Save The Amazons

Wild Life of the Amazon

All The Facts About The Wildlife of the Amazon are amazing. The rainforest is the home of 250 species of mammals, 3000 freshwater fish, 10,000 trees and 70,000 other plant species, 1800 birds, and so many varieties of insects that experts cannot agree on the number. Some say it is 15,000. Others say it is nearer 60 million! New species of wildlife are still being discovered.




The jaguar weighing up to 90 kilograms and measuring up to 75 centimetres at the shoulder is the largest member of the cat family outside Asia and Africa. It is the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'king\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' of the rainforest.

Macaws roosting and feeding in the forest. Macaws are members of the parrot family. They are caught by South American Indians for food and for their feathers, which are used in head-dresses.

The Amazon is home to the piranha, one of the world\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s most terrifying fish. Up to 60 centimetres long, piranhas hunt in shoals, or packs, and can kill cattle or humans and st rip the flesh from their bones in afew minutes.
The rainforest atmosphere is so damp that a wide variety of frogs can thrive without living dose to rivers or streams. The huge horned frog is found only In the Amazon forest.
The toucan is found in the wild nowhere else in the world. Its huge beak, which can be as long as 20 centimetres enables it to eat large fruit.
An anaconda at rest.
When it is hungry, it will uncoil itself and lie still in the water with only its eyes above the surface. Many stories are told about anacondas attacking fishermen, but it is rare for anacondas to attack humans unless they are being hunted.
Animal life
To give a succinct overview of the complete fauna of the Amazon is as impossible as it is to adequately describe the great diversity of its flora; in part this is because many of the region\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s species have yet to be identified. The rivers and streams of the basin teem with life, and the forest canopy resonates with the cries of birds and monkeys and the whine of insects. There is a notable paucity of large terrestrial mammal species; indeed, many of the mammals are arboreal.

More than 8,000 species of insects alone have been collected and classified. Myriads of mosquitoes plague travelers and may transmit such diseases as malaria and yellow fever. Leaf-cutting ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) and other pests may torment the traveler. The most troublesome insects of all are the ubiquitous, small, black flies, called piums, whose bite can itch for days. Fireflies, stinging bees, hornets, wasps, beetles, cockroaches, cicadas, centipedes, scorpions, ticks, red bugs, and giant spiders are abundant. Most spectacular, however, are the hundreds of species of brilliantly coloured butterflies; sometimes thousands of butterflies gather in the afternoon on moist riverside sandbanks.

The Amazon and its tributaries, together with the bordering várzea lakes and flooded forests, constitute a vast sea of fresh water, much of it slowly flowing, which teems with fish life. About 1,500 fish species have been found within the Amazon system, but many more remain unidentified. Most fish are migratory, moving in great schools at spawning time. Fish represent a critical source of protein in the often meat-poor diet of the peasant (caboclo) population (the term caboclo is used for the peasant population of mixed Indian-European blood). Among the more important commercial species are the pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), one of the world\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s largest freshwater fish, and various giant catfish. The well-known, small, flesh-eating piranha generally feeds on other fish but may attack any animal, including humans, that enters the water; its razor-sharp teeth cut out chunks of flesh, stripping a carcass of its meat in a few minutes. The traffic in frozen and dried fish to urban markets has increased to such a degree that some stocks are locally threatened. With the rapid means of transport afforded by jet airplanes, a worldwide market has developed for tropical aquarium fish distinctive to the Amazon. Iquitos, Manaus, and the Colombian port of Leticia are centres of this trade.

Crocodiles are hunted for their skins; river turtles and their eggs are considered a delicacy; the giant sea cow, or manatee, is sought for its flesh and for oil. All are threatened by overhunting, and the manatee has been listed as an endangered species. Aquatic animals also include fresh-water dolphins (Inia geoffrensis); the capybara, the largest rodent in the world (weighing up to 170 pounds); and the nutria, or coypu, valued especially for its pelt. Other common rodents are the paca, agouti, porcupine, and local species of squirrels, rats, and mice.

The tapir, the white-lipped peccary, and several species of deer are native to the Amazon basin and much sought for their meat. Water buffalo, introduced from Southeast Asia as work and dairy cattle, have run wild in the remote, swampy parts of

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Salvemos el Amazonas	Info. en gral.
Carta a los lectores	Por Ale G. Y Ana Cris

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