Endangered Species in the Amazon:
1. The Harpy Eagle -
The harpy eagle is one of the world's largest and most powerful of the fifty species of eagles. Harpy Eagles prefer living in spacious and large areas, they feed on animals that live on trees. The major threat is loss of habitat from clear cutting, destruction of nesting sites and shooting. 2. Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey - The Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey is around the size of a squirrel, it has a mane like fur (hence the name Lion Monkey) with a reddish brown colour. These monkeys eat flowers, fruits, insects, gum and nectars from plants, snails, frogs, bird eggs and lizards. They are the worlds smallest monkeys ad The worlds most endangered species, with only 800 of the left in the Earth. 3. Manatee (Dugong) - Dugongs are large grey sea mammals, they are vegetarian "sea cows" that eat sea grass. they have thick skin and a horizontal tail, Dugongs swim by moving their broad whale-like tail in an up and down motion. In the United States, there are approximately 2500 Dugongs left 4. Jaguar - Jaguars are the largest cats in America. The jaguar has a compact body, a broad head and powerful jaws. Its coat is normally yellow and tan, but the colour can vary from reddish brown to black, there are approximately 15,000 jaguars left mainly because humans hunt them for their beautiful fur. 5. Giant Otters - Otters are an Amazon Icon, they are the largest species in the weasel family. Giant Otters feed on fish and and crustaceans. They are endangered because of the habitat destruction and hunting for pelts continues to threaten the species and their numbers are decreasing. there are approximately 106,000 Giant Otters left in the world 6. Three Toed Sloths - Sloths can sleep up to 20 hours a day because of their sleeping pattern they don't eat as much food. Besides other mammals, the sloths can not control their own body temperature, this is why they live in tropical rainforests, because it is always warm. The sloths are very slow animals, some may not even move at all, most male sloths spend their lives hanging from the same tree. The Three Toes Sloth is endangered because their homes are being destroyed and to be made to charcoal and harvest wood. 7. Poison Dart Frog: Poison dart frogs are found near ponds and streams, 28% of dart frogs are endangered, dart frogs are deadly and have a vivid blue colour with black spots on its body, these frogs eat crickets, termites, fruit flies and ants. 8. Tapir: Inhabiting the rain forests of South America, Brazilian tapirs live near water and they go to it for protection from predators. Baby tapirs have brown fur with white stripes to help them blend into the rain forest floor. Tapirs hide during the day and eat during the night. |