List of Western Hemisphere Rainforest Animals

The rainforests of the Western Hemisphere are home to more than 50 percent of the world's animals. In those rainforests, you find the largest, smallest, loudest, most dangerous, most beautiful and strangest animals on the planet. Where else could you find a rodent the size of a pig, an animal that moves so slow that algae actually grows on its fur or a creature strong enough to bite through the skull of a 600-pound animal? The rainforest is home to so many different species that some researchers estimate more than a million exist that have not yet been discovered.

  1. Jaguar

    • The jaguar is the largest and most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere. Jaguars are compact and muscular, with short stocky limbs, which make it an excellent climber and swimmer. The jaguar has an incredibly powerful bite that allows for a unique killing method. They actually bite through the skull of their prey just between the ears and directly into the brain. Jaguars are carnivores (meat eaters) and are able to bring down prey weighing more than 600 pounds and are capable of dragging it well over 25 feet.

    Capybara

    • Capybara is the largest rodent in the world, weighing up to 150 pounds. Capybara live in large groups along riverbanks and spend a large amount of time in the water. They can hold their breath under water for up to five minutes. Capybara sleep very little. They doze off and on during the day and graze through the night. In the 16th century, Catholics classified the capybara as a fish, which makes its meat popular during lent.

    Sloth

    • Sloths are slow-moving, graceful creatures that live almost exclusively in trees, coming to the ground only to urinate or defecate about once a week. Sloths actually have algae growing on their fur, which benefits both the sloth and the algae. The algae provides a green color to the sloth's fur, which helps camouflage him in the trees, and the sloth fur provides a rich environment for the growth of the algae. Sloth fur is also home to many insects, sometimes hundreds of beetles. Sloths spend very little time sitting on top of branches. They eat, sleep and give birth hanging upside down.

    Tapir

    • The tapir is a large pig-like animal that is related to the horse and rhinoceros. They stand about 3 feet tall and weigh between 400 and 700 pounds. Tapir are solitary animals with few natural predators. Tapir spend most of their day underwater with the tips of their snouts sticking out from the water. They can walk along the bottom of a riverbed just like rhinos.

    Spider Monkey

    • Spider monkeys get their name because they look like spiders when hanging in a tree by their tail. Scientists recently gave the spider monkey an intelligence rating a little above that of a gorilla, making the spider monkey one of the most intelligent New World monkeys. They spend almost all of their time in the high canopy of the rainforest, very seldom ever coming to land. They have often been called the "supreme acrobat of the forest." They spend their time swinging from branch to branch and are able to leap 40 feet with one stride.