Animals

    Tropical forests provide animals with food all year round. There are always flowers, fruits, leaves and nuts for animals to eat. But much of this plant food is high in the trees. Birds are able to fly to reach their food. Many of them have developed special ways of getting their food. Toucans, for example, have long beaks. They can use these to reach the fruits growing on thin branches.

    Brocket Deer, also known as forest deer, any of four species of a small, stocky deer found in rain forests and dense thickets from southeastern Mexico to northern Argentina. The brocket deer has slender legs and an arched back. It grows simple spike antlers that do not branch out, carrying them for a year and then shedding them. The red brocket, found in every country of Central and South America except Chile, is the most common of these deer. It measures about 95 to 130 cm  in length with a tail about 10 to 15 cm long, stands about 60 to 70 cm  at the shoulders, and weighs about 16 to 21 kg . The red brocket’s coat is a dark reddish-brown. The brocket deer is most active in the early morning and just after sunset, when it grazes on grasses, browses on vines, and eats fruits that have fallen to the ground. It is a good swimmer. The brocket deer is unsociable and generally lives alone, except when mating.

    Dwarf Lemur, common name for four species of primitive, tree-living primates found only on the island of Madagascar. These small lemurs are unusual among primates in that they enter a dormant state called hibernation to survive the dry winter months in May through September, when food is scarce. Dwarf lemurs are closely related to mouse lemurs. Two of the four species, the greater dwarf lemur and the hairy-eared dwarf lemur, live in tropical rain forests along the east coast of Madagascar. The other two species, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur and the fork-marked dwarf lemur, inhabit drier forests in the north and west of the island. All four species feed at night; during the day, they sleep in nests that are made of twigs and leaves and located in treetops or hollow tree trunks.  Dwarf lemurs range in length from 13 to 26 cm, not including the long, skinny tail, which can more than double the overall length. Like other animals that are nocturnal, or active at night, they have large eyes that are highly sensitive to light. The fur is gray or reddish-brown with markings that vary by species. The fork-marked dwarf lemur, for example, has a dark stripe along the back that splits on the top of the head to join dark rings around both eyes. Like other lemurs, dwarf lemurs have four front teeth in the lower jaw that are tilted forward in a dental comb used to groom the soft, woolly fur.  Dwarf lemurs eat fruit, flowers, nectar, tree gums, insects, insect secretions, and pollen. They build up fat at the base of the tail to help them through the dry season when food is scarce. This build up is especially noticeable in the fat-tailed dwarf lemur. The mating season occurs in October, and twins or triplets are born about 60 days after mating. In some species newborns are able to cling to the mother’s abdomen, while in other species the mother must carry them in her mouth. Later, young dwarf lemurs ride on their mother’s back, eventually becoming self-sufficient after about six months. The father is not involved in raising the young.  The natural rain forest habitat of the dwarf lemur is quickly disappearing to supply farmland for the impoverished people of Madagascar. The fork-marked lemur is currently on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species; the hairy-eared dwarf lemur is listed as critically endangered .

 Bats:   Bats are found in all habitable regions of the earth, from the cold, treeless plains of northern Canada to the rich tropical rain forests of Borneo. The majority of species occupy tropical habitats. Their long-range flying abilities have enabled some species to colonize remote islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including Hawaii.

    Galago: common name for any of several small, tree-dwelling, primates of the loris family. Galagos are commonly called bush babies because their cry resembles that of a human infant.  Galagos are found in forests and savannas of Africa, from the Sahara Desert to the southern tip of the continent. As nocturnal tree-dwellers, Galagos sleep in nests or holes in trees during the day and swing and jump among branches while searching for food at night. Galagos eat many foods, including fruit, leaves, tree gums, insects, bird eggs, and small birds. One species eats ground prey, including grasshoppers, slugs, and beetles.  The smallest Galago species, Demidoff’s Galago, also called the dwarf Galago, is about 12 cm  long, not counting the tail, which adds another 17 cm ; it weighs about 60 g . The largest species, the thick-tailed Galago, is about 32 cmlong, with a 45 cm  tail; it weighs almost 2 kg.  Galagos have soft, woolly hair in shades of gray or brown. Like other nocturnal animals, their eyes and ears are quite sensitive. Their brown eyes appear very large in proportion to their small, round heads; in daylight, the pupils become vertical slits, like a cat’s. The ears are large, thin, and independently movable—Galagos fold their ears lengthwise close to their heads when resting and while leaping through trees. Their strong hands and feet, well adapted for grasping branches, have flat nails rather than claws. Their hind legs are longer and stronger than their forelegs, with elongated anklebones that enable them to leap vertically, like a tiny kangaroo. As agile jumpers, they can escape would-be predators with a quick series of leaps.

    The Golden toads: While most toads are camouflaged with brownish or greyish coloration, these golden toads of Costa Rica are an exception. Only the males of the species are bright gold; females are more neutral in color. Here males await females at the breeding pool.