Life inside the wet and bustling tropical rainforest is filled with danger.  Cougars and pumas stand ready to pounce; snakes sliver unseen to administer a lethal bite, while exotic birds chirp overhead.  An animal must be both smart and strong to survive in such an environment.  The intense competiton for survival from other species, makes it very interesting.  Many species found in the rainforests are endangered.  Once they disappear, they are  gone forever!

Types and species that inhabit the  Rain Forest:

    Almost 90 percent of the rainforest's animal species are insects.  In 15sq km of rainforest, 100 mammal species may be found.  These animals occupy every available niche, burrows in the forest floor to branches of emergent trees.  Most rainforest mammals are nocturnal or crepuscular, they spend the heat of the day sleeping.  Almost half the mammals of the rainforest are bats.  Some, including gorillas, elephants, tapirs, agoutis and wild pigs are ground-dwellers , but most, like their insect counterparts, live high in treetops in the forest canopy.

    Frog-Eating Bat:

A frog-eating bat relies on echolocation to hunt his prey, frog-eating bats find their prey using a keen sense of hearing.  They listen to the mating calls of the male frogs and, determine whether a given frog is poisonous or would be too large to carry.

Galago:

The Galago, bush baby, is a tree dwelling primate found in the rainforest canopy.  Nocturnally active, the bush baby's large eyes provide excellent night vision for finding food, detecting predators, and moving from trees in the dark.  The bush baby has rounded fingerprints and toetips for grasping and a long bushy tail for balance.

Capybara:

The Capybara spends much time in water and is an excellent swimmer and diver. It has webs between the digits of both its feet and forefeet. When swimming, only its eyes, ears, and nostrils show above the water. Capybaras feed on plant material, their cheek teeth grow through their skin.      

Brazilian Tapir:

 Always found near water, the Brazilian tapir is a good swimmer and diver but also moves fast on land, even over mountainous country.  It is dark brown, this tapir feeds on leaves, buds, and aquatic plants.   The female gives birth to a single spotted and striped young after 390 to 400 days.

Bearded Pig:

            A large pig with an elongated head and a narrow body, the bearded pig has abundant whiskers on its chin and a bristly, protuberance beneath each eye.  These warts are more conspicuous in males than in females.  Fruit, roots, shoots and insect larvae are the bearded pig’s staple foods, it also invades fields of root crops.  After 4 months, females make a nest which give birth to 2 or 3 young.