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DOZENS OF ANIMAL SPECIES A DAY BECOME EXTINCT IN TROPICAL RAINFORESTS

When rainforests are destroyed, animals living outside the tropics suffer as well. Songbirds, hummingbirds, warblers and thousands of other North American birds spend their winters in rainforests, returning to the same location year after year. Less return north each spring, as few make it through the winter because their habitat has been destroyed. The cutting down of trees is not the only reason for species extinction. Thousands of monkeys and other primates are traded illegally on the international market each year, wanted for their fur, as pets, or for scientific research. Parrots and macaws have also become popular pets; buyers will pay up to $10,000 for one bird. Even the king of the jungle, the jaguar, is in danger of becoming extinct. Its fur is highly valued for use on coats and shoes.

Scientists estimate that there are more than 50 million different species of invertebrates living in rainforests. One scientist found 50 different species of ants on a single tree in Peru! You would probably only need a few hours of poking around in a rainforest to find an insect unknown to science.

In some cases both species are so dependent upon each other that if one becomes extinct, the other will as well. This nearly happened with trees that relied on the now-extinct dodo birds. They once roamed Mauritius, a tropical island located in the Indian Ocean. They became extinct during the late 19th century when humans overhunted them. The calvaria tree stopped sprouting seeds soon after. Scientists finally concluded that, for the seeds of the calvaria tree to sprout, they needed to first be digested by the dodo bird. By force-feeding the seeds to a domestic turkey, who digested the seeds the same way as the dodo birds, the trees were saved. Unfortunately humans will not be able to save each species in this same way.

The constant search for food, water, sunlight and space is a 24-hour pushing and shoving match. With this fierce competition, you may be amazed that so many different species of animals can all live together. But this is actually the cause of the huge number of different species.The main secret lies in the ability of many animals to adapt to eating a specific plant or animal, which few other species are able to eat. Have you ever wondered, for instance, why toucans and parrots have such big beaks? These beaks give them a great advantage over other birds with smaller beaks. The fruits and nuts from many trees have evolved with a tough shell to protect them from predators. In turn toucans and parrots developed large strong beaks, which serves as a nutcracker and provides them with many tasty meals.

Each species has evolved with its own set of unique adaptations, ways of helping them to survive. Every animal has the ability to protect itself from being someone's next meal. The following are just a few of these unique and often bizarre adaptations. CAMOUFLAGE The coloring of some animals acts as protection from their predators. Insects play some of the best hide-and-go-seek in the forest. The "walking stick" is one such insect; it blends in so well with the palm tree it calls its home that no one would notice it unless it moved. Some butterflies, when they close their wings, look exactly like leaves. Camouflage also works in reverse, helping predators, such as boa constrictors, sneak up on unsuspecting animals and surprise them. SLOW AS A SNAIL The three-toed sloth is born with brown fur, but you would never know this by looking at it. The green algae that makes its home in the sloth's fur helps it to blend in with the tops of the trees, the canopy, where it makes its home. But green algae isn't the only thing living in a sloth's fur; it is literally "bugged" with a variety of insects. 978 beetles were once found living on one sloth! The sloth has other clever adaptations. Famous for its snail-like pace; it is one of the slowest-moving animals on earth. (It can even take up to a month to digest its food!) Although its tasty meat would make a good meal for jaguars and other predators, most do not notice the sloth as it hangs quietly in the trees, high up in the canopy. DEADLY CREATURES Other animals want to announce their presence to the whole forest. Armed with dangerous poisons used in life-threatening situations, their bright colors warn predators to stay away. The coral snake of the Amazon, with its brilliant red, yellow, and black coloring, is recognized as one of the most beautiful snakes in the world, But don't admire its beauty too long; its deadly poison can kill within seconds The poison arrow frog also stands out with its brightly colored skin. Its skin produces some of the strongest natural poison in the world, which Indigenous people often use for hunting purposes. Another animal with no friends is the hoatzin. Often called the stinkbird, it produces a horrible smell to scare

An average of 35 species becomes extinct every day in the world's tropical rainforests.

Rivers have become both overfished and polluted. Gillnets now allow fishermen to kill huge amounts of fish at a time. They often use only the larger and more profitable fish, dumping the dead smaller fish and other animals such as dolphins back into the rivers.

Tropical rainforests are home to many of the strangest-looking and most beautiful, largest and smallest, most dangerous and least frightening, loudest and quietest animals on earth. You've probably heard of some of them; jaguars, toucans, parrots, gorillas, and tarantulas all make their homes in tropical rainforests. But have you ever heard of the aye-aye? Or the okapi? There are so many fascinating animals in tropical rainforests that millions haven't been named or even identified yet. In fact, about half of all the world's species live in tropical rainforests.

During the Ice Ages, the last of which occurred about 10,000 years ago, the frozen areas of the North and South Poles spread over much of the earth, causing huge numbers of extinctions. But the giant freeze did not reach many tropical rainforests. Therefore, these plants and animals could continue to evolve, developing into the most diverse and complex ecosystems on earth. The nearly perfect conditions for life also help contribute to the great number of species. With temperatures constant at 75 -80 degrees F. the whole year, animals don't have to worry about freezing during cold winters or finding shade in the hot summers. They rarely have to search for water, as rain falls almost every day in tropical rainforests. Some rainforest species have populations that number in the millions. Other species consist of only a few dozen individuals. Living in limited areas, most of these species are endemic, or found nowhere else on earth. The maues marmoset, a species of monkey, wasn't discovered until recently. Its entire tiny population lives within a few square miles in the Amazon rainforest. It is so small, it could sit in a person's hand!

Leaf-cutter, or parasol ants, can rightfully be called the world's first farmers. They climb trees up to 100-feet tall and cut out small pieces of leaves. They then carry these fragments, weighing as much as 50 times their body weight, back to their homes. Sometimes they must travel 200 feet, equal to an average human walking about 6 miles with 5,000 lbs. on his/her back! The forest floor is converted to a maze of busy highways full of these moving leaf fragments. These ants don't eat the leaves they have collected, but instead bury them underground. The combination of leaves and substances that the ants produce such as saliva allows a type of fungus to grow. This fungus is the only food that the ants need to eat. Azteca ants live on the swollen thorn acacia tree, which offers the ants everything needed for survival - lodging, water, and food for themselves and their young. In return, the ants protect the trees from predators. Whenever the ants feel something brush against the tree, they rush to fiercely fight the intruder. They also protect it from vines and other competing plants that would otherwise strangle it. As a result, nothing can grow near these trees. They are the only trees with a built-in alarm system!

* Experts estimates that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. That equates to 50,000 species a year. As the rainforest species disappear, so do many possible cures for life-threatening diseases. Currently, 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. While 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less that 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.

* In 1983, there were no U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers involved in research programs to discover new drugs or cures from plants. Today, over 100 pharmaceutical companies and several branches of the US government, including giants like Merck and The National Cancer Institute, are engaged in plant research projects for possible drugs and cures for viruses, infections, cancer, and even AIDS

* The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.

* At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews. * At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World. The Indians of the rainforest use over 2,000

* Currently, 121 prescription drugs currently sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. And while 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less than 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.

There were an estimated ten million Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000

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