Group items tagged

The people of the rainforest have learned how to use the plants and animals of the rainforest without harming it.

They are some of the shortest people on earth.

the visual arts of painting, sculpture and architecture. It is the history of one of the fine arts, others of which are the performing arts and literature.

Information about the Sumatran rhino has been difficult to come by because it survives in small, scattered populations in the thick undergrowth of their rainforest habitat. It is known that the females have territories of about 1.2 to 2.2 miles in diameter that partially overlap with other females. The males seem to be nomadic. The estimated density per animal is approximately one animal per 15 sq. miles in high density areas, and one animal per 31 to 46 sq. miles in low density areas.

They live in a variety of habitats, but prefer higher elevations in the mountain moss forests and tropical rain forests with few human developments. The rhinos are most often found near water, and spend much of the day in mud wallows, which they dig out themselves and whose perimeters are kept clean. The wallows help the rhino avoid biting insects and protects them from the heat .

Sumatran rhinos are solitary animals who only come together to breed. Breeding of captive Sumatran rhinos has shown that the female will not come into estrus until she senses the nearness of a male. This reduces energy spent on cycling when the rhinos don't come into contact with each other on a regular basis. Gestation is 475 days with one calf per birth. The calf is covered with a dense coat of reddish hair. Calves are weaned at 18 month, but stay close to their mother for 2 to 3 years. Females reach sexual maturity at 4 years, and males take 7 years to reach sexual maturity. Birth intervals between calves is 3 to 4 years. The life span of captive rhinos is around 35 years.

Rhinos feed just before dawn and after dusk and move about during the night. The normal diet of the Sumatran rhino includes wild durian mangoes, figs, bamboo and plants species characteristic of disturbed forests. It will knock down saplings to get at the tender leaves. They are very fond of salt licks and each territory will include one.

The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest and rarest rhinoceros species. There are thought to be only 300 animals still in existence and the IUCN has put it on its critically endangered list in 1996. These survive in very small and scattered populations, their habitat fragmented into smaller and smaller pieces by encroaching human populations. The number of Sumatran rhinos has declined 50% due to poaching in the last 10 years. There are no signs that the situation is stabilizing. Efforts have been made by IUCN to set up a 3 year program for the protection to the Sumatran rhino in Indonesia and Malaysia in the wild. They are seeking to extend the program, whose funding ended in 1998. Captive breeding programs have also been set up, but have not been very successful. Since 1984 40 rhinos have been captured to participate in breeding programs, but 19 of these have died. Artificial insemination efforts have also not been very successful. These failures were the result of lack of knowledge of the diet and reproduction of the Sumatran rhinoceros. Experience so far has shown that the rhinos need larger enclosures with more natural conditions. Time is running out as efforts to save the Sumatran rhinoceros from extinction continue.

The Toco Toucan is the largest of the toucans. It can get to about twenty-four to twenty six inches in length. Its bill is brightly colored orange and black and can get to about eight inches in length. The Toco Toucan weighs about ten to seventeen ounces. The Toucan's massive bill is not as heavy as it looks; it has a hard outside and a hollow inside. A bright blue patch of blue skin surrounds the eye.

ifty degrees North to fifteen degrees South, and thirty-five degrees to sixty-five degrees in

The Wagler's pit viper lives in trees of the Southeast Asian rainforest. The climate in the rainforest is wet and humid and it rains a lot. During the wet season, or monsoon season, it

Chimpanzees are about 3 to 5 feet tall and weigh from 99 to 176 pounds. They have black hair. Adults are very often bald, usually a triangle on the forehead of the male, and more complete baldness in females. Their faces are hairless. Infants have pink faces which turn darker with age. Although chimpanzees have no tail, infants have a white tail tuft.

Africa Forest Elephant Bengal Tiger Chimpanzee Common Palm Civet or Musang Dawn Bat Golden Lion Tamarin Harpy Eagle Jambu Fruit Dove King Cobra Kinkajou Linn's Sloth Orangutan Proboscis Monkey Red-shanked Douc Langur Silvery Gibbon Slender Loris Sumatran Rhinoceros Toco Toucan Vampire Bat Wagler's Pit Viper

It is almost always raining in a rainforest. Rainforests get over 80 inches (2 m) of rain each year. This is about 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) of rain each week. The rain is more evenly distributed throughout the year in a tropical rainforest (even though there is a little seasonality).

Tropical rainforests cover about 7% of the Earth's surface and are VERY important to the Earth's ecosystem. The rainforests recycle and clean water. Tropical rainforest trees and plants also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their roots, stems, leaves, and branches. Rainforests affect the greenhouse effect, which traps heat inside the Earth's atmosphere. Some of the foods that were originally from rainforests around the world include cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, Macadamia nuts, bananas, plantains, pineapple, cucumber, cocoa (chocolate), coffee, tea, avocados, papaya, guava, mango, cassava (a starchy root), tapioca, yams, sweet potato, okra, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, mace, ginger, cayenne pepper, cloves, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, passion fruit, peanuts, rice, sugar cane, and coconuts (mostly from coastal areas).

Once damaged, the soil of a tropical rainforest takes many years to recover.

The range of temperature in a tropical rainforest is usually between 75° F and 80° F (24-27° C).

The soil of a tropical rainforest is only about 3-4 inches (7.8-10 cm) thick and is ancient.

EMERGENTS: Giant trees that are much higher than the average canopy height. It houses many birds and insects. CANOPY: The upper parts of the trees. This leafy environment is full of life in a tropical rainforest and includes: insects, birds, reptiles, mammals, and more. UNDERSTORY: A dark, cool environment under the leaves but over the ground. FOREST FLOOR: Teeming with animal life, especially insects. The largest animals in the rainforest generally live here.

the boys come face to face with the Spirit of the Forest who first kills them as part of the initiation rite, then makes them come to life again as adults and gives them some special powers.