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We have seen tons of cool animals in the Peruvian rainforest. The great
wealth of sun, water, nutrients and fresh air has made the Amazon rainforest
alive with more life than any other place on earth. But life is not easy
in the jungle; it is a world of endless life-or-death competition for
survival. Trees and plants compete for sunlight and soil, while monkeys
and macaws compete for the trees' fruits. The constant pressures of survival
have made life forms develop unique natural advantages or specialized
adaptations.
It seems as though every living organism in the jungle is highly adapted
and most species are interdependent (known as mutualism). This means that
they create a relationship where they help each other survive. For example,
fire ants protect the Cecropia tree from vines and predators, and in return
receive a perfect nest site. During the flood, many trees rely on certain
fish to eat their fruit and at the same time, the fish disperse the plant's
seeds for the coming dry season.
Several fish species have developed pectoral fins that they can use to
walk across the forest floor when the floodwaters return to the river
channel. The flexible river dolphins use sonar to locate their prey. Fish
and many insects use their sense of smell to find food sources. Birds
use keen senses of sight and hearing. Some animals, like monkeys, are
arboreal (living in the trees); they use natural highways over 100 feet
above ground. Arboreal animals have developed great balance, strong hands,
feet or claws, and some use a prehensile tail as another way to hold on.
Pacaya Samaria National Reserve is a very bio-diverse region- meaning
many different species of living things live there. Thanks to the help
of our guides, Ruben and Warren, we've seen and recorded over 150 species
of mammals, reptiles, birds and insects in the Pacaya Samaria. Keep in
mind the most common defensive tactic, used by most animals in the rainforest,
is simply to hide- so we were probably seen by many more creatures than
listed here.
Patrick
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Arachnids
Wandering Spider
Black Tarantula
Wolf Spider
Golden-Webbed Orb Spider
Fishes
Red-Bellied Piranha
Black Piranha
White Piranha
Pacu
Armored Catfish
Boquichico
Sabalo
Parlometa
Carachama
Eel
Insects- too many to name them all, here are some of the
interesting insects
Leaf
Cutter Ants
Bullet
Ant- nailed Warren
Morpho Butterfly
Argent Sulfer Butterfly
Stick Bug
Tortoise Beetle
Fire Ants- stung Dave
Mammals
White-Fronted Capuchin
Brown-Fronted Capuchin
Common Woolly Monkey
Squirrel
Monkey
Southern Tamandua
Pink River
Dolphin
Gray River Dolphin
Giant River Otter
Howler
Monkey
Dusky Titi Monkey
South American Coati
Tayra
Three-Toed Sloth
Paca
Black-Monked Saki Monkey
Armadillo
Tapir
Collared Peccary
White-Lipped Peccary
Black Squirrel
Owl or Night
Monkey
Saddleback Tamarind
Insect Bat
Fruit Bat
Long-Nosed Bat
Reptiles and Amphibians
Common Water Snake
Green Caiman Lizard
Clown Tree Frog
Black
Caiman
Spectacled
Caiman
Side-Necked Turtle
Golden Tegu Lizard
Forest Whiptail Lizard
King Toad
Smoky Jungle Frog
Giant Gladiator Tree Frog
Polka-Dotted Tree Frog
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Crustaceans
River Crab
Spotted Fresh Water Sting Ray
Churo Snail
Birds
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Horned Screamer
Macaws
Red-Bellied Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Red-and-Green Macaw
Blue-and-Yellow Macaw
Chesnut-Fronted Macaw
Striated Heron
Capped Heron
Rufescent-Tiger Heron
White-Necked Heron
Ringed Kingfisher
Green-and-Rufous Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Amazon Kingfisher
Hoatzin
Greater Ani
Smooth-Billed Ani
Great Black Hawk
Black Colored Hawk
Road-Side Hawk
Limpkin
White-Winged Swallow
Southern-Rough-Winged Swallow
Sunbittern
Yellow-Headed Caracara
Black Caracara
Red-Throated Caracara
Black Vulture
Greater Yellow-Headed Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Cormorant
Anhinga
Toucans
White-Throated Toucan
Yellow-Reached Toucan
Ivory-Billed Toucan
Wattled Jacana
Yellow-Billed Tern
Large-Billed Tern
Muscovy Duck
Plumbeous Kite
Gray-Headed Kite
Ruddy Pigeon
Laughing Falcon
Cobalt-Winged Parakeet
Dusky-Headed Parakeet
Pui Parakeet
Canary-Winged Parakeet
Lineated Woodpecker
Crinsom-Crested Woodpecker
Yellow-Tufted Woodpecker
Yellow-Rumped Woodpecker
Speckled Chacalaca
Plum-Throated Cotinga
Chestnut-Eared Aracary
White-Cheeked Jacamar
Tropical Kingbird
Red-Capped Cardinal
Lesser Kiskadee
Greater Kiskadee
Forked-Tail FlyCatcher
Masked-Crinsom Tanager
Yellow-Bellied Jacnis
Blue-Black Grassquit
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