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WILDLIFE and VEGETATION |
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WILDLIFE
Common Large Mammals:
Llamas Jaguar Tapir Giant Anteater Capybara Peccary Giant River Otter
Small Mammals:
Kinkajou Paca Agouti Squirrel Ocelot Armadillo
Other Animals:
Caiman Cormorant Piranha Macaw Ibis Ants
VEGETATION
Common Large Mammals
LLAMA
Llamas in the Peruvian altitude
Llamas belong to the family of Camelidae.
Llama, common name for a long-eared South American ruminant that is domesticated from the guanaco. The llama stands 0.9 to 1.3 m (3 to 4.3 ft) high at the shoulder and is usually white, blotched with black and brown; sometimes it is pure white or pure black. The female llama gives birth to one or rarely two offspring once every two years.
Male llamas have been used as beasts of burden in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes mountains for more than 4,000 years. The surefooted animals can carry as much as 91 kg (200 lb) for 12 hours a day, but they are not ridden. When weary or overloaded, llamas lie down and refuse to move, often spitting at their driver. The females are raised for their flesh, which tastes somewhat like mutton, and for their milk, which is used extensively in western South America. The meat of the males is tough and rarely eaten. The long, coarse wool of both sexes is used in the weaving of textiles, and the skins are tanned for leather. Llama tallow is used for making candles. The long hair is braided and used for rope, and the dried excrement is used as fuel.
Alpaca
Vicuña
Alpaca and vicuna are related to Llama animals.
Jaguars belong to the family Felidae and is classified as Panthera
onca.
Jaguar, largest and most powerful of the American members of the cat
family.
The jaguar can be found between the southern United States and the northern
Argentina, but it is especially abundant in the dense forests of Central America
and Brazil. A mature jaguar is 112 to 185 cm (44 to 73 in) long, excluding the
tail, which is between 45 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) in length, and stands 60 cm (2
ft) high at the shoulder. Its coat is a rich yellow to rusty-red, and
occasionally black, spotted with large black rosettes, each consisting of a
circle of spots surrounding a central spot. The head and body are massive, and
the legs are relatively short and thick. Jaguar is an skilled climber and an
excellent swimmer, the animal feeds on a wide range of arboreal, terrestrial,
and aquatic animals. Although feared, the jaguar rarely attacks humans. In the
pre-Columbian civilizations of Peru and Central America, it was worshipped as a
god. Today the jaguar is extensively hunted because of ranchers' claims that it
attacks cattle, although studies indicate that such attacks are infrequent.
Jaguars appear
to mate in any season, although in some areas they may mate seasonally. After a
gestation period of 93 to 105 days, the female bears one to four cubs, which
remain with the mother until about the age of two. Jaguars have lived up to 22
years in captivity.
Tapirs belong to the genus Tapirus and the family of Tapiridae.
Tapir, mammal with a
bulky body, short legs, a short tail, and a head characterized by a short,
flexible proboscis, small eyes, and erect ears. The Tapirs live in dense forests
and grassy areas of Central and South America and Asia. When they are
threatened, they flee to the water or into dense underbrush for safety; their
squeal seems to be a means of communication with other members of the family
group in the thick foliage of the rainforest. They feed on leaves, fruit, and
other vegetation. The only enemies of tapirs, in addition to humans, are
members of the cat family. Habitat loss, due to tree felling, and hunting have brought the
two species found in the northern Andes and Panama to the edge of extinction.
Anteaters belong to the family of Myrmecophagidae. The giant anteater is classified as Myrmecophaga tridactyla.
Anteater, common name
for any of four insect-eating mammals of Mexico, Central America, and South America, which have a long
head with a long, tubular mouth and long tongue, but no teeth. The giant
anteater, weighing up to 39 kg (86 lb), is the largest species. It lives in
forests and swampy areas and on open plains, and is mainly diurnal (active
during the day) in areas where there are few people (but is nocturnal in densely
populated areas). The coarse coat is grey, with a white-bordered black stripe on
each shoulder, and the tail is long and bushy. The front claws, used to tear
open termite mounds and for defence, are so long that they are tucked under, and
the animal walks on its knuckles. The long tongue flicks rapidly in and out of
the small mouth opening, scooping up termites or other insects on its sticky
surface.
Capybaras belong to the family of Hydrochaeridae.
Capybara, also known as carpincho,
is considered to be the largest living rodent. It resembles a large guinea pig. The capybara grows to a length
of about 1 m (39 in), weighs about 45 kg (100 lb), is semi-aquatic in its
habits, and is a vegetarian. The rodent runs clumsily because of slightly webbed
feet, but swims well and can remain underwater for several minutes. A plump
animal, with coarse, thin, brownish hair, the capybara is easily tamed. It lives
in pairs or families along the banks of rivers and lakes in South America.
A nocturnal wild pig
Peccary belongs to the family of Tayassuidae.
Peccary is confined to
the south-western United States south to central Argentina. Three species are
known. The collared peccary is wide ranging; it roams in groups of 2 to 50
animals, feeding on insects, roots, fruit, and reptiles. It is 0.8 to 1.1 m (21
to 31 ft) long, 44 to 69 cm (17 to 27 in) high at the shoulder, weighs about 14
to 40 kg (31 to 88 lb), and has grizzled grey-black or brown-black hair with a
white neck band. The white-lipped peccary is a less common, slightly larger
forest dweller that runs in herds of up to several hundred individuals. The
Chacoan peccary, with longer legs, ears, and snout, was originally described
from subfossil remains, and was thought to have become extinct some 11,000 years
ago. A live animal was subsequently discovered in Argentina, and was first
reported in scientific literature in 1975.
Otters belong to the family of Mustelidae.
Otter, aquatic carnivore found worldwide
except in Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. In the common species
distributed throughout Europe and Asia, the body may attain a length of 75 cm
(30 in), with a tail half as long as the body. The head is broad and flat, with
short, rounded ears; the blunt snout bears lateral, slit-like nostrils. The ears
and nostrils can be closed when the animal is diving. The fur is chestnut, the
legs are short but strong, and the webbed feet have claws. A similar species is
found in North America.
Otters live in dens,
usually by the side of water and with an underwater entrance to the den. They
feed on fish and small mammals, birds, frogs, and crayfish. The animals breed in the spring, and authorities have reported a
gestation period of about 61 days for the species already mentioned.
KINKAJOU
Kinkajous belong to the family Procyonidae.
Kinkajou, small
tropical American mammal
related to the raccoon
and distinguished by its long, prehensile (grasping) tail. It is nocturnal and
arboreal, filling roughly the same ecological niche at night that the American monkey occupies by day. The
kinkajou attains a body length of about 40 to 76 cm (16 to 30 in); its tail is
39 to 57 cm (15 to 22 in) long. It has a round head, a short face, and a slender
body covered with soft, yellowish-brown woolly fur. Gentle in disposition, it
can sometimes be tamed as a pet. It feeds on insects, small birds and mammals,
birds’ eggs, fruit, and honey (it is sometimes called honey bear). Kinkajous
are mostly solitary, but mates may travel together. The female produces a single
offspring, rarely two, in the spring or summer. The lifespan is believed to be
about 20 years.
Pacas belong to the family of Dasyproctidae.
Pacas are two species
of large rodents found in forests from
Mexico to central South America. The heavyset paca measures up to 80 cm (31 in)
long and weighs up to 12 kg (26 lb). Its large head has bony cheek structures,
and its brown fur is marked by white spots arranged in lines from front to rear.
The animal lives in burrows near streams or marshy areas, and the usual litter
of one or two young is born during the winter or early spring. Sometimes a
second litter is born in July. The paca's flesh is considered delicious, and the
possibility has been raised of breeding the animal for food.
Agoutis belong to the family of Dasyproctidae.
Agouti, common name
for several rodents
found in forested regions from southern Mexico south to Paraguay and Brazil, and
in the Caribbean region. They are short-eared, have essentially no tail, and
have a soft coat of golden-brown or reddish hair, sometimes speckled, with the
fur colour varying over the body. The larger types of agoutis range from 42 to
62 cm (16 to 24 in) in head and body length; two types of agoutis, also called
acouchis, are a quarter of the size. At first glance an agouti resembles a guinea pig, but it has slender,
comparatively long legs and can run swiftly. Agoutis live in underground dens,
from which they usually emerge during the day, although in areas of intense
human activity they may be nocturnal. They also sometimes sleep in the hollow of
a log, in dense vegetation, or among tree roots. They feed on green leaves,
roots, and fallen fruit; one species also eats crabs. Esteemed for their flesh
and disliked in farming areas because of their destructiveness, agoutis are
hunted and killed in great numbers. Agoutis reproduce rapidly, however; a female
usually has one or two litters of one to three young each year. Born open-eyed
and fully furred, a young agouti can run at birth and is more independent than
most other baby mammals.
Squirrels belong to the family Sciuridae.
Squirrel, common name
for many rodents belonging to the same family as the woodchuck (see Marmot), chipmunk, and prairie dog. The tree squirrels,
characterized by their long bushy tails and agility among the trees, and ground
squirrels include about 230 species. The so-called flying squirrels include
about 43 species. Squirrels range in size from the pygmy squirrels of Africa,
which are about 13 cm (5 in) long, to the giant squirrels of Asia, which are
about 90 cm (36 in) long. The animals are in all parts of the world except
Australia.
Ocelots belong to the family of Felidae and is classified as Leopardus pardalis.
Ocelot is a mammal of the cat family found from Texas to
Argentina. The ocelot, which somewhat resembles the domestic cat, attains a body
length of about 55 to 100 cm (22 to 39 in) and a tail length of about 30 to 45
cm (12 to 18 in). The back of the animal is tinted light yellow to reddish to
grey and is marked with black stripes and spots. The belly is usually white,
marked with black. Ocelots are good climbers and hunt in forests at night for
their food, which consists of birds, fish, snakes, lizards, and small mammals.
One to four kittens are produced in a litter. The animals have been hunted
nearly to extinction for their pelts, and conversion of forest to agricultural
land has also contributed to the decreased numbers of this species.
Armadillos belong to the family of Dasypodidae.
Armadillo is an
armoured mammal, related to anteaters and sloths. The peba, or nine-banded
armadillo, is found in South and Central America and southern North America. The
six-banded armadillo; the three-banded armadillo, or apar; and the giant
armadillo are among the South American species. They vary in size from the giant
armadillo, which is almost 1 m (about 3 ft) long excluding the tail, to species
only about 15 cm (6 in) long when fully grown.
The layer of horn and
bony plates that protect the animal against predators is formed by the
ossification of the greater part of the skin. In some species even the tail is
protected. Most of the species except the giant armadillo, the shoulders and
rump are each covered by a single large shield, and the middle of the body is
covered by transverse bands that are moveable and articulated, so that the
animal can contract and curl up to cover its unprotected abdomen; the
three-banded armadillo can roll itself into a tight ball.
The armadillo has
short legs but it moves relatively quickly, and with its strong feet and thick
claws it can burrow with considerable speed. It is nocturnal in habit and feeds
on insects, worms, and sometimes carrion. The flesh is palatable and is used for
food. The survival of several species, including the giant and the three-banded
armadillos, is now in doubt because of hunting and encroachment on habitat and
they are among the Endangered Species.
CAIMAN
Caimans belong to the family of Crocodylidae.
Caiman or Cayman,
common name for three groups of carnivorous reptiles in the crocodilian order. They closely resemble alligators except for the bony
scales on their bellies. All are found in the American Tropics close to bodies
of water. The largest is the black caiman of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers,
which may exceed 4.5 m (15 ft) in length; it is in danger of extinction. The
smallest, about 1.5 m (5 ft), is Cuvier’s dwarf or armoured caiman, which has
heavily ossified, or bony, skin. One of the most numerous is the spectacled
caiman, so named because of the ridge between its eyes, reminiscent of
spectacles. The female caiman lays hard-shelled eggs in a nest and she alone
guards them.
Cormorants belong to the family Phalacrocoracidae.
Cormorant,
fish-eating, web-footed water birds that nest in colonies on the coasts of
temperate and tropical regions of the world. A few species also live on large
island lakes and rivers. They have slender, hooked beaks; long, flexible necks;
a patch of bare skin under the mouth; and a stiff tail. Their plumage is usually
a glossy black; some have white areas and many have brightly coloured
featherless rings around the eyes. They dive and swim deep underwater in pursuit
of fish.
The guanay is a
prominent member of the seabird colonies that provide guano, valuable as
fertilizer, on the coasts of Chile and Peru.
Piranhas belong to the family Characidae.
Piranha are about 12
species of carnivorous fishes
found in the rivers and lakes of South America. Piranhas are deep-bodied,
compressed, oval-shaped fish about 25 to 60 cm long. They have blunt heads and
powerful jaws with sharp, wedge-shaped teeth that mesh like cutting shears and enable the fish to cut the flesh
from prey, which consists mostly of other fish but also includes amphibians,
birds, and mammals. They vary in colour from dark green to blue-black and some
have red or orange bellies. Piranhas gather in large groups and are attracted by
commotion in the water and the scent of blood. Once aroused, they can quickly
reduce a large mammal to a skeleton, although such incidents are rare. Only a
few species are considered dangerous to human beings. Piranhas are also
scavengers, and there are a number of species that are docile vegetarians,
feeding on fruits, seeds, or leaves. Piranhas are regarded as fine food fish.
Macaws belong to the family Psittacidae.
Macaw, long-tailed,
strong-billed birds of the parrot family, found in the American Tropics. There are 17 living
species, and several Caribbean species are extinct. Macaws vary greatly in size.
At 100 cm (391 in), the hyacinth macaw of Brazil and Bolivia is the largest
parrot in the world. It is more than three times the size of the smallest macaw,
the red-shouldered macaw, a 30-cm (12-in) bird of north-eastern South America.
The brightly coloured feathers are blue, red, yellow, and green. Their bills are
heavy and strong and are used to crack open nuts, which form a major part of
their diet, as do seeds and fruit. They are gregarious birds and nest in holes
in trees.
There are now several endangered species,
especially the blue Spix’s macaw, which formerly lived in the interior of
Brazil, but is now nearly or wholly extinct in the wild.
Ibises belong to the family Threskiornithidae
Ibis are about 30
species of long-legged, long-necked wading birds of the same family as the spoonbill. Ibises are
characterized by long, down-curving bills grooved above from base to tip. The
birds average 61 cm in length and have short tails. They live in large flocks
and feed on fish, frogs, toads, and small reptiles. Unlike the closely related
herons, which fly with their necks crooked, ibises fly with their necks straight
and their heads held forward. Most species breed in colonies in warm regions,
often with other water birds, such as herons and cormorants. Their nests are
built in reedy marshes, on bushes, or in trees.
The sacred ibis is
widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. It is white, with a
featherless head and black neck. It has not bred in Egypt for more than a
century, but in ancient times it was more common and sacred to the Egyptians.
They were often mummified and placed in tombs, and the ibis motif was common in
Egyptian art.
The white ibis, a
species with a scarlet face of naked skin, is found from Baja California and
South Carolina into South America. Closely similar except in colour is the
scarlet ibis of northern South America, which is noted for its beautiful red
plumage. This fades to pink in zoo birds unless they are fed a special diet. The
glossy ibis is a glossy reddish-brown species found in tropical and subtropical
regions around the world.
The wood stork of
warmer parts of the Americas has often been called a wood ibis, but it is a
member of the stork family and not a true ibis.
There
are two kinds of ant species in the Amazonian rain forests, the leaf-cutter ants
and army ants.
Colonies
of leaf-cutter ants in thousands live in huge nest dug deep into the ground.
Foraging ants search the vegetation for particular types of leaves, cut out
small sections and, holding the leaf segments above their heads like a small
umbrella, bring them back to the nest. The ants can be quite experimental,
bringing back a variety of leaves and even pieces of discarded nylon clothing or
plastic wrappers that they may discover on forays into the forest.
Workers
within the nest sort out those kinds of leaves that will mulch down into a type
of compost; unsuitable material is ejected from the nest after a few days. The
composted leaves form a mulch on which a fungus grows. Ants tend these fungal
gardens with care, for they provide the main diet for both the adult ants and
for the young that are being raised inside the nest.
When a particular good source of
leaves has been located, ants lay down a trail of chemical markers, or
pheromones, linking the nest with the leaf source, often 100 yards or more away
into the forest. People frequently come across one of these trails in the
jungle, with hundreds of ants scurrying along them carrying leaf sections back
to the nest, or returning empty-handed for another load.
Some
other aninals that are found in the South America and the amazonia are:
Tamandua
(a kind of anteater), river turtles (frequently seen), snakes (less often
spotted), other reptiles and amphibians,
colorful butterflies, other
insects.
VEGETATION
A small bush with long-narrow leaves about 30 cm length. The