The great Amazon rainforest Covers an area of 1.4 billion acres in South America. We do not know much about this hidden forest from the civilized world.
There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest. It is only natural that a large ecosystem would develop around such a large forest.
There will be animals of different breeds and colors living there for years. A chameleon from a sci-fi movie or a colorful bird from a fairy tale with two eyes can be visible here.
There is no doubt that this forest of South America is mysterious. As there are very calm animals, there are also scary animals that can put life in danger in this forest.
A daily walk of these animals has kept the Amazon alive for years. There are 427 species of mammals and 78 species of reptiles living in this forest.
More than 400 species of amphibians and about 1300 species of birds also live in the Amazon. Researchers discover new species of animals here almost every day.
A fight for survival or a food fight is a daily occurrence here. Today’s article is about some of the animals that have taken over the Amazon for a long time.
15 Amazing Facts about The Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon rainforest is a wonder of the world without question. There are many spots in this forest where no people step their foot till today. So there are many facts to know about this forest.
1. Jaguar of This Rainforest of South America
Jaguar is a magnificent animal that overpowers its prey in the blink of an eye. But the jaguars of this rainforest are more adept at catching prey than running.
Jaguars target trees that are comfortable and jump on them. A single bite of this killer of killer animal can render a victim unconscious.
They have equal prowess in water and land. Because of this, everyone remains afraid to meet this animal deep into the rainforest.
After birth, the baby jaguar roams around with its mother. As the baby grows up, it learns to hunt and travels alone.
An adult jaguar can weigh up to 100 kg. Anyone can recognize them by their body structure. This body structure acts as camouflage during catching prey.
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Jaguars have big eyes than other animals, making them appear big in proportion to their head size. The iris of a baby jaguar is blue, and the iris of an adult jaguar is sometimes golden to reddish brown.
Many people know jaguars as nocturnal, but recent studies show they also hunt during the day! Many inhabitants of ancient America loved to compare brave men with jaguars.
Evidence of this can be available in their religion, art, and mythology. They craved the entrances to their shrines with jaguar heads to protect the shrines.
Jaguars also have a special place in the Maya civilization. There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest, and the Jaguar is a fact.
2. Glass Frog of This Rainforest
Another fascinating creature of this majestic rainforest is the glass frog. People named it so because of the transparent color of their bodies.
Its internal organs can be visible and almost transparent. It is transparent like glass, but the lower part of the body is green. This majestic creature can hide behind trees due to this.
There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest, and the Glass frog is one of the facts. The glass frog spends most of its life on trees.
They only come down to the ground during the breeding season. But it is hard to spot them unless you look with care. Researchers have identified around 40 species of glass frogs.
But this is still under debate. This type of frog can be up to 3 inches, but in the north, glass frogs can be as large as a human palm.
This type of glass frog is most common in Central and South America. This creature comes out at night, searches for food, and survives by eating small insects in the trees.
During breeding, the glass frog lays its eggs on tree branches and into clean water. After the eggs hatch, they come back up into the stem.
3. Pink Dolphin
The astonishing pink dolphin is one of the many animals in the river and is available in the rainforest. But after birth, the color of the dolphins remains gray.
The pink color comes to the skin as it grows. Locals call it Boto, Bufeo, etc. These magnificent animals live as companions. You may see them in the winding river.
This dolphin species is harmless. Locals love to keep them around, guiding the traveling boats from one side to the other.
Who wants to leave the company of such a mixed animal? But now their number is decreasing. This freshwater animal is a victim of environmental pollution there.
Due to the dam construction, they are also changing their place. Environmentalists say many pink dolphins may soon become extinct due to river pollution.
4. Macaw of the Rainforest
This bird resembles the colors of the sky and is one of the most social animals. The majestic South American rainforest is home to approximately 14 species of macaws.
Their size is the largest among parrots. The presence of different colored feathers all over the body has given it a majestic beauty.
There is a pattern of a strange mixture of red, blue, gold, and green across the body. Like human fingerprints, their color patterns also vary.
Moreover, there are differences in the structural features of the lips. Amazon’s sky-high macaws love to make noise.
This bird flies in the sky together with its mate. More than 20 to 30 birds remain together. Macaws spend their entire lives with their mates.
Their life span is also excellent and lives about 60 years. This social animal can make meaningful noises. Macaws make different sounds to mark their territory, find food, and call their mates.
Although they roam together and share food, Macaws are very wary of their mates! They survive by eating insects and tree leaves.
They are in particular demand in the western world due to their beauty and ability to mimic human speech. So, the movement of bird hunters is often visible in this forest.
Environmentalists fear that the number of birds will decrease due to the sale of birds. There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest, and the Macaw is a fact.
5. The Great Amazon River
The great Amazon is one of the main rivers in South America. It is not only the main river of south America but also the largest river in the world.
It contains more water than a combination of the Nile, the Yangtze, and the Mississippi. Its hydrographic basin irrigates a vast region.
This great river supports thousands of species of living beings. There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest, and it is one of the facts.
It is a freshwater river in South America that flows from the Andes in Peru. The ice provides water from a height of 5,998 meters to Brazil, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
It is approximately 192 kilometers east of the Pacific Ocean. Its hydrographic basin is large than any other river, with 7.05 million square kilometers.
It is almost 40 percent of South America and drains parts of Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. It also drains parts of Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, Peru, and Suriname.
6. Piranha of the rivers of the rainforest
Red-colored piranhas are abundant in the waters of the Amazon River. It is freshwater fish, and because of the red color on the lower abdomen, everyone calls it red piranha.
There are several more colorful piranhas in the Amazon River. They were freshwater animals millions of years ago.
You may see them in the waters of the Amazon, Argentina, Venezuela, North and South America, and Hawaii. More than 30 species of fish are true carnivores.
They are usually 5-10 inches long, but you may find occasional exceptions. Although they are carnivores, the grass is also available in their diet.
Piranhas gather in groups to gather food by attacking insects, dead birds, and other fish in the river. Everyone fears piranha because of its sharp teeth and angry eyes.
It does not remain equipped to devour its prey in an instant. But piranhas never show interest in attacking unless they are hungry.
In several countries, including China, piranhas are objects of beauty. Their aquariums often feature piranhas.
7. Dangerous Black Caiman
The black caiman is the most dangerous animal found in the waters of the Amazon. It looks like other American alligators, but its skin color varies. In size, they are 20 feet tall each.
Sharp teeth are always ready to shred food. In the whole world, even in South America, this crocodile of the Caiman species is the largest. In childhood, they usually survive by hunting fish.
A mature caiman eats whatever is in front of it. Especially piranha and catfish are their daily food. They also come to the surface during floods and prey on mammals.
Black caimans live from 50 to 80 years. There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest, and the Black Caiman is a fact.
8. Largest Tropical Rainforest
One of the facts about this majestic forest is that it is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. It covers an area of 1.4 billion acres in South America.
Rainforests occupy 6% of the total area of land on Earth. More than half of this 6% of the land is this majestic rainforest of South America.
So if this great rainforest faces destruction, the world will face scarcity. Scientists often call tropical rainforests the lungs of the planet.
This type of forest generally draws in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen. So this majestic forest of South America is one of the lungs of our planet earth.
9. Spider Monkey of This Forest
The name of this monkey species is so strange because of its long tail! With the help of this tail, they can jump from one tree to another and keep their balance.
This organ can easily take the weight of the entire body. Due to adaptation, the tail of this species of monkey acts as a separate organ. They have a reputation as social animals.
10. Indigenous People of This Forest
Most of the indigenous people live in established communities along the rivers. They cultivate vegetables and fruits such as cassava, corn, beans, and plantains.
They also hunt fish, using plant-based poisons to stun the fish. Some indigenous peoples hunt with firearms.
Many others use bows and arrows or spears. They also use blowguns with darts impregnated with curare.
Only a few indigenous peoples in this great forest of South America are nomads. They tend to live inside the jungle, away from rivers.
They plant crops but rely mainly on hunting and gathering. Today, most indigenous people in this great forest have access to “Western” healthcare.
They also have access to education. But indigenous people control these initiatives themselves and are often very successful.
11. Food from This Valuable Rainforest
It is one of the most unexpected facts among all the facts about this rainforest of South America. Out of all the food that the world eats today, 80% had its origin in the jungles of the Amazon!
Surprising, right? Fruits such as avocado, grapefruit, and lemons originated here. So did the vegetables as potatoes, sweetcorn, and maize.
You will see food like yucca roots, mushrooms, and cocoa. You will also see edible ferns, Amazonian cinnamon, vanilla, and grapes.
There are also taro, various citruses, bananas, green plantains, and toquilla palms. These leaves are useable to make hats, and it also edible.
12. Sunlight Cannot Reach The Ground
One of the astonishing facts about this great rainforest is no sunlight reach here. Due to the thick cover of the tree tops, it is difficult for the sunlight to peep into the deep amazon.
Less than 1% of the sunlight hitting the area can reach the ground. As a result, the rainforest ground always remains in darkness.
You may lose your path and fail to come back into the civil world if you enter deep into the Amazon. We know that the tropical rainforest is a jungle, and plant growth is so dense in this jungle.
Amazon rainforest is not an alternative to it. High tree canopies prevent sunlight from reaching the ground of this great rainforest.
13. Green Anaconda of This Rainforest of South America
Anaconda is the largest and strongest snake in the world, without any doubt. And this giant snake that reigns in the waters of the Amazon can be a terrifying name for anyone.
This giant snake of amazon can grow up to 18 feet tall and weigh about 170 pounds. An adult anaconda needs to eat an average of 40 pounds of food per day.
Its primary diet consists of food that floats on the water. Also, when an animal comes to drink water, the anaconda usually attacks the animal to hunt.
No matter how big the animal is, the anaconda grips its prey with powerful muscles. Anaconda takes it as its food after confirming the death of the victim.
Anaconda’s diet includes jaguars, crocodiles, and forest animals! There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest, and the Green Anaconda is a fact.
An anaconda lives up to about ten years and continues to grow in size throughout its life. There are countless species of animals in the vast Amazon forest.
Every day new species of animals are being discovered in this mysterious forest. It will continue in the future. But to protect such biodiversity, humans have to come forward.
14. Story of The Name of This Forest
The name Amazon rainforest originates from the Amazon River. People know it as the Rio Amazonas in Spanish and Portuguese.
There are many amazing facts about the amazon rainforest, and the name is a fact. Amazon rainforest has a fascinating story about its name.
You may know about a famous Spanish explorer named Francisco de Orellana. He fought a war with indigenous tribal people of the jungle.
He saw that the women of the tribe fought alongside men. So he named the jungle Amazon, a female warrior tribe mentioned in Greek mythology.
15. Deforestation in This Majestic Forest
Some greedy people in Brazil cut down a record number of trees in the Amazon forest of Brazil in the year 2022.
It is five times the amount of forest destroyed in January 2021. The world knows about the horrific incident through the revelation of data analysis.
A satellite operated by the Brazilian government collected the data. The world community should raise their voice against these acts against nature.
A total of 430 square kilometers of the forest faced deforestation in January this year. This area is seven times bigger than Manhattan in New York.
Christiane Mazzetti from the environmentalist organization Greenpeace Brazil presented the data. It was the data of the Brazilian satellite space agency.
Conclusion
These are the 15 amazing facts about the amazon rainforest. This forest of south America is not an ordinary forest.
This forest plays a significant part in regulating the oxygen and carbon cycles. It produces roughly 6 percent of the oxygen in the world.
The United Nations should take necessary measures to save this forest. People should also raise their voices to save this rainforest of South America.
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