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It is believed that over 50% of the world's species of plants and animals are found in the rainforest

 Amazingly, only cover 6 - 7% of the total land surface on Earth is covered by rainforest.  On average, there are between 20 to 80 different species of trees per acre.  There is also a wide variety of animal life found in the rainforest.

Because there are so many creatures living in the rainforest, there is a great deal of competition for food, sunlight and space. Some animals became very specialised. This means that they adapted to eating a specific plant or animal that few others eat. For example, parrots and toucans eat nuts, and developed big strong beaks to crack open the tough shells. Leafcutter ants climb tall trees and cut small pieces of leaves which they carry back to their nest.The leaf pieces are about 50 times their weight.The ants bury the leaf pieces, and the combination of the leaves and the ants' saliva encourages the growth of a fungus, which is the only food these ants eat. Sometimes there are relationships between animals and plants that benefit both. Some trees depend on animals to spread the seeds of their fruit to distant parts of the forest. Birds and mammals eat the fruits, and travel some distance before the seeds pass through their digestive systems in another part of the forest. One problem with specialisation is that if one species becomes extinct, the other is in danger too unless it can adapt in time. The dodo, a flightless bird of Mauritius, became extinct in 1681. Today there are just 13 calvaria trees left on the island, each over 300 years old, and nearly at the end of their life. Scientists realised that the seeds had to pass through a dodo's digestive system before they could germinate. It seemed that the tree species would also become extinct, but scientists tried domestic turkeys and have successfully managed to germinate some seeds.Many rainforest animals use camouflage to 'disappear' in the rainforest. Stick insects are perfect examples of this. There are some butterflies whose wings look like leaves. Camouflage is of course useful for predators too, so that they can catch prey that hasn't seen them. The Boa Constrictor is an example of a camouflaged predator. The South American three-toed sloth uses camouflage and amazing slowness to escape predators. Green algae grows in the sloth's fur, which helps camouflage it in the forest canopy. Sloths are among the slowest moving animals of all (inside too, as it takes about a month to digest food). They hang from branches in the canopy, and are so still that predators such as jaguars don't see them. Some animals are poisonous, and use bright colors to warn predators to leave them alone. There are several species of brightly colored poison arrow frogs. Native Central and South American tribes used to wipe the ends of their arrows onto the frog's skin to make their arrows deadly

Elephants are the largest land animals. They can weigh over 6,000 kg, or more than the weight of four cars! The one feature that makes an elephant unmistakable is its long trunk. A trunk is an elephant's best tool for sucking up water, digging, grabbing, lifting, sniffing, and breathing. The trunk even has a fingerlike tip that can flick dirt from an elephant’s eye or pick up a single blade of grass. There are three species of elephants. Two species live in Africa and one lives in Asia. All three species are endangered.

Asian elephants have an arched body shape. They have triangular ears that do not reach their shoulders and two bumps on their foreheads. Their trunks have a single lip on the upper tip of the trunk. Male Asian elephants are 2-3.5 m tall. Their average weight is about 5,400 kg. Females average about 2.35 m tall and weigh about 2,700 kg. Often, only males have tusk

Elephants live in social groups called herds. Herds usually have about 10 to 20 members. Sometimes many herds will meet and form “super herds” of 100 or more elephants. Herds consist mainly of females that are related to each other. A typical herd might include mothers, daughters, aunts, and grandmothers, and a few young males. The oldest female is the herd’s matriarch. She leads the herd to water and finds food and a place to rest. There are also smaller bachelor herds that are made up of adult males.

The incredible diversity of food sources and unique niches of the canopy trees support a wide variety of animal species. Animals often congregate around a flowering tree, which makes trees in this stage some of the best sites for viewing wildlife. In places like these, where food is abundant, animals set up territories, but since canopy leaf cover affects visual territorial displays, most animals rely on sound signals. Thus some of the loudest animals of the world are canopy dwellers. Many primates emit howls and screams, while birds use song to let other animals know that they are intruding on their space.

From birth, the orangutan undergoes variations in facial structure during the course of its lifetime: at birth its face is bare, juveniles are bearded, and adult males have skin pouches on their cheeks. Orangutans build sleeping nests, 16-80 feet (5-25 m) off the ground, each night and never return to an earlier nest.

From birth, the orangutan undergoes variations in facial structure during the course of its lifetime: at birth its face is bare, juveniles are bearded, and adult males have skin pouches on their cheeks. Orangutans build sleeping nests, 16-80 feet (5-25 m) off the ground, each night and never return to an earlier nest.

The harpy eagle is endangered mainly because of habitat loss and hunting.

there is a probability that about 30 percent of the Manatees will be extinct in the next three generations (90 years).

The majors threats to its population are loss of habitat and capture for commercial pet markets.

Most nonhuman primates live in tropical and subtropical areas of the new world and old world. Most primates live an arboreal lifestyle, that is, they travel, eat, and sleep in the tops of trees. Even the larger apes, like chimpanzees and orangutans, usually sleep in leafy nests they make in trees. The most notable exceptions to this behavior are gorillas and humans. Both are ground dwellers.

As primates evolved over the past 50-60 million years, two important things happened. 1) Their faces flattened and the eyes moved to the front of the head, giving them binocular vision. 2) They developed hands with separate fingers and opposable thumbs. This allowed them to grasp and hold on to branches and other objects.

tropical rainforests are considered a type of tropical wet forest (or tropical moist broadleaf forest) and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest

and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest

Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and plant species on the planet.[2] Tropical rain forests are called the "world's largest pharmacy" because over one-quarter of modern medicines originate from its plants.

Biomes are the major regional groupings of plants and animals discernible at a global scale. Their distribution patterns are strongly correlated with regional climate patterns and identified according to the climax vegetation type. However, a biome is composed not only of the climax vegetation, but also of associated successional communities, persistent subclimax communities, fauna, and soils.

The global distribution pattern: Where each biome is found and how each varies geographically. A given biome may be composed of different taxa on different continents. Continent-specific associations of species within a given biome are known as formations and often are known by different local names. For example,the temperate grassland biome is variously called prairie, steppe, pampa, or veld, depending on where it occurs (North America, Eurasia, South America, and southern Africa, respectively). The general characteristics of the regional climate and the limitations or requirements imposed upon life by specific temperature and/or precipitation patterns. Aspects of the physical environment that may exert a stronger influence than climate in determining common plant growthforms and/or subclimax vegetation. Usually these factors are conditions of the substrate (e.g., waterlogged; excessively droughty, nutrient-poor) or of disturbance (e.g., periodic flooding or burning). The soil order(s) that characterize the biome and those processes involved in soil development. The dominant, characteristic, and unique growthforms; vertical stratification; leaf shape, size, and habit; and special adaptations of the vegetation. Examples of the last are peculiar life histories or reproductive strategies, dispersal mechanisms, root structure, and so forth. The types of animals (especially vertebrates) characteristic of the biome and their typical morphological, physiological, and/or behavioral adaptations to the environment.

The global distribution pattern: Where each biome is found and how each varies geographically. A given biome may be composed of different taxa on different continents. Continent-specific associations of species within a given biome are known as formations and often are known by different local names. For example,the temperate grassland biome is variously called prairie, steppe, pampa, or veld, depending on where it occurs (North America, Eurasia, South America, and southern Africa, respectively). The general characteristics of the regional climate and the limitations or requirements imposed upon life by specific temperature and/or precipitation patterns. Aspects of the physical environment that may exert a stronger influence than climate in determining common plant growthforms and/or subclimax vegetation. Usually these factors are conditions of the substrate (e.g., waterlogged; excessively droughty, nutrient-poor) or of disturbance (e.g., periodic flooding or burning). The soil order(s) that characterize the biome and those processes involved in soil development. The dominant, characteristic, and unique growthforms; vertical stratification; leaf shape, size, and habit; and special adaptations of the vegetation. Examples of the last are peculiar life histories or reproductive strategies, dispersal mechanisms, root structure, and so forth. The types of animals (especially vertebrates) characteristic of the biome and their typical morphological, physiological, and/or behavioral adaptations to the environment.

The Sumatran rhinoceros is a small, hairy rhinoceros which survives in limited numbers in pockets of Indonesian and Malaysian rain forests. In the early 1900s it ranged over most of Southeast Asia from the Himalayas in Bhutan, eastern India through Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Now they are only found in little forest pockets on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Malay peninsula.

The smallest living rhinoceros, the Sumatran rhinoceros has a gray-brown leathery hide. Its deep folds around the neck, behind the front legs, and before the hind legs give the rhinoceros an armor-plated appearance. It has a short, stocky body and stumpy legs which are covered with coarse reddish-brown hair. Its body length is from 8 to 8.5 feet and stands 4.5 feet at the shoulders. A mature rhino weighs from 2200 to 4400 pounds.

The Sumatran rhinoceros is the only Asian rhinoceros with two horns. Both sexes of rhinos have horns, the front horn being larger, averaging 15 to 20 inches. The male's horns are usually bigger than the female's, whose second, smaller horn is often absent. The upper lip curves down and can move around to grasp objects.

Tropical Rainforest Fast Facts Print Fast Facts Description Tropical rainforests are a type of wet, warm, humid forest. Tropical rainforests have the greatest biodiversity of any other ecosystem on earth. Some scientists believe they house more than half of all living species on earth. 90% of the species found in the tropical rainforest live in the canopy, high above the ground. Location Tropical rainforests are located in the tropics, the area around the warm equator. They are found in areas of Africa, Asia, Australia, and South and Central America. Climate The climate of tropical rainforests is warm and humid with almost continual rain. Most rainforests receive 200-1000 cm of rain a year and have temperatures that rarely drop below 22° C. Issues Tropical rainforests are quickly disappearing as a result of logging and clearing for timber, livestock grazing, plantations, and the harvest of other natural resources. 31 million hectares of tropical rainforest are destroyed each year.  That is an area larger than Poland. Status All tropical rainforests are in great danger of being destroyed. They once covered 14% of the earth’s land surface but now only cover 6%. Some scientists believe that, at the current rate of destruction, the remaining forests could be destroyed in less than 40 years. The state of tropical rainforests should be a priority for all countries and cultures since they provide and regulate the majority of the earth’s clean air and water. ©GLOBIO.org

The tiger, largest of all cats

Less than 4,000 remain in the wild

In the past century, the world has lost three of the nine tiger subspecies. The Bali, Caspian, and Javan tigers have all become extinct ... and many scientists believe the South China tiger is “functionally extinct”.

The rainforest is an ideal place for many types of animals to live. There is plenty of water, shelter and food, and it is warm all year.

Many reptiles and amphibians also live in the forest. The most spectacular is the anaconda which can measure 9 metres. Others include the colourful, but deadly poisonous coral snake, the python and the carpet snake (a delicacy according to the natives who eat it

Tropical birds are also very numerous. Over 500 species are found in one small reserve in Costa Rica which is almost as many as the entire number of bird species found in the United Kingdom.

Most of the plants and animals in the rainforest live in the canopy. The canopy may be 100 feet above the ground.

species in the rainforest often work together. A symbiotic relationship is a relationship where two different species benefit by helping each other. For example some plants produce small housing structures and sugar for ants. In return the ants protect the plants from other insects that may want to feed on the plant's leaves.

The Amazon is the world's largest and most famous rainforest. The Amazon River Basin is roughly the size of the forty-eight contiguous United States (the United States not including Alaska and Hawaii) and includes parts of eight South American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname. The basin is drained by the Amazon River, the world's largest river (and the second longest river after the Nile). The Amazon is home to more species of plants and animals than any other ecosystem on the planet and perhaps 30% of the world's species are found there. Some of the better known animals found in the Amazon include the jaguar, tapir, and many kinds of monkeys.

Presently there are 38 known species of mammals that are extinct.

There are over 1,000 animal species that are endangered at varied levels, across the world.

The colorful, giant bill, which in some large species measure more than half the length of the body

There are around 800 species, of which the largest group is bats. In fact, there are more species of bats in the Amazon than anywhere else.

Life has been generous in its allocation of fish species to the Amazon region. Around 2,000 species are described, but scientists estimate at least another 1,000 remain to be discovered