Herbivores of the Amazon

A herbivore is an animal, insect or bird that gets the energy it requires from plants, fruits or nuts. The herbivores that live in the Amazon rain forest have had to adapt to life where the sunlight is blocked by the thick leaves, making it difficult for plants to grow. They are selective in what they eat, looking for food that is high-energy as plant food is scarce.

  1. Tapir

    • The tapir is the largest herbivore found in the Amazon rain forest, and although it has an appearance similar to a pig, it is related to horses and rhinoceroses.

      It has an inefficient digestive system so it tends to graze all day. Tapirs can grow to 7 feet in length and can weigh up to 700 pounds. They eat a diet of berries and leaves. The tapir is an excellent swimmer and often dives in rivers to eat aquatic plants.

    The Capybara

    • The capybara is the largest rodent in the world, growing to 4 feet long and weighing up to 170 pounds. The capybara grazes on grasses and aquatic plants as it is a semi-aquatic rodent. It also eats fruit and tree bark. Capybaras are coprohagous, which means they eat their fecal matter in order to digest the amount of grass they eat.

      They are sociable animals and can be found in large groups that are dominated by a male who uses the scent gland on his nose to mark his territory.

    Hoatzin

    • The hoatzin is the same size as the pheasant with an almost bare head and red eyes. It lives near slow-moving waters such as swamps or flooded forests high in the trees.

      It has a diet that consists of leaves and fruit. The young of the Hoatzin are born with two claws on each wing, which scientists have linked to the bird Archaeopteryx from the Jurassic period more than 150 million years ago. These claws help the young birds to climb the trees if they fall from the nest.

    Leaf Cutter Ants

    • Leaf cutter ants spend much of their time cutting leaves and taking it back to nests where they grow fungi to eat. There is one queen ant in the colony who lays all the eggs, which when they hatch become the workers for the colony. She may also lay a few eggs that will become drones; these are always male.

      When a queen ant hatches, she has wings and when fully grown she flies from the nest to form her own colony. Once she has found a place to form her nest, she sheds her wings and begins to dig her nest. She then lays eggs in the underground nest; this is the only job she will do for the rest of her life.

      Once the first few workers are born, they care for the rest of the eggs and begin to make the fungus from the leaves they will continually carry back to the nest.

      The leaf cutter ants have strong jaws, which they use to cut the leaves. The ants lay a trail of pheromone, which is a scent, to find their way back to the nest as they travel long distances.