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Boa Constrictors
Boa constrictors include the world’s largest snakes. While boas are nonpoisonous they have been known to coil, hiss and bite. They kill their prey but constriction, a process that suffocates the trapped animal. The boas proceed to swallow their prey whole, which may include animals such as mammals, birds, and lizards. Boas grow to be about 5-6 feet in length, although occasionally one will grow to be much longer. Some of the more common boas found in the Amazon Rainforest include the emerald tree boa, the rainbow boa, and the golden brown anaconda. This predominantly nocturnal animal is just another part of the intricate web of life in the Amazon.
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Dart-Poison Frog
Perhaps one of the most brightly colored animals in the tropical rainforests is the dart-poison frog. Their warning coloration alerts predators to leave them alone. These small frogs are part of the family Dendrobatidae. Dark striped patterns of orange, red or neon yellow are common against a black background. Their skin secretes a highly toxic poison. In fact, some tribes rub their arrow tips on the frogs’ backs in order to produce paralysis and respiratory failure in the animal that they shoot. The brilliantly patterned frogs hunt by day and eat ants and termites. The male’s vocalization sounds more like an insect than an amphibian. The female lays her eggs on the ground and stays with the egg until the tadpole has hatched. She then carefully takes the tadpole to water.
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Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)
Iguanas live in tropical rainforest areas, generally in lower altitudes in areas near water sources, such as rivers or streams. They spend most of their time high in the forest canopy, about 40-50 feet above the ground. Full-grown green iguanas are usually between four and six feet, although they have been known to grow up to seven feet long. This includes the tail, however, which can make up about half the body length and, in addition to its green color, has black stripes. Green iguanas, not surprisingly, are green in color, but can be found in many different shades ranging from bright green, to a dull, grayish-green. Green iguanas lay many eggs, but only 3-10 babies actually survive to be adults. It takes green iguana eggs about 8-10 weeks to hatch, then takes baby iguanas about 2 years to become mature adults.
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Jaguar
Jaguars are generalists, which means they eat a wide variety of foods and live in a variety of areas. They will eat deer, tapirs, peccaries, sloths, capybara, giant otters, fish, birds, reptiles and caiman. They prefer to live alone and they usually hunt at night. The jaguar will typically attack its prey by taking a huge leap and then severing the neck vertebrate. In fact, jaguar comes from the Indian word yaguar, he who kills with one leap.
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Ornate Box Turtle
At about 5 inches long, the ornate box turtle almost looks as if someone took a small paintbrush to it. Yellow dashes radiate from the center of each shell segment down the sides like fine brush strokes. It has a dark brown, domed carapace (upper shell). The plastron (lower shell) is brown with radiating yellow lines. When threatened, box turtles box themselves in. They tuck their head and legs inside the shell while special hinges draw the plastron up tightly against the carapace. This keeps predators away from the soft, fleshy parts of their body. And, while this works as a good defense against raccoons, it doesn't help against the wheels of an automobile.
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Sugar Gliders
Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are tree dwelling, nocturnal creatures often living in groups of 20 to 40. They are soft grey animals with a black stripe running down their back, and a gliding membrane they use much as a flying squirrels does. If high enough, a sugar glider can glide as much as 150 ft. Adult gliders weigh about 120 to 135 grams (about 1.2 lbs), and are about 10 to 14 inches long with about 6 to 8 inches of that being tail. Their tails are used for balance and steering when gliding, but not much else. Gliders have odd qualities, such as opposable fingers and toes. They also make a wide range of sounds such as chirping, barking, chattering, crabbing and other odd sounds that are hard to describe. The Sugar Glider feeds on the gum and sap from trees as well as eating a range of arboreal insects (insects living off trees). This feeding and foraging takes place after dusk.
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The Tapir
This strange-looking mammal is related to the rhinoceros and the horse. Tapirs are nearly hairless with a snout that looks like a shortened elephant trunk. It also has a short, stiff mane. They have a great sense of smell, and use it when choosing which vegetable matter to eat like leaves and fruits. Tapirs are mainly nocturnal and the local people hunt them.
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The Toucan
Because of its large, colorful bill, the toucan is perhaps the most recognizable bird in the tropics. Its name comes from the word tucano, a name used by Topi Indians in Brazil. There are 37 species in the family Ramphastidae, to which the toucan belongs. These birds are mainly found in lowland moist forest and montane cloud forest. They roost and nest in tree cavities. Their bodies range in size from 12”-24”. Toucans are frugivores; they depend heavily on fruit, which they gulp down whole. They may also eat insects, spiders, lizards, snakes, and nestling birds and eggs. Their mutualistic relationship with the plants allows for seed dispersal. Most toucans stay in flocks of 12 or more.
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