Animals of Amazon Rainforest

                                

                             
                                  Strange Facts About The Largest Forest Of The World 

                    Amazon Rainforest

 

1.      The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Covering over 5.5 million square kilometres, it’s so big that the UK and Ireland would fit into it 17 times!
2.      The Amazon is found in South America, spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
3.      Running through the north of the rainforest is the Amazon River — a network of many hundreds of waterways that stretches 6,840km.
4.      Although there is some debate, most scientists agree that the Amazon is the world’s second longest river after the River Nile.
5.      In 2007, a man named Martin Strel swam the entire length of the Amazon river! To complete his splashing jungle journey, Martin powered through the water for up to ten hours a day for 66 days!
6.      Around 400-500 indigenous Amerindian tribes call the Amazon rainforest home. It’s believed that about fifty of these tribes have never had contact with the outside world!
7.      Although virtually all have been affected by the outside world. Instead of wearing traditional garb of loin cloths, most Amerindians wear western clothes, and many use metal pots, pans, and utensils for everyday life. Some groups make handicrafts to sell to tourists, while others make routine trips to the city to bring foods and wares to market.
8.      The Amazon is estimated to have 16,000 tree species and 390 billion individual trees
9.     The 390 billion trees across the Amazon rainforest locks up massive amounts of carbon in their leaves, branches, and trunks. A 2007 study published in Global Change Biology estimated the the forest stores some 86 billion tons of carbon or more than a third of all carbon stored by tropical forests worldwide.
10.      Nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest is found in Brazil.
11.      The Amazon is thought to have 2.5 million species of insects.
12.     70 percent of South America's GDP is produced in areas that receive rainfall or water from the Amazon.
13.      An important characteristic of rainforests is apparent in their name. Rainforests lie in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) where intense solar energy produces a convection zone of rising air that loses its moisture through frequent rainstorms. Rainforests are subject to heavy rainfall, at least 80 inches (2,000 mm) — and in some areas over 430 inches (10,920 mm) — of rain each year.
14.      Due to the thickness of the canopy (the top branches and leaves of the trees), the Amazon floor is in permanent darkness. In fact, it’s so thick that when it rains, it takes around ten minutes for the water to reach the ground!

Click on this Link to Watch Full

 Video About Amazon Rainforest

DANGERS IN AMAZON RAINFOREST

Animals of the Amazon Rainforest

1. Green Anaconda Snake

Reaching lengths of over 30 feet and weighing more than 500 pounds, it’s the largest snake in the world. The good news is that they are not venomous! But instead, they use their formidable muscle power to constrict and suffocate their prey before swallowing whole without chewing it.

2. Red-bellied Piranha

This fearsome-looking fish has a reputation for “feeding frenzies” whereby large schools swarm around prey stripping all the flesh from the bones within a matter of minutes. There are plentiful stories of large mammals and even humans being targeted and eaten alive in the water, as depicted in several well-known Hollywood movies. With its razor-sharp triangular-shaped teeth, powerful jaw, and fearsome-looking red eyes, the piranha certainly looks pretty terrifying.

3. Electric Eel

Not actually an eel, but a type of knife fish, this shocking creature is capable of generating up to 600 volts through its elecrocyte cells, five times more electricity than in the standard wall socket. It usually only uses small amounts of electricity to stun its prey of choice, but when feeling threatened it is capable of releasing stronger and multiple shocks that can endure minutes on end. Residing in the murky depths of the Amazon River, the electric eel feasts on invertebrates, fish, and small mammals. There have been numerous reported incidents between humans and electric eels often involving unpleasant and unexpected shocks. The electric eel is largely avoided by locals as it can still shock up to 8 hours after its death.

4. Amazonian Giant Centipede

Another particular creepy-looking inhabitant of the Amazon jungle is this giant centipede, the largest centipede in the world, growing to lengths of up to 30 centimeters and sporting no less than 46 legs. These creatures can be spotted running swiftly along the forest ground or skillfully negotiating tree trunks and branches in search of prey, which can range from insects, lizards and birds, to mice, frogs, snakes, and even bats. They are equipped with a pair of modified legs terminating in sharp claws near the head which they use to grab unsuspecting victims, penetrate the skin, and inject a highly toxic venom that is fatal to most small animals. Whilst not lethal to humans, if you are unlucky enough to get bitten you’ll certainly know about it as the poison triggers symptoms of localized pain, swelling, fever, and weakness.

5. Bull Shark

Believe it or not, the Amazon is also home to the world’s most dangerous shark. The bull shark is huge and very hefty, spanning lengths of up to 11 feet and approaching 700 pounds. It’s capable of adapting to both salt and fresh water environments and has been spotted as far upstream as Iquitos in Peru. They possess enormously powerful jaws and will gorge on just about anything, from sloths to dolphins, turtles to birds, and even members of their own species. The bull shark is aggressive and highly territorial and is thought to be responsible for the majority of coastal attacks on humans due to its preference for shallow waters. Thankfully, it is still a relatively rare occurrence to encounter a shark in the Amazon River.

6. Arapaima

Nicknamed the ‘dinosaur fish of the amazon’, the arapaima is one of the largest carnivorous freshwater fish in the world, spanning 2 meters on average and coming in at over 100kg, though there are also cases measuring a whopping 15 feet. It feeds primarily on fish and crustaceans but is also partial to striking down small land animals who happen to be near the shore. Its tough armor-like scales make it immune to piranhas, whilst a powerful set of jaws make it a pretty fearsome predator all around.

Unlike many of the creatures profiled in this list, they don’t pose a threat to humans. In fact, being an important food source for indigenous tribes, they are vulnerable to being hunted by people, so much so that the Brazilian government has banned commercial fishing of the arapaima. However, it still pays to be wary as this fish is thought to be the inspiration behind a local Amazonian legend that refers to an evil spirit said to inhabit the body of a huge scaly fish capable of leaping out of the water and knocking out fishermen in a torpedo-style attack.

8. Poison Dart Frogs

   These brilliantly colored creatures guys are some of the most pleasing on the eye in the rainforest, but their decorative bodies should be taken as a warning to stay away. They secrete a powerful poison through their skin, and enough of it can cause heart failure within minutes. The golden poison dart frog is considered one of the most toxic animals on Earth, potent enough to kill up to ten humans!

10. Assassin Bugs

True to their name, these bugs can sneakily kill with ease. They possess an organ protruding from their mouths, which they use to inject poisonous saliva into their prey, melting their organs from the inside out. These bugs are mainly dangerous to other insects in the Amazon, including ones much larger than they are, but don’t pose as big of a threat to humans. One subfamily, the kissing bugs, is mainly harmful due to the Chagas disease they transmit, killing about 12,500 per year.

11. Brazilian Wandering Spider

One of the most venomous types of spiders on the planet, these guys wander the rainforest grounds at night in search of food. If you happen to encounter one, their venom can cause intense pain but is treatable. If left untreated, it will eventually lead to paralysis and trouble breathing.  There are eight species of this spider, all of which can be found lurking in the Amazon.

12. Bullet Ant

Over an inch long, these ants can deliver a record-breaking sting of 4.0+ on the Schmidt’s sting pain index, so powerful that victims often compare the pain to that of being shot, hence its name. The pain is all-consuming and can continue for up to 24 hours. The reason is the bullet ant injects venom that causes temporary paralysis to the area, though thankfully not poisonous or fatal. The Brazilian Sateré-Mawé tribe famously use bullet ant stings as part of their ancestral initiation rites to become warriors.