Most Endangered Species in Amazon Rainforest
Man is hell bent on destroying the environment in the name of ‘development’ without realizing that that it’s leading to the extermination of several species from our forests. It has been stated that over half of the globe’s animals are living in rain forests. With the fast disappearance of these amazon rainforests several of these endangered animals. Animals & plants need a specific environment so that they can stay alive- there needs to be sufficient water, food & shelter…more importantly there must be an equilibrium b/w prey & predator, so that the population doesn’t explode or vanish!
The chief reasons for species becoming endangered are:
- Low levels of inherent variability
- Destruction of ecosystem
- Poor dispersion ability
- Pollution
- Requirement for large area
- Hunting & fishing
- Population being concentrated
- Exotic species being introduced
- Global warming
- Migration over long distances
Given under is a list of the endangered species in the Amazon rainforest:
- Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey:
These monkeys are somewhat the size of a squirrel & have silky & long reddish-brown colored fur. They are mostly seen in the rainforest lowland of Brazil (Atlantic coast). These creatures eat flowers, fruits, insects, gum & nectars from plants, snails, frogs, bird eggs & lizards. They’re the most endangered species & also the tiniest monkeys. Only 800 (approx.) of such monkeys are today alive.
- Gorilla:
Gentle, peaceful & shy are the words that describe gorillas. Gorillas in the mountains & eastern lowland areas are totally vegetarian & eat leaves, fruits, & stems like bamboo. On the other hand, gorillas in the Western lowlands eat small invertebrates & insects apart from plants. It’s anticipated that approximately 80% of gorilla population’s extinct, because of the destruction of their habitat, humans hunting them down & diseases as a result of Ebola virus.
- Poison Dart Frog:
These frogs are found in tropical rainforests & can be seen close to water sources like ponds or streams. Out of the 234 species that is known to human of poisonous dart frogs 28% are endangered. The species is deadly, yet beautiful and has blue colored skin with black colored spots on the head. These frogs live on termites, ants, fruit flies & crickets.
- Manatee:
They are very gentle animals that eat plants & are sometimes called “sea cows”. They’ve got a thick-skin which is streamlined & their bodies are almost hairless with forelimbs modified like flippers. Their tails are horizontally-flattened & enlarged. In the United States, only 2,500 of this species are left. They eat semi-aquatic & aquatic plants like turtle grass, manatee grass, algae, water hyacinths & mangrove leaves.
- Harpy Eagle:
The Harpy Eagle is found in the tropical lowlands & rainforests of South & Central South America, Mexico (south eastern) & Bolivia, Argentina (northern) & southern Brazil. This species prefer living in huge areas where there is continuous forests. The Harpy eagle feeds on animals living in trees, such as monkeys, sloths, opossums as well as certain birds & reptiles. This species is considered as one amongst the most powerful & also the largest of the species of eagles on this planet. The harpy eagle can fly with a prey that weighs close to one half its own body weight. Also, these birds bring green, fresh twigs as well as branches & keep them in their nests to help get rid of & eradicate their nests from parasites & insects. Furthermore, this little collection of greenery also provides a nice cool environment within the nest! This species is considered endangered and hunting, loss of their habitat as well as damage of their nesting sites are a few problems that this species is facing.
- Orangutan:
The term orangutan plainly means ‘person from the forest’. This species lives in dense tropical rainforests in islands like Sumatra & Borneo. These creatures have a heavy body, almost human-like, with extremely long arms & grasping feet & hands. Furthermore, the orangutan has skin that’s dark grey in color & red colored hair. The orangutan feeds on leaves, tropical fruits, shoots, bark, eggs & insects. Extremely intelligent beings, the orangutans may live in places where they get access to plenty of water & food. It is believed that the Orangutan makes a simple nest each night where it sleeps, by bending the branches together and making a platform out of it, sometimes also adding a roof above this nest so as to stay sheltered & protected from the rains. The species is believed to be highly endangered and some of the reasons are loss & destruction of their habitat, hunting & poaching for trading of wild animals. The population of orangutans has gone down approximately by 80% in the last seventy-five years.
- Jaguar:
Jaguars are the sole members of the panther family that are found in America & also happen to be the biggest cats on this continent. Jaguars are said to have been found once in USA (southern states) down till the South America tip. However, in today’s date they’re only found in Central as well as northern parts of South American continent. You can find a jaguar mostly in lowland rainforests in the Amazon Basin, as well as the dry woodlands and grasslands. Jaguars prey on large-sized domestic livestock like horses & cattle, Brocket deer, Marsh deer, different Peccary species, larger rodents like Paca, Agouti & Capybara, reptiles, monkeys that live in lower branches, fish, large caiman & turtles. It’s estimated that as of today, there are only close to 15,000 jaguars that are alive in conservation as well as the wild. It is poaching that is the biggest threat to this beautiful animal and their complete extinction will be because of poachers who’re hunting this cat down for the fur.
- Gray Mouse:
This is yet another interesting species from the Amazon rainforests and happens to be the species that is the most endangered when we talk of Amazon rainforests.
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