly's defence is its colorful body. Once a predator dies after eating this butterfly, the rest stay away from this particular color of prey.
Due to the rich ecosystem, most rainforest animals are herbivores then carnivores. On the other hand you have plants that are rather carnivorous. Compared to that, the larger predators like leopards, tigers, alligator, and crocodiles all have a moderate population in the forests. And then you have small seemingly harmless rainforest animals like poisonous frogs, spiders, and insects etc which are the more voracious predators in the forest.
Being a self contained ecosystem, all rainforest animals play their own part in the maintenance of the ecosystem. This kind of harmony is rarely to be seen outside of rainforests, as outside interference from humans have fractured most other eco-systems. Unfortunately, the continuous threat from encroaching farmland and illegal logging is cutting into these rainforests and the rainforest animals are now entering the endangered species lists all over the world. We still have time to save the rest of the rainforest animals by taking steps to safeguard their unique world.
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