Strange and rare animals (61 photos). Animals of the tropics Tropical animals

The rainforest is very rich in animals. In the Amazon basin and Orinoco There are many different kinds of monkeys. In their structure they differ from the Old World monkeys living in Africa and India. Old World monkeys are called narrow-nosed monkeys, American monkeys are called broad-nosed monkeys. A long, prehensile tail helps monkeys climb trees deftly. The spider monkey has a particularly long and prehensile tail. Another monkey, a howler monkey, wraps its tail around a branch and holds it like a hand. The howler was named for its powerful, unpleasant voice.

Most strong predator tropical forests - jaguar. This is a large yellow cat with black spots on its skin. She Fine climbs trees.

America's other big cat is the puma. It is distributed in North America to Canada, in South America it is found in the steppes to Patagonia. The puma is yellowish-gray in color and somewhat resembles a lion (without the mane); This is probably why it is called the American lion.

Near ponds in the thicket of the forest you can find an animal that resembles a little horse and even more like a rhinoceros. The animal reaches 2 m in length. His muzzle is elongated, as if elongated V trunk. This is an American tapir. He, like a pig, loves to wallow in puddles.

Along lakes in the reed beds on the plains of Patagonia And on the mountain slopes of the Andes lives nutria - the swamp beaver, or coipu - a large rodent the size of our river beaver. Nutria's life is associated with water. Nutria feeds on succulent roots aquatic plants, makes nests from reeds and reeds. The animal produces valuable moss. Nutria was transported to Soviet Union and released into the swampy thickets of Transcaucasia. They have acclimatized and are reproducing well. However, they suffer greatly during the cold winters that occur in Azerbaijan and Armenia, when the lakes freeze.

Unadapted to life in freezing bodies of water, nutria, having dived under the ice, do not find a way back. At the same time, their habitats become accessible to jungle cats and jackals, which walk across the ice to the nutria nests.

In forests South America live armadillos, sloths and anteaters.

Body armadillo is covered with a shell that slightly resembles shield . The shell consists of two layers: inside it is bone, outside it is horny - and is divided into belts, movably connected to each other.: B Guiana and Brazil lives giant armadillo. The largest of the armadillos reach one and a half meters in length. Armadillos live in deep burrows and only come out at night to hunt for prey. They feed on termites, ants and various small animals.

Sloths have a monkey-like face. The long limbs of these animals are armed with large sickle-shaped claws. They got their name for their slowness and clumsiness. The dull greenish-gray protective coloring of the sloth reliably hides it from the eyes of the enemy in the branches of trees. The coloring of the sloth is given by green algae that live in its rough And shaggy wool. This is one of the wonderful examples of cohabitation between animal and plant organisms.

IN In the forests of South America, there are several species of anteaters - The average anteater, the tamandua, with a prehensile tail, is very interesting. It runs excellently along inclined trunks and climbs trees, looking for ants and other insects.

Marsupials in the forests of Brazil are represented by long-eared and water possums. The water possum, or swimmer, lives near rivers and lakes. It differs from the long-eared one in its coloring and swimming membranes on its hind legs.

South America is home to many bats various types. Among them are blood-sucking leaf-nosed insects that attack horses and mules, and vampires.

Despite their ominous name, vampires eat exclusively insects and plant fruits.

Of the birds, the hoatzin is of great interest. This is a variegated, rather large bird with a large crest on its head. The hoatzin's nest is placed above the water, in the branches of trees or thickets of bushes. The chicks are not afraid of falling into the water: they swim and dive well. Hoatzin chicks have long claws on the first and second fingers of the wing; helping them climb branches and twigs. It is curious that the adult hoatzin loses the ability to move quickly through the trees.

Studying the structure and lifestyle of hoatzin chicks, scientists came to the conclusion that the ancestors of birds also climbed trees. After all, in the fossil protobird (Archaeopteryx) were long fingers with claws on the wings.

There are more than 160 species of parrots in the tropical forests of South America. The most famous are the green Amazon parrots. They learn to speak well.

Only in one country - in America - live the smallest birds - hummingbirds. These are unusually brightly and beautifully colored fast flying pawns, some of them the size of bumblebees. There are over 450 species of hummingbirds. They, like insects, hover around flowers, sucking out flower juice with their thin beak and tongue. In addition, hummingbirds also feed on small insects.

There are many different snakes in the rainforests! and lizards. Among them are boa constrictors, or boa, anaconda, reaching I m in length, and bushmaster - 4 l in length. Many snakes, due to the protective coloring of their skin, are little noticeable among the greenery of the forest.

There are especially many lizards in the tropical rainforest. Large, broad-toed geckos sit in the trees. Among other species of lizards, the most interesting is the iguana, which lives and | on the trees and on the ground. This lizard has a very beautiful emerald green coloration. She eats plant foods.

In the forests of Brazil and Guiana there lives a large frog - the Surinamese pipa. It is interesting in its special way of reproduction. Postponed female The eggs are distributed by the male on the female's back. Each egg is placed in a separate cell. Subsequently, the skin grows and the cells close. The baby frogs develop on the female's back; when they grow up they come out from cells. Nutrients needed by frogs during development are transferred from the mother's body by blood vessels. vessels, branching in the walls of skin cells.

Found in rivers of tropical America big fish- an electric eel with special electrical organs. With electric shocks, the eel stuns prey and scares away its enemies.

An unusually predatory fish, piranha, 30 cm long, lives in many rivers of South America. Her strong jaws contain sharp knives and teeth. If you drop a piece of meat into the river, piranhas immediately appear from the depths and instantly tear it apart. Piranhas feed on fish and attack ducks and domestic animals that carelessly enter the river. Even large animals such as tapirs suffer from piranha. Fish damage the lips of water-drinking animals. Piranhas are also dangerous to people.

IN tropical The forests contain a diverse world of insects. Very large diurnal butterflies are numerous. They are very beautifully and richly colored, varied in shape and size. In Brazil there are over 700 species of diurnal butterflies, and in Europe there are no more than 150 species.

Ants are very numerous. Penetrating into a person’s home, they eat his reserves and thereby cause significant harm. Umbrella ants live in underground galleries. They feed their larvae with fungal mold, which they grow on finely chopped leaves. Ants bring pieces of leaves to the anthill, moving along strictly constant paths.

There are many spiders in the tropical zone of South America. Among them, the largest is the tarantula spider. Its size is more than 5 cm. Its food is lizards, frogs, and insects; Apparently, it also attacks small birds. The same large earthen spiders are found in New Guinea and Java.

In the tropical forests of Africa live elephants, various monkeys, okapi - an animal related to the giraffe; in the rivers there are hippopotamuses and crocodiles. The great apes are of greatest interest - gorillas and chimpanzees. The gorilla is a very large ape, males reach 2 m in height and weigh 200 kg. They live in the most remote parts of the tropical region, inaccessible to humans. forests and in the mountains. Gorillas make their dens in trees or on ground in dense thickets. Gorillas have been severely exterminated by humans and are now preserved only in two areas of tropical forests in Africa - south of Cameroon before R. Congo and the country of lakes Victoria and Tanganyika.

Chimpanzees are smaller than gorilla. An adult male is no higher than 1.5 m. They live in families, but sometimes gather in small herds. Chimpanzees climbing down from the trees walk on the ground, leaning on hands clenched into fists.

There are many species of monkeys in the tropical forests of Africa. These long-tailed small monkeys have greenish fur. Interesting are the toeless monkeys (Colobus), which lack thumb on hands. The most beautiful of these monkeys is Gveretsa. She lives in Ethiopia and in the forests west of this countries. Macaques, related to African monkeys, live in tropical Asia.

Dog-headed monkeys - baboons - are very characteristic of the African continent. They live in the mountains of Africa.

The fauna of Madagascar has some peculiarities. For example, lemurs live on this island. Their body is covered with thick fur. Some have bushy tails. Lemur faces quicker animal than monkey; That's why they are called prosimians.

There are many different species in the African rainforests parrots. The most famous is the gray parrot, the gray parrot, which imitates the human voice very well.”

In some places, crocodiles survive in large numbers. They especially love rivers whose banks are covered with dense tropical forest. The Nile crocodile reaches 7 m in length.

The forests of Africa are home to large, up to 6 liters in length, boa constrictors - pythons.

Among the fish, the lungfish Protopterus, which inhabits muddy lakes and swamps, attracts attention. These fish, in addition to gills, have lungs with which they breathe during drought. IN The lungfish Lepidosirene lives in South America, and ceratodes live in Australia.

In the humid dense forests of the islands of Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan) lives the great ape orangutan. This is a large monkey, covered with coarse red fur. Adult males grow a large beard.

Close to apes, the gibbon is smaller in size than the orangutan, its body length is 1 m. The gibbon is distinguished by long limbs; with their help, swinging on the branches, he very easily jumps from tree to tree. Gibbons live on the island of Sumatra, on Malacca peninsula and in the mountain forests of Burma.

A variety of macaques live in the forests of the Greater Sunda Islands - Sumatra and Borneo - and in Eastern India. On Borneo lives

big-nosed monkey. Her nose is long, almost trunk-shaped. Old animals, especially males, have significantly longer noses than young monkeys.

In the forests of India and nearby big islands The Indian elephant is not uncommon. Since ancient times, it has been tamed by humans and used in various jobs.

The common Indian rhinoceros is well known - the most large one-horned rhinoceros.

A relative of American tapirs lives in Asia - the black-backed tapir. It reaches 2 m in height. Back it is light colored, and other parts of the body are covered with short black hair.

Among the predators of southern Asia, the most famous is the Bengal tiger. Most tigers are preserved in India, Indochina, on the islands of Sumatra and Java.

The tiger is a crepuscular animal; he hunts for large ungulates. A tiger, if wounded by an unsuccessful shot from a hunter, ill or old, or for any reason at all, has lost the ability to hunt ungulates that constitute its main food, attacks people and becomes a “man-eater.” raquo;.

Here, tigers are found in Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Primorye and in the south of the Ussuri region.

The leopard is common in southern Asia, in the forests of the Greater Sunda Islands And in Japan. It is found in the Caucasus, in the mountains of Central Asia and in Primorye. We call him a leopard. Leopard attacks domestic animals; he is cunning, brave, and dangerous to humans. Black leopards are often found on the Greater Sunda Islands; they are called black panthers.

The sloth bear and the Malayan bear, the biruang, live in South Asia. Gubach- a large, heavy animal, armed with long claws, allowing it to climb trees well. Its fur is black and has a large white spot on its chest. His large lips are movable, they can stretch out like a tube, and long tongue insects from the cracks of trees. The sloth fish lives in tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent and on the island of Ceylon. It feeds on plants, fruits, berries, insects, bird eggs and small animals.

The Malayan bear has short, black fur. It spends most of its life in trees, feeding on fruits and insects.

There are many birds in tropical Asia. One of the most beautiful is considered to be the peacock, living in the wild in Java, Ceylon and Indochina.

In the forests of the Sunda Islands, Ceylon and India live Bapkivian or bush chickens & mdash; wild ancestors of domestic chickens, many species of pheasants and other chickens.

The waters of South Asia are inhabited by long-snouted crocodiles, gharials. They live in the river. Ganges.

On the Malay Peninsula there is a reticulated python snake, reaching 10 m length.

There are many in the forests of India poisonous snakes, from whose bites a large number of people suffer every year. The most dangerous is the cobra, or spectacled snake. It gets its name from the spots behind its head that look like glasses.

The tropics are inhabited by many amphibians, or amphibians. Among them is the Javan flying frog. Strongly developed membranes between the toes of the front and hind paws allow it, while gliding, to jump from one tree to another.

Having become familiar with the distribution of animals on the globe, it is easy to notice that similar animals live on different continents under similar living conditions. Some species have adapted to life in the tundra, others in steppes and deserts, and others in mountains and forests. Each continent has its own animal world- species of animals that live only on a given continent. The animal world of Australia is especially unique in this regard, which we will consider below.

By studying the Earth's past through the fossil remains of animals that once inhabited continents and islands, scientists came to the conclusion that the composition of the fauna, that is, the animal world, was continuously changing in all geological eras. Connections arose between continents; so, for example, between Asia and North America there was a connection. Animals that inhabited Asia could penetrate into America; Therefore, in the fauna of America and Asia we still see a lot of similarities. Geological history helps to clarify some features in the distribution of animals By continents. So, leftovers marsupials are found in the ancient layers of the earth in Europe and America. Nowadays, these marsupials live only in Australia and only a few species in America. Consequently, marsupials were previously much more widespread on the globe. This confirms the opinion of geologists about the connection that existed between these continents.

Having studied the composition of the animal world of individual continents and islands, scientists divided the globe into areas characterized by animal species found only in this area.

The main regions are: Australian, Neotropical (South and Central America), Ethiopian (Africa), Eastern or Indo-Malayan, Holarctic (Northern Asia, Europe and North America).

This is a typical amphibian animal that, throughout its life cycle, lives in two environments at once - water and air. The most important distinguishing feature of this animal is its coloring. It’s not for nothing that this salamander received a second name - fire lizard. After all, the body of this animal is painted in very rich and contrasting colors. Intense black color is combined with equally intense yellow or orange patterns, which could be called spots and stripes, usually of irregular shape with blurred edges. On the paws, the colored markings are usually symmetrical, but on the body itself the pattern of spot placement is not visible.

The lower part of the body is most often painted in monochromatic dark colors. The abdomen is usually black or brown, but white spots may also be present. The legs of this tailed amphibian, although short, are very strong. There are four toes on the front paws, and five on the hind paws. The limbs are designed more for walking than for swimming. This is evidenced by the absence of swimming membranes. The head of this salamander is round in shape. Visually, it seems to be a continuation of the body.

Everyone has it natural phenomenon there is a reason. The coloring of any animal saves the individual from predators. The salamander is a small, gentle and defenseless creature. She needs to camouflage herself with the main shades of the environment. However, the fire salamander does everything to be noticed. In this way, it resembles bumblebees, which have a very noticeable coloring.

Crowned eagle

The crowned eagle is the largest and most dangerous predatory bird from the hawk family, living in Africa. This is a brave and incredibly strong predator - often the eagle's prey is 4-5 times larger than itself: large hyraxes and other animals.

Crowned eagles live in the open spaces Central Africa: from South Africa to the Gulf of Guinea. Nests are made mainly in forests, much less often in semi-deserts and savannas. With the exception of Zaire and Kenya, where they are very widespread and ubiquitous, they are quite rare.

Tropical rainforests stretch over large areas on both sides of the equator, but do not go beyond the tropics. Here the atmosphere is always rich in water vapor. The lowest average temperature is about 18°, and the highest is usually no higher than 35-36°.

With abundant warmth and moisture, everything here grows with remarkable speed. In these forests spring and autumn are invisible. All year round, some trees and shrubs bloom in the forest, while others fade. It is summer all year round and the vegetation turns green. There is no leaf fall in our understanding of the word, when the forest is exposed for winter.

The change of leaves occurs gradually, and therefore it is not noticed. Young leaves bloom on some branches, often bright red, brown, and white. On other branches of the same tree, the leaves were fully formed and turned green. A very beautiful range of colors is created.

But there are bamboos, palm trees, and some types of coffee trees, which all bloom on the same day over an area of ​​many square kilometers. This amazing phenomenon makes a stunning impression with the beauty of its blooms and aromas.

Travelers say that in such a forest it is difficult to find two neighboring trees belonging to the same species. Only in very rare cases do tropical forests have a uniform species composition.

If you look at the tropical forest from above, from an airplane, it will appear surprisingly uneven, sharply broken, not at all similar to the smooth surface of the forest of temperate latitudes.

They are not similar in color either. When viewed from above, oak and other forests of ours appear uniformly green, only with the arrival of autumn they dress up in bright and variegated colors.

The equatorial forest, when viewed from above, appears to be a mixture of all tones of green, olive, yellow interspersed with red and white spots of flowering crowns.

Entering a tropical forest is not so easy: it is usually a dense thicket of plants, where, at first glance, they all seem tangled and intertwined. And it is difficult to immediately figure out which plant this or that trunk belongs to - but where are its branches, fruits, flowers?

Damp twilight reigns in the forest. The rays of the sun weakly penetrate the thicket, so the trees, bushes, and all the plants here stretch upward with amazing force. They branch little, only three to four orders of magnitude. One involuntarily recalls our oaks, pines, and birches, which produce five to eight orders of branches and spread their crowns widely in the air.

In equatorial forests, trees stand in thin, slender columns and somewhere at a height, often 50-60 meters, small crowns reach towards the Sun.

The lowest branches begin twenty to thirty meters from the ground. To see leaves, flowers, fruits, you need good binoculars.

Palm trees and tree ferns do not produce branches at all, throwing out only huge leaves.

Giant columns need good foundations, like the buttresses (slopes) of ancient buildings. And nature took care of them. In African equatorial forests, ficus trees grow, from the lower parts of whose trunks additional plank roots up to a meter or more in height develop. They hold the tree firmly against the wind. Many trees have such roots. On the island of Java, residents make table covers or cart wheels from plank roots.

Between the giant trees, smaller trees grow densely, in four or five tiers, and even lower - shrubs. Fallen trunks and leaves rot on the ground. The trunks are entwined with vines.

Hooks, thorns, mustaches, roots - in all ways, vines cling to tall neighbors, wrap around them, crawl over them, use devices popularly known as “devil’s hooks”, “cat’s claws”. They intertwine with each other, then as if merging into one plant, then again dividing in an uncontrollable desire for light.

These thorny barriers terrify the traveler, who is forced to take every step among them only with the help of an axe.

In America, along the valleys of the Amazon, in the virgin tropical forests, vines, like ropes, are thrown from one tree to another, climb up the trunk to the very top and settle comfortably in the crown.

Fight for the light! In a tropical rainforest there are usually few grasses on the soil, and shrubs are also few in number. Everything that lives must receive some amount of light. And many plants succeed in this because the leaves on the trees are almost always vertical or at a significant angle, and the surface of the leaves is smooth, shiny and perfectly reflects light. This arrangement of leaves is also good because it softens the impact of rain and downpours. And it prevents water from stagnating on the leaves. It is easy to imagine how quickly the leaves would fail if water were retained on them: lichens, mosses, and fungi would colonize them immediately.

But there is not enough light for plants to fully develop in the soil. How then can we explain their diversity and splendor?

A bunch of tropical plants not related to the soil at all. These are epiphytic plants - lodgers. They don't need soil. Trunks, branches, even leaves of trees provide them with excellent shelter, and there is enough warmth and moisture for everyone. A little humus forms in the axils of the leaves, in the crevices of the bark, and between the branches. The wind and animals will bring the seeds, and they germinate and develop well.

The very common bird's nest fern produces leaves up to three meters long, forming a fairly deep rosette. Leaves, bark flakes, fruits, and animal remains fall from the trees into it, and in a humid, warm climate they quickly form humus: the “soil” is ready for the roots of the epiphyte.

In the Botanical Garden in Calcutta they show such a huge fig tree that it is mistaken for a whole grove. Its branches have grown above the ground in the form of a green roof, which is supported by pillars - these are adventitious roots growing from the branches. The crown of the fig tree spreads over more than half a hectare, the number of its aerial roots is about five hundred. And this fig tree began its life as a parasite on a date palm. Then she entwined her with her roots and strangled her.

The position of epiphytes is very advantageous compared to the “host” tree, which they use, making their way higher and higher towards the light.

They often carry their leaves above the top of the “host” trunk and deprive it of the sun’s rays. The “owner” dies, and the “tenant” becomes independent.

The words of Charles Darwin best apply to tropical forests: “The greatest sum of life is produced by the greatest variety of structure.”

Some epiphytes have thick, fleshy leaves and some swellings on the leaves. They have a supply of water in case there is not enough water.

Others have leathery, hard leaves, as if varnished, as if they didn’t have enough moisture. The way it is. In the hot season of the day, and even when strong wind, in a highly raised crown, water evaporation increases sharply.

Another thing is the leaves of bushes: they are tender, large, without any adaptations to reduce evaporation - in the depths of the forest it is small. The grasses are soft, thin, with weak roots. There are many spore plants, especially ferns. They scatter their leaves on the edges of the forest and in rare illuminated clearings. There are brightly flowering shrubs, large yellow and red cannas, and orchids with their intricately arranged flowers. But grasses are much less diverse than trees.

The overall green tone of the herbaceous plants is pleasantly interspersed with white, red, gold, and silver leaf spots. Whimsically decorated, they are not inferior in beauty to the flowers themselves.

It may seem at first glance that the tropical forest is poor in flowers. In fact, there are not so few of them,
they are simply lost in the green mass of foliage.

Many trees have self- or wind-pollinated flowers. Large, bright and fragrant flowers are pollinated by animals.

In the tropical forests of America, tiny hummingbirds with brilliant plumage hover over flowers for a long time, licking honey from them with a long tongue folded in the form of a tube. In Java, birds often act as pollinators. There are honeybirds there, small, similar in color to hummingbirds. They pollinate flowers, but at the same time they often “steal” honey without even touching the stamens and pistils. In Java, there are bats that pollinate vines with brightly colored flowers.

In cocoa trees, breadfruit trees, persimmons, and ficus trees, flowers appear directly on the trunks, which then turn out to be completely covered with fruits.

In equatorial wet forests There are often swamps and flowing lakes. The fauna here is very diverse. Most animals live in trees, eating fruits.

Rainforests different continents have many common features, and at the same time, each of them is different from the others.

In Asian forests there are many trees with valuable wood, plants that produce spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon). Monkeys climb in the treetops. An elephant wanders on the outskirts of the tropical thicket. The forests are home to rhinoceroses, tigers, buffalos, and poisonous snakes.

The equatorial rain forests of Africa are famous for their impenetrable thickets. It is impossible to get through here without an ax or knife. And there are many tree species with valuable wood. The oil palm is often found, from the fruits of which oil, coffee tree and cocoa are extracted. In some places, in narrow valleys where fog accumulates and the mountains do not let them pass, tree ferns form entire groves. Heavy, dense fogs slowly creep upward and, cooling, pour heavy rains. In such natural greenhouses, spore plants feel at their best: ferns, horsetails, mosses, and curtains of delicate green mosses descend from the trees.

Gorillas and chimpanzees live in African forests. Monkeys tumble in the branches; baboons fill the air with their barks. There are elephants and buffalos. Crocodiles hunt all kinds of living creatures in rivers. Encounters with hippopotamus are common.

And mosquitoes and mosquitoes fly in clouds everywhere, hordes of ants crawl. Perhaps even this “little thing” is more noticeable than large animals. It bothers the traveler at every step, filling the mouth, nose and ears.

The relationship between tropical plants and ants is very interesting. On the island of Java, one epiphyte has a tuber at the bottom of its stem. Ants live in it and leave their excrement on the plant, which serves as fertilizer.

In the rain forests of Brazil there are real ant gardens. At a height of 20-30 meters above the ground, ants make their nests, dragging them onto branches and trunks along with soil, leaves, berries and seeds. Young plants sprout from them, fastening the soil in the nest with their roots and immediately receiving soil and fertilizers.

But ants are not always harmless to plants. Leaf-cutter ants are a real scourge. They attack coffee and orange trees and other plants in hordes. Having cut pieces from the leaves, they put them on their backs and move towards the nests in solid green streams, exposing the branches,

Fortunately, other types of ants can settle on plants and destroy these robbers.

The tropical forests of America along the banks of the Amazon River and its tributaries are considered the most luxurious in the world.

Vast flat areas, regularly flooded with water when rivers flood, are covered with riparian forests. Huge virgin forests stretch above the flood line. And the drier areas are occupied by forests, although less dense and lower.

There are especially many palm trees in coastal forests, forming entire groves that run in long alleys along the banks of rivers. Some of the palm trees spread their leaves like a fan, others stretch out feathery leaves 9-12 meters in length. Their trunks are straight and thin. In the undergrowth there are small palm trees with clusters of black and red fruits.

Palm trees give people a lot: the fruits are used as food, local residents obtain fiber from the stems and leaves, and the trunks are used as building material.

As soon as the rivers enter their channel, grasses develop in the forests with extraordinary speed, and not only on the soil. Green garlands of climbing and climbing herbaceous plants, colored bright flowers. Passion flowers, begonias, " daytime beauties" and many others flowering plants they form draperies on the trees, as if laid out by the hand of an artist.

Myrtles, Brazil nuts, flowering ginger and cannas are beautiful. Ferns and graceful feathery mimosas support the overall green tone.

In the forests above the river flood line, trees, perhaps the tallest of all tropical representatives, stand in a dense close formation on supports. Famous among them are Brazil nut and mulberry cotton with its huge plank supports. The laurel trees are considered the most beautiful trees in the Amazon. There are a lot of leguminous acacias here, a lot of araceae. Philodendron and monstera are especially good with fantastic cuts and cuts on the leaves. There is often no undergrowth in this forest at all.

In lower, non-flooded forests, lower tree layers of palms, shrubs and low trees appear, sometimes very dense and almost impenetrable.

The herbaceous cover cannot be called luxurious: a few ferns and sedges. In some places there is not a single blade of grass over a significant area.

Almost the entire Amazonian lowland and part of the northern and east coast The mainland is occupied by rain forests.

Evenly high temperatures and plenty of precipitation make all days similar to one another.

Early in the morning the temperature is 22-23°, the sky is cloudless. The leaves are glistening with dew and fresh, but the heat is quickly increasing. By noon or a little later it is already unbearable. Plants drop leaves and flowers and appear completely withered. There was no air movement, the animals hid. But now the sky is filled with clouds, lightning flashes, and the thunderclaps are deafening.

Sharp gusts of blowing wind shake the crowns. And a blessed downpour revives all nature. There's a lot of float in the air. A stuffy, hot and humid night sets in. Leaves and flowers blown by the wind are flying.

A special type of forest covers sea coasts in tropical countries, protected from waves and winds. These are mangrove forests - dense thickets of evergreen bushes and low trees on flat banks near river mouths, in lagoons, and bays. The soil here is a swamp with black, foul-smelling silt; it undergoes rapid decomposition with the participation of bacteria organic matter. At high tide, such thickets appear to emerge from the water.

With the ebb of the tide, their so-called roots are exposed - stilts, which extend far across the silt. Supporting roots go from the branches into the silt.

This root system anchors trees well in muddy soil and is not carried away by the tide.

Mangroves push the coastline onto the sea because plant debris accumulates between the roots and trunks and, mixing with silt, gradually forms land. Trees have special respiratory roots, which are very important in the life of these plants, since silt contains almost no oxygen. Sometimes they are serpentine in shape, in other cases they resemble an elbowed pipe or stick out from the mud like young stems.

The method of reproduction found in mangroves is curious. The fruit is still hanging on the tree, and the embryo is already sprouting in the form of a long pin, up to 50-70 centimeters. Only then does it break away from the fruit, fall into the silt, burying its end in it, and is not carried away by the water into the sea.

These plants have leathery, shiny, often fleshy leaves covered with silvery hairs. The leaves are arranged vertically, the stomata are reduced. All these are signs of plants in dry places.

It turns out to be a paradox: the roots are immersed in silt, they are constantly under water, and the plant lacks moisture. It is assumed that sea water, when saturated with salt, cannot be easily absorbed by the roots of trees and shrubs - and therefore they must evaporate sparingly.

Together with sea ​​water plants receive a lot of table salt. The leaves are sometimes almost completely covered with its crystals, secreted by special glands.

The richness of species in tropical forests is exceptionally great, and it is achieved primarily by the fact that the use of space by plants is brought here by natural selection to extreme limits.

About half of all forests on our planet are tropical forests (hylaea), growing in Africa, Southeast Asia, South and Central America. Tropical forests are located between 25° north latitude and 30° south latitude, where showers. The rainforest ecosystem covers less than two percent of the Earth's surface, but is home to 50 to 70 percent of all life on our planet.

The largest tropical forests are in Brazil (South America), Zaire (Africa) and Indonesia ( Southeast Asia). Rainforest is also found in Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean.

Rainforest climate

The climate in the tropical forest is very warm and humid. Every year, between 400 and 1000 cm of precipitation falls here. The tropics are characterized by a uniform annual distribution of precipitation. There is virtually no change in seasons, and the average air temperature is 28 degrees Celsius. All these conditions significantly influenced the formation of the richest ecosystem on our planet.

Soil in the rainforest

The soil of the tropics is poor in minerals and nutrients - there is a lack of potassium, nitrogen and other trace elements. It is usually red and red-yellow in color. Due to frequent precipitation, useful material are absorbed by plant roots or go deep into the soil. That is why the natives of the tropical forests used the slash-and-burn agricultural system: all vegetation was cut down in small areas, it was subsequently burned, and then the soil was cultivated. Ash acts as a nutrient. When the soil begins to turn barren, usually after 3-5 years, the inhabitants of tropical settlements moved to new areas for farming. It is a sustainable farming method that ensures continued regeneration of the forest.

Rainforest Plants

The warm, humid climate of the rainforest provides the ideal environment for a huge abundance of amazing plant life. The tropical forest is divided into several tiers, each characterized by its own flora and fauna. The most tall trees tropics, get greatest number sunlight, as they reach a height of more than 50 meters. This includes, for example, the cotton tree.

The second tier is the dome. It is home to half of the rainforest's wildlife - birds, snakes and monkeys. This includes trees below 50 m in height with wide leaves, hiding sunlight from the lower floors. These are philodendron, strychnos poisonous and rattan palms. Lianas usually stretch along them towards the sun.

The third tier is inhabited by shrubs, ferns and other shade-tolerant species.

The last tier, the bottom, is usually dark and damp, since almost no sunlight penetrates here. It consists of rotted foliage, mushrooms and lichens, as well as young growth of plants of higher tiers.

In each of the regions where tropical forests grow, different types of trees are found.

Tropical trees of Central and South America:

• Mahogany (Sweitinia spp.)
• Spanish cedar (Cedrella spp.)
• Rosewood and Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)
• Purple tree (Peltogyne purpurea)
• Kingwood
• Cedro Espina (Pochote spinosa)
• Tulipwood
• Gaiakan (Tabebuia chrysantha)
• Tabebuia rosea
• Bocote
• Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril)
• Guapinol (Prioria copaifera)

Tropical trees of Africa:

• Bubinga
• Ebony
• Zebrano
• Pink tree

Tropical trees of Asia:

• Malaysian maple

They are widespread in the tropical rain forest and feed on captured insects and small animals. Among them, Nepenthes (Pitcher Plants), sundew, butterwort, and bladderwort should be noted. By the way, the plants of the lower level with their bright flowering attract insects for pollination, since in these layers there is practically no wind.

Valuable crops are grown in places where tropical forests are cleared:

• mango;
• bananas;
• papaya;
• coffee;
• cocoa;
• vanilla;
• sesame;
• sugar cane;
• avocado;
• cardamom;
• cinnamon;
• turmeric;
• nutmeg.

These cultures play important role in cooking and cosmetology. Some tropical plants serve as raw materials for medicines, in particular, anticancer.

Tropical Plant Adaptations for Survival

Any flora needs moisture. There is never a shortage of water in the rainforest, but there is often too much of it. Rainforest plants must survive in areas where there is constant rainfall and flooding. The leaves of tropical plants help deflect raindrops, and some species are armed with a drip tip designed to quickly drain precipitation.

Plants in the tropics need light to live. The dense vegetation of the upper layers of the forest allows little sunlight to reach the lower layers. Therefore, tropical forest plants must either adapt to life in constant twilight, or quickly grow upward in order to “see” the sun.

It is worth noting that in the tropics trees grow with thin and smooth bark, which is capable of accumulating moisture. Some plant species have leaves wider at the bottom of the crown than at the top. This helps allow more sunlight to reach the soil.

As for the epiphytes themselves, or air plants that grow in the rainforest, they obtain nutrients from plant debris and bird droppings that land on the roots and do not depend on the poor soil of the forest. In tropical forests there are such aerial plants as orchids, bromeliads, ferns, selenicereus grandiflora and others.

As mentioned, the soil in most tropical forests is very poor and lacks nutrients. To capture nutrients at the top of the soil, most rainforest trees have shallow roots. Others are wide and powerful, as they must support a massive tree.

Rainforest Animals

The animals of the tropical forests amaze the eye with their diversity. It is in this natural area that you can meet the largest number of representatives of the fauna of our planet. Most of them are in the Amazon rainforest. For example, there are 1,800 species of butterflies alone.

In general, the tropical forest is the habitat of most amphibians (lizards, snakes, crocodiles, salamanders), predators (jaguars, tigers, leopards, pumas). All animals of the tropics have bright color, since spots and stripes are the best camouflage in the dense jungle. The sounds of the rainforest are provided by the polyphony of songbirds. The tropical forests have the world's largest population of parrots, and other interesting birds include the South American harpy, one of the fifty eagle species that is critically endangered. No less colorful birds are peacocks, whose beauty has long been the subject of legends.

Also lives in the tropics more quantity monkeys: arachnids, orangutans, chimpanzees, monkeys, baboons, gibbons, red-bearded jumpers, gorillas. In addition, there are sloths, lemurs, Malayan and sun bears, rhinoceroses, hippos, tarantulas, ants, piranhas and other animals.

Disappearance of tropical forests

Tropical timber has long been synonymous with exploitation and plunder. Giant trees are the target of entrepreneurs who use them for commercial purposes. How are forests exploited? The most obvious use of rainforest trees is in the furniture industry.

According to the European Commission, around one-fifth of EU timber imports are from illegal sources. Every day, thousands of products from the international wood mafia pass through store shelves. Tropical wood products are often labeled as "luxury wood", "hardwood", "natural wood" and "solid wood". Usually these terms are used to disguise tropical wood from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The main exporting countries of tropical trees are Cameroon, Brazil, Indonesia and Cambodia. The most popular and expensive types of tropical wood that are sold are mahogany, teak and rosewood.

Inexpensive species of tropical wood include meranti, ramin, and gabun.

Consequences of tropical deforestation

In most tropical forest countries, illegal logging is common and a serious problem. Economic losses reach billions of dollars, and environmental and social damage is incalculable.

The consequences of tropical deforestation are deforestation and profound environmental changes. Tropical forests contain the world's largest . As a result of poaching, millions of species of animals and plants lose their habitat and, as a result, disappear.

According to the Red List International Union The Nature Conservancy (IUCN), more than 41,000 species of plants and animals are threatened, including great apes such as gorillas and orangutans. Scientific estimates of species lost vary widely, ranging from 50 to 500 species per day.

In addition, logging equipment used to remove wood destroys sensitive upper layer soil, damages the roots and bark of other trees.

Mining of iron ore, bauxite, gold, oil and other minerals also destroys large areas tropical forests, such as the Amazon.

The Meaning of Rainforests

Tropical rainforests play an important role in the ecosystem of our planet. Cutting down this particular one natural area leads to the formation of the greenhouse effect and, subsequently, to global warming. The largest tropical forest in the world, the Amazon, plays the most important role in this process. 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to deforestation. The Amazon rainforest alone stores 120 billion tons of carbon.

Tropical forests also contain enormous amounts of water. Therefore, another consequence of deforestation is a disrupted water cycle. This in turn could lead to droughts at the regional level and changes in global weather conditions— with potentially devastating consequences.

The rainforest is home to unique flora and fauna.

How to protect tropical forests?

To prevent the negative consequences of deforestation, it is necessary to expand forest areas, strengthen control over forests at the state and international levels. It is also important to raise people's awareness of the role forests play on this planet. Reducing, recycling and reusing forest products should also be encouraged, environmentalists say. Switching to alternative energy sources, such as fossil gas, could in turn reduce the need to exploit forests for heating.

Deforestation, including tropical forests, can be carried out without harming this ecosystem. In Central and South America and Africa, trees are cut down selectively. Only trees that have reached a certain age and trunk thickness are cut down, while young trees remain untouched. This method causes minimal damage to the forest, because it allows it to quickly recover.

The author, in love with his science - zoogeography, claims and proves that it is as interesting as everything connected with the life of animals in the wild. He talks surprisingly clearly about biological properties animals that help them exist in a certain environment, about the connections of fauna with plant formations, about the distribution of animals across to the globe and about the factors limiting their settlement, about the history of the development of fauna on various continents.

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Near the equator the sun is high in the sky all year round. The air is highly saturated with water vapor rising from the damp earth. Seasons of the year are not expressed. It's stiflingly hot.

In such a climate, lush vegetation develops, the most exotic formation of our earth - the tropical forest. Because of big role rains in the formation of this formation, it is also called tropical rain forest.

There are three large tracts of tropical forests in the world: in South America they occupy almost the entire huge swimming pool Amazon rivers; in Africa they cover the Congo River basin and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea; in Asia, tropical forests occupy part of India, the Indochinese Peninsula, the Malacca Peninsula, the Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, the Philippines and the island of New Guinea.

The rainforest seems fabulous to everyone who enters it for the first time. The abundance of moisture, mineral salts, and optimal temperatures create conditions under which plants form dense thickets, and deep shadow makes them stretch upward, toward the light. It is not for nothing that the tropical forest is famous for its huge trees, raising their crowns high.

Plants that are extremely characteristic of tropical forests are epiphytes, which appear on the trunks and branches of other plants. These include both flowering plants and many species of ferns, mosses and lichens.

Some epiphytes, such as numerous orchids, obtain nutrients exclusively from air and rainwater.

Under the canopy of the tropical forest there are no grasses, only rotting remains of leaves, branches and huge trunks of dead trees lie here. This is the kingdom of mushrooms. In conditions of heat and moisture, the decomposition and mineralization of dead remains of plants and animals quickly occurs, which determines the high speed of the biological cycle of substances.

If in a deciduous forest temperate climate Three or four tiers are clearly defined, but here, in the tropical thickets, we immediately get lost in the multitude of tiers and half-tiers.

The richness of the flora is stunning. If in European mixed forests While there are five to ten species of trees, there are many times more species per hectare of forest here than grow in all of Europe. Here you need to spend a lot of effort and time to find at least two identical trees. In Cameroon, for example, there are about 500 species of trees and another 800 species of shrubs.

Tree wood equatorial forest, where seasons are not expressed, has no rings and is highly valued in industry, for example, ebony (ebony) wood and mahogany.

At any time of the year, the tropical forest blooms and bears fruit. It happens that on the same tree you can simultaneously see buds, flowers, ovaries and ripening fruits. And even if the harvest from one tree is completely harvested, there will always be another nearby, all hung with fruits.

In this amazing environment lives no less amazing world animals. The air, saturated with water vapor, allows many invertebrates that usually live in aquatic environments to live here on land. For example, Ceylon leeches are widely known (Haemadipsa ceylonica), which stick to the leaves of trees and lie in wait for prey (warm-blooded animals), a number of species of crustaceans, centipedes and even amphipods.

All invertebrate animals, whose skin is not covered with a dense chitinous shell, feel really good only in the tropical forest, but elsewhere they are constantly in danger of drying out. Even an experienced zoologist can hardly imagine how many, for example, gastropods lives in any corner of the tropical forest. Only one family Helicarionidae in Africa there are more species than all the mollusks in the whole of Poland. Gastropods live everywhere: underground, in fallen trees, on trunks, among branches and leaves, in various layers of the forest. They do not even descend to the ground to lay eggs. Some gastropods of the Philippines (Helicostyla leucophthalma) They build wonderful nests for their eggs from leaves glued together with mucus.

Here are ideal conditions for amphibian habitat. In tropical forests there is a huge variety of species of frogs, tree frogs, and toads. Many species lay their eggs in the axils of huge leaves, where water accumulates. Other species lay their eggs directly on the leaves, and their tadpoles undergo accelerated development inside the gelatinous shells of the eggs. There are also species in which the eggs are carried by the male or female on the back. This lasts more than ten days, whereas in our conditions the caviar would dry in a few hours.

Insects in the tropical forest reproduce continuously and live here in huge numbers.

Perhaps it is in the insect fauna that one can most clearly see how the fauna of the tropical forest differs from the tundra. In the tundra, a few species create a population of billions. In tropical thickets, large zoomass is created due to the abundance of species. In the tropical forest it is much easier to catch one hundred specimens of different species for collection than the same number of representatives of the same species. A large number of species and a small number of individuals is the main feature of both the flora and fauna of the tropical rain forest. For example, on the island of Barro Colorado in the Panama Canal, as a result of many years of research, about 20 thousand species of insects were discovered on several square kilometers, while in some European country the number of insect species reaches only two to three thousand.

In this diversity, the most fantastic-looking animals arise. Tropical forests are the homeland of all praying mantises that imitate the body shape of tree knots, butterflies that look like leaves, wasp flies and other skillfully camouflaged species.

Wasps and bumblebees form permanent swarms, living in huge and constantly growing nests. Ants and termites are as widespread in tropical forests as in savannas. There are many predators among ants, for example the famous Brazilian ants (Ecitony), not building anthills and migrating in a continuous avalanche. On their way, they kill and devour any animal they encounter. They can create a kind of nest from own bodies, crowding into a tight ball. In the tropics there are rarely anthills or termite mounds on the ground. They are usually located high up - in hollows, in curled leaves and inside plant stems.

The year-round abundance of flowers explains why only in the tropics do birds live that feed exclusively on nectar or small insects found in the calyxes of flowers. These are two families: hummingbirds of South America (Trochilidae) and African-Asian sunbirds (Nectariniidae). It’s the same with butterflies: in the rainforest they fly by the thousands throughout the year.

The continuously ripening fruits serve as food for many groups of frugivores typical of the tropics. Among the birds, the most numerous are parrots and large-billed American toucans. (Rhamphastidae) and hornbills (Bucerotidae), which replace them in Africa; and in Asia - turaco (Musophagidae) with bright plumage and many others leading a similar lifestyle. Dozens of monkey species compete with birds. Frugivores spend their lives in the crowns of trees, in the upper tiers of the forest. Large fruit bats are typical here (Megachiroptera)- flying dogs and flying foxes.

In a tropical forest, the higher the level, the more life there is.

The arboreal lifestyle is typical of many species of tropical forest animals. In this regard, small animals predominate here. Thus, various small monkeys - macaques and monkeys - live in trees, and a large gorilla (up to 200 kilograms in weight) is terrestrial, while chimpanzees, which are of medium size, lead a terrestrial-arboreal lifestyle.

Of the three Brazilian anteaters, the pygmy anteater is the smallest (Cyclopes didactylus) leads an arboreal lifestyle, and the large anteater (Myrmecophaga jubata)- exclusively terrestrial animal. The average-sized anteater is the tamandua. (Tamandua tetradactyla) It moves awkwardly on the ground and along the branches and forages for food both here and there.

Everyone knows tree frog tree frog (Hyla arborea), which, thanks to the suction cups on its fingers, feels confident both on the branches and on the smooth surface of the leaf. In the tropics, tree frogs are extremely widespread. But they are not the only ones who have suction cups on their fingers. They are also found in frogs of three other families: true frogs (Ranidae), copepods (Rhacophoridae) and whistlers (Leptodactylidae). The Indonesian tarsier also has suction toes. (Tarsius), arboreal porcupines and some bats from different parts light: from America (Thyroptera), Asia (Tylonycteris) and from Madagascar (Myzopoda). When moving along branches, the safest thing is to grasp the branch on both sides like pincers. Monkey hands and feet are good, but not the best device of this type. It is better if half of the fingers wrap around the branch on one side, and the other fingers on the other side. This is exactly how the legs of the African snapping frog are designed. (Chiromantis), in some lizards and chameleons. Tree-climbing birds - woodpeckers, toucans, parrots and some cuckoos - have two toes turned forward and two back. Tenacious paws and suckers do not exhaust all possible adaptations for moving through trees. American sloth (Bradypus)- This is another fruit- and leaf-eating animal that lives in the crowns. Elongated, hook-shaped claws allow it to hang in the thickest branches without expending effort. Even when dead, the sloth does not fall to the ground, and its remains hang on the tree for a long time until the skeleton crumbles into separate bones. Parrots use their large curved beak to climb, clinging to tree branches like a claw.

Many animals use a spirally coiled tail for clinging. Chameleons, some lizards and mammals use such a “fifth paw”. American monkeys: howler monkeys (Alouatta), capuchins (Cebus), coats (Ateles), woolly monkeys (Lagothrix), as well as American tree porcupines (Erethizontidae) They make excellent use of their tail when climbing.

Another method of arboreal movement is used by Asian gibbons. (Hylobatidae). The animal, swinging strongly on one arm, flies forward and clings to another branch, then again swings pendulum-like and again flies to the next branch. These jumps sometimes reach 10–20 meters. With such movement, the legs do not work at all, and therefore the gibbons have short and weak ones. But the arms are very long and strong: after all, what longer arm, the stronger the scope. The palms themselves have undergone corresponding changes: the thumb is small and almost never used, and the other four fingers are unusually elongated. These fingers form something like a movable hook that can catch on a passing branch when jumping.

Tropical birds are poor flyers. Both parrots and toucans fly slowly, but are able to maneuver well in the complex interweaving of branches. Nowhere in the world are there so many gliding animals, a kind of “parachutists,” as in the tropical forest. There's a flying frog here (Rhacophorus), making multi-meter jumps, during which it soars with the help of huge membranes, a flying lizard (Draco volans), in which the protruding processes of the ribs are connected by skin that serves for hovering. Flying squirrels (Sciuridae), dormouse (Aliridae) and some other animals glide on skin stretched between their limbs. When jumping, the front legs are stretched far forward and to the sides, and the hind legs are stretched back, while the skin stretches, increasing the load-bearing surface. The flying cat also uses gliding flight (Cynocephalus ) - strange creature, from the order of woolly wings, or kaguans (Dermoptera), somewhat similar to a lemur and partly like insectivorous mammals tropical forests of Indochina, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In the dense vegetation of the tropical rain forest, orientation becomes a serious problem. Here, in front of a dense wall of trees, vines and other plants, vision is powerless. In the upper tiers of the forest it is difficult to see anything further than five meters away.

The sense of smell doesn't help much either. The air is still day and night. No wind penetrates the wilds or carries smells throughout the forest. However, the smell of decay and the heavy, intoxicating aroma of tropical flowers drowns out any other smell. In such conditions, hearing is most useful. Small groups of animals wandering in the treetops owe it only to hearing that they do not lose each other. Travelers often mention noisy flocks of parrots and monkeys. They are really very noisy, they constantly call to each other, like children picking berries and mushrooms in the forest. But all solitary animals are silent, silent and listening to see if the enemy is approaching. And the enemy silently circles around and listens for possible prey to rustle somewhere.

Due to the dense tree canopy, the ground is not visible from above; In addition, the earth does not heat up much, and no upward currents form in the air, so soaring birds of prey are not found in the tropical forest.

A huge number of animals inhabit the upper tiers of the tropical forest, but at the very “bottom” of it, on the ground, life is also in full swing. In addition to numerous invertebrates, ungulates, predators and large anthropoid monkeys live here. It is in vain to look here for large deer with spreading antlers: it would simply be difficult for them to move in the thicket. Tropical forest deer have small antlers, often not branched at all. Most antelopes are also small, about the size of a chamois or hare. An example is the pygmy antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus) height at the withers about 30 centimeters, antelopes of the genus Cephalophus, or red-chestnut, with light stripes and spots, the size of a chamois bushbuck antelope (Tragelaphus scriptus). Of the large ungulates, the bongo antelope lives in the African forest. (Boocercus eurycerus) red-chestnut color, with thin sparse vertical stripes and, of course, with small horns.

Or finally okapi Okapia johnstoni- a species first discovered only in 1901 and more or less studied twenty years later. For many years this animal has been a kind of symbol of the mysteries of Africa. This distant relative giraffes are approximately the size of a donkey, with a body higher in front than in the back, compressed laterally, with a red-chestnut body, and legs black with white stripes.

Please note: again red-chestnut color with white spots and stripes. This type of protective coloring makes sense only in the depths of the forest, where against the reddish background of rotting vegetation, the sunlight breaking through the dense arch of the tropical forest appears as white spots and sliding highlights. All these relatively large animals lead a nocturnal, hidden lifestyle. If we meet two animals here at the same time, then it is either a couple or a mother and baby. Forest ungulates do not have a herd life. And this is understandable: in the forest nothing is visible even twenty steps away, and the herd loses its protective biological significance.

The elephant is the only animal that passes through the thicket, leaving behind a corridor cut through the living body of the forest. Where a herd of elephants feeds, a vast trampled space appears, like an arena under the arch of the crowns of untouched huge trees.

The Kaffir buffalo lives in the forests of Africa (Syncerus caffer), in Asia - gaur (Bibos gaurus). Both of these species readily use paths made by elephants.

The influence of the tropical forest also affected the appearance of elephants and buffalos. The forest elephant subspecies is undoubtedly smaller in stature than the elephants living in the savannas, and the forest buffalo is not only smaller than the savanna buffalo, but its horns are disproportionately small.

Just as in the savannah lions are constantly followed by jackals, feeding on the remains of the lion's prey, in the tropical forest many animals accompany elephants. Different types boars from the family Hylochoerus And Potamochoerus perfectly adapted to life in the forest. Low, narrow, with a wedge-shaped forehead, with a powerful snout, they feel great in dense thickets. In places where elephants have knocked down trees or uprooted them, wild boars find edible roots and rhizomes, insect larvae, etc. When the elephants' feeding area is completely dug up by wild boars, herds of forest baboons appear on it. Among them are sphinx mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) with brightly colored muzzles and buttocks and smaller black-snouted mandrills (M. leucophaeus), which dig in the dug up ground in search of food.

A special group of great apes here are gorillas and chimpanzees. The former lead a terrestrial, the latter a terrestrial-arboreal lifestyle. They move easily in the tropical forest, roaming in small groups and feeding on a variety of plant and animal foods.