Capybara
Class: Mammalia: Mammals / Diet: Plants, including aquatic plantsOrder: Rodentia: Rodents
Size: body:1 - 1.3 m (3 1/4 - 4 1/4 ft), tail: vestigial
Family: Hydrochoeridae: Capybara / Conservation Status: Non-threatened
Scientific Name: Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris / Habitat: forest, near water
Range:Panama to Eastern Argentina
The capybara spends much time in water and is an excellent swimmer and diver; it has partial webs between the digits of both its hind feet and forefeet. When swimming, only its eyes, ears, and nostrils show above the water. Capybaras feed on plant material, including aquatic plants, and their cheek teeth grow throughout life to counteract the wear and tear of chewing. They live in family groups and are active at dawn and dusk. In areas where they are frequently disturbed, capybaras may be nocturnal. Males and females look alike, but there is a scent gland on the nose that is larger in the male. They mate in spring, and a litter of 2 young is born after a gestation of 15 to 18 weeks. The young are well developed at birth.
Brazilian Tapir
Order: Perissodactyla: Odd-toed Ungulates
Size: body:2 m (6 1/2 ft), tail: 5 - 8 cm (2 - 3 in)
Family: Tapiridae: Tapirs / Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Scientific Name: Tapirus terrestris / Habitat: rainforest, near water or swamps
Range: South America: Colombia, Venezuela, south to Brazil and Paraguay
Nearly always found near water, the Brazilian tapir is a good swimmer and diver but also moves fast on land, even over rugged, mountainous country. It is dark brown in color and has a low, erect mane running from the crown down the back of the neck. Using its mobile snout, this tapir feeds on leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches that it tears from trees, fruit, grasses and aquatic plants. The female gives birth to a single spotted and striped young after a gestation of 390 to 400 days.
Bearded Pig
Order: Artiodactyla: Even-toed Ungulates
Size: body:1.6 - 1.8 m (5 1/4 - 6 ft), tail: 20 - 30 cm (7 3/4 - 11 3/4 in)
Family: Suidae: Pigs / Conservation Status: Non-threatened
Scientific Name: Sus barbatus / Habitat: rainforest, scrub, mangrove swamps
Range:Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo
A large pig with an elongated head and a narrow body, the bearded pig has abundant whiskers on its chin and a bristly, wartlike protuberance beneath each eye. These warts are more conspicuous in males than in females. Fallen fruit, roots, shoots and insect larvae are the bearded pig's staple foods, and it also invades fields of root crops. It often follows gibbons and macaques to pick up the fruit they drop. After a gestation of about 4 months, the female makes a nest of plant material and gives birth to 2 or 3 young, which stay with her for about a year.
Chimpanzee
Order: Primates: Primates
Size: body:68 - 94 cm (26 3/4 - 37 in), tail: absent, height: 1.2 - 1.7 m (4 - 5 1/2 ft)
Family: Hominidae / Conservation Status: Endangered
Scientific Name: Pan troglodytes / Habitat: rainforest, savanna with woodland
Range: Africa: Guinea to Zaire, Uganda and Tanzania
The intelligent, social chimpanzee has a wide range of sounds and gestures for communication and is probably one of the most expressive of all animals. Thickset and robust, but more lightly built than the gorilla, the chimpanzee has a strong body and long limbs, the powerful arms being longer than the legs. Its hands and feet are narrow and long, with opposable thumbs on the hands. Males are slightly larger than females. There is great variability in the color of hair and facial skin, but the hair is generally blackish and the face light, darkening in older individuals. The rounded head bears broad, prominent ears, and the lips are mobile and protrusible. Chimpanzees climb well but spend most of the time on the ground, where they generally walk on all fours, even though they stand erect on occasion, as when their hands are full of food.
Their social structure is more variable than that of the gorilla. Rainforest animals live in troops of males, of females with young, of males and females with young, or of adults of both sexes without young. The composition of the troop often changes. Savanna chimpanzees generally live in more stable troops of 1 or more males, several females and their young. They occupy a home range, the size of which depends on the size of the troop and on the food supply. Neighboring troops meet with much noise and communication, but there is usually little aggression. Active in the daytime, chimpanzees rise at dawn and feed mainly on plant material, such as fruit, nuts, leaves, shoots and bark, and on eggs and insects. They will use stems or twigs as tools, to extract termites or ants from their hiding places. Savanna chimpanzees will kill young animals for food by holding them by the hind limbs and striking their heads on the ground. At night, chimpanzees usually sleep in the trees, each making its own nest with interwoven, broken and bent branches. Young under 3 years old sleep with their mothers. Females have regular periods of heat, with swelling of the genital region, and may mate with all the males in the troop. Usually 1 young is born, sometimes twins, after a gestation of 227 to 232 days. The young animal lives closely with its mother for 2 to 3 years.
Common Tree Shrew
Order: Scandentia: Tree Shrews
Size: body:14 - 23 cm (5 1/2 - 9 in), tail: 12 - 21 cm (4 3/4 - 8 3/4 in)
Family: Tupaiidae: Tree Shrews / Conservation Status: Non-threatened
Scientific Name: Tupaia glis / Habitat: rainforest, woodland, bamboo scrub
Range: South and Southeast Asia: India to Vietnam and Malaysia, Southern China, Indonesia
A squirrel-like creature, with a long, bushy tail, the common tree shrew is active and lively, climbing with great agility in the trees but also spending much of its time on the ground, feeding. Its diet is varied and includes insects (particularly ants), spiders, seeds, buds and probably also small birds and mice. It normally lives alone or with a mate. Breeding seems to occur at any time of year, and a rough nest is made in a hole in a fallen tree or among tree roots. In Malaysia, where breeding of this species has been most closely observed, females produce litters of 1 to 3 young after a gestation of 46 to 50 days. The newborn young are naked, with closed eyes, but are ready to leave the nest about 33 days after birth.
Flying Dragon
Order: Squamata: Lizards and Snakes
Size: body:19 - 22 cm (7 1/2 - 8 1/2 in)
Family: Agamidae: Agamid Lizards / Conservation Status: Non-threatened
Scientific Name: Draco volans / Habitat: rainforest, rubber plantations
Range:Philippines to Malaysia and Indonesia
An arboreal lizard, the so-called flying dragon actually glides from tree to tree on winglike skin flaps. At each side of its body, between front and hind limbs, there is a large flap of skin, supported by extended movable ribs. Usually these flaps are held folded at the sides of the body, but they can be extended to carry the lizard in an almost horizontal glide for many meters. The flying dragon feeds on insects, particularly ants. To breed, the flying dragon descends to the ground and buries its 1 to 4 eggs in the soil.
Gorilla
Order: Primates: Primates
Size: body:Male height: 1.7 - 1.8 m (5 1/2 - 6 ft), Female height: 1.4 - 1.5 m (4 1/2 - 5 ft), tail: absent
Family: Hominidae / Conservation Status: Endangered
Scientific Name: Gorilla gorilla / Habitat: rainforest up to 3,000 m (10,000 ft)
Range: Africa: Southeastern Nigeria to Western Zaire; Eastern Zaire into adjacent countries
The largest and most robust of the primates, the gorilla is also a gentle, intelligent and sociable animal which lives a peaceful, quiet existence if undisturbed. Its body, covered with coarse black hair, is massive, with a short, broad trunk and wide chest and shoulders. The head is large, with a short muzzle, and the eyes and ears small; old males have high crowns. The muscular arms are longer than the short, thick legs, and the broad hands are equipped with short fingers and thumbs. Males are bigger and heavier than females, and those over 10 years old have silvery-gray hair on their backs -- hence the name silverback, given to old males. There are two races: the lowland and the mountain gorilla, also referred to as the western and eastern races, respectively. On the ground, gorillas normally move in a stooped posture, with the knuckles of the hands resting on the ground, but they do stand erect on occasion. Females and juveniles climb trees, but males rarely do so because of their great bulk.
Gorillas live in a close-knit group of a dominant male, 1 or 2 other males, several females and young; some groups may contain only the dominant male, 2 or 3 females and young. The group wanders in a home range of 10 to 40 sq km (4 to 15 1/2 sq mi), which is not defended or marked at the boundaries. There may be some conflict with neighboring groups, but encounters are generally avoided by communications such as drumming on the ground from a distance. Old males will threaten rivals by standing erect and beating the chest while roaring and barking and sometimes by tearing up and throwing plants. When the leader of a troop dies, younger males contest for dominance. Gorillas are active in the daytime. The troop rises between 6 A.M. and 8 A.M., feeds for a while on plant material, such as leaves, buds, stalks, berries, bark and ferns, and then has a period of rest and relaxation. Gorillas do not appear to drink but get the water they need from their juicy diet. They feed again in the afternoon and then retire for the night in nests made of twigs and leaves. Young gorillas under 3 years old sleep with their mothers, but all others have their own nests. Breeding appears to take place at any time of year. The female gives birth to a single young after a gestation of more than 9 months. The young is completely dependent and clings to its mother's fur at first, but it is able to sit up at 3 months and to walk and climb at 5 months. It suckles for 12 to 18 months and remains with its mother for about 3 years.
Indian Cobra
Order: Squamata: Lizards and Snakes
Size: body:1.8 - 2.2 m (6 - 7 1/4 ft)
Family: Elapidae: Cobras and Sea Snakes / Conservation Status: Non-threatened
Scientific Name: Naja naja / Habitat: rainforest, rice fields, cultivated land
Range:India, central Asia, Southeast Asia
A large, highly venomous snake, the Indian cobra feeds on rodents, lizards, and frogs. As well as biting, the Indian cobra can attack or defend itself from a distance by "spitting" venom, which, if it enters the opponent's eyes, causes severe pain and damage. The snake actually forces the venom through its fangs, by exerting muscular pressure on the venom glands, so that it sprays out in twin jets for 2 m (6 1/2 ft) or more. In its characteristic threat posture, the Indian cobra raises the front one-third of its body and spreads out its long, flexible neck ribs and loose skin to form a disklike hood, on the back of which there are markings resembling eyes. Indian cobras pay more attention to their eggs than is usual in snakes. The 8 to 45 eggs (usually 12 to 20) are laid in a hollow tree, a termite mound or earth into which the snakes tunnel. The female guards the clutch throughout the incubation period, leaving them only for a short time each day to feed. The young hatch after about 50 or 60 days.
Orangutan
Order: Primates: Primates
Size: body:1.2 - 1.5 m (4 - 5 ft), tail: absent
Family: Hominidae / Conservation Status: Endangered
Scientific Name: Pongo pygmaeus / Habitat: rainforest
Range: Sumatra, Borneo
The orangutan, with its reddish-brown, shaggy hair, has a strong, heavily built body, and is the second-largest primate. The arms are long and powerful and reach to the ankles when the animal stands erect; there is a small thumb on each broad hand that is opposable to the first digit. The orangutan's legs are relatively short and weaker than the arms. Males are much larger and heavier than females and are also identified by the cheek flaps that surround the face of the mature adult. All adults have fatty throat pouches. Orangutans live alone, in pairs or in small family groups and are active in the daytime at all levels of the trees. They walk along large branches on all fours or erect and sometimes swing by their hands from branch to branch. On the ground, they walk on all fours or stand erect. Fruit is their staple diet, but they also feed on leaves, seeds, young birds and eggs. The orangutan sleeps in the trees in a platform nest made of sticks; it may make a new nest every night. After a gestation period of more than 9 months, the female gives birth to a single young. She cares for her offspring for some time -- one captive young was suckled for 6 years -- and it clings to her fur as she moves around in the trees.
Slow Loris
Order: Primates: Primates
Size: body:26 - 38 cm (10 1/4 - 15 in), tail: vestigial
Family: Lorisidae: Lorises / Conservation Status: Non-threatened
Scientific Name: Nycticebus coucang / Habitat: dense rainforest
Range: South and Southeast Asia: Eastern India to Malaysia; Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Philippines
A plumper, shorter-limbed animal than its relative the slender loris, the slow loris is, however, similar in its habits. It spends the day sleeping up in a tree, its body rolled into a tight ball. At night, it feeds in the trees on insects, bird's eggs, small birds and shoots and fruit, seldom coming down to the ground. A slow, but accomplished, climber, its hands and feet are strong and capable of grasping tightly. It can even hang by its feet. The thumb and great toe are opposable to the other digits. Breeding takes place at any time of year, and 1 young, sometimes 2, is born after a gestation of 193 days. Slow lorises are thought to live in family groups.
Vine Snake
Order: Squamata: Lizards and Snakes
Size: body:1.5 - 2 m (5 - 6 1/2 ft)
Family: Colubridae: Colubrine Snakes / Conservation Status: Non-threatened
Scientific Name: Oxybelis fulgidus / Habitat: rainforest, cultivated land
Range: Central America to Northern South America
Barely the thickness of a man's finger, about 1.25 cm (1/2 in) in diameter at the most, the vine snake is a remarkably slender, elongated species. As it lies amid the branches of forest trees, its proportions and greeny-brown coloration make it almost indistinguishable from the abundant creepers and vines. Its head, too, is thin and elongated and equipped with rear fangs and mild venom. A slow-moving predator, active in the daytime and at night, the vine snake feeds mainly on young birds, which it steals from nests, and on lizards. If threatened, it puffs up the front of its body, revealing vivid coloration usually hidden under scales, and opens its long mouth wide. A frightened snake may also sway from side to side, like a stem in the breeze.