The jungle animals They are those that inhabit tropical or temperate plant formations where trees predominate at various levels of height. In addition, there are a large number of climbing plants and epiphytes (plants that live on trees).
These formations, which are called jungles, tend to present warm temperatures, high humidity and abundant water. In the jungles, the diversity of animals is very high, since they have a great variety of environments.
Therefore, there are animals adapted to life on the forest floor and others that live on trees in the middle. There are also those that inhabit the upper canopy (upper canopies), where solar radiation is intense.
In this complex ecosystem, the food webs are also complex and long, with herbivorous, carnivorous, omnivorous and decomposing animals. In the jungle there are small herbivores such as grasshoppers and large ones like the elephant.
Likewise, there are small carnivores like the Amazonian mantis and large ones like the jaguar. You can also find animals that eat everything, such as chimpanzees, which is a group closely related to humans..
Jungle animals must adapt to a generally warm environment where temperatures never drop below 10 ° C. In these ecosystems there are abundant rains, at least for part of the year, sometimes in large quantities.
In addition, the abundance of vegetation and in particular of several layers or levels of trees, produces a gloomy environment in the interior of the jungle. This structure with several floors of vegetation provides a diversity of environments for the animals..
There is a layer of grasses and shrubs below (understory), medium trees, then taller ones and still larger ones that form a closed canopy of canopies. There are even so-called emergent trees, giants that stick out from the uniform canopy. This makes the jungle animals have varied characteristics, depending on the jungle environment to which they adapt..
Due to the dominance of trees, many of the jungle animals have adapted to living in them. In such a way that animals with limbs that facilitate climbing and holding on abound.
Such is the case of monkeys, such as the spider monkey or sloths with their strong claws. Many snakes also forage for food in the treetops, such as the emerald boa..
In the jungles in general, water is abundant, forming large rivers and even periodically flooding the land. Because of this, many animals have adapted to live in close contact with water..
For example, jungle cats love water and are good swimmers, as is the case with the Asian tiger and the American jaguar. On the other hand, fish adapt to feeding on fruits that fall from trees.
Some fish such as the paiche or pirarucú even jump out of the water to capture insects in the lower branches of the flooded forest..
Since cold is not a problem in the jungle, the animals do not have very abundant fur. In general, it is rather short, except in some cases such as sloths, whose long hair is even full of algae due to the existing humidity..
In the interior of the jungle, the shade predominates, due to the abundant and closed vegetation. Because of this, many animals have developed dark colors, like many monkeys and other primates such as the chimpanzee or gorilla, while others have patterns with black spots or stripes, such as cats. All this to take advantage of the shadow play of the undergrowth to hide.
On the contrary, others choose to be very showy and in these cases it is often a warning. They are generally poisonous animals and their bright colors warn you of this. For example, the dart or arrowhead frogs of the American rainforests.
In the forests there are abundant fruits with a hard cover or with seeds protected by corozos or hardened covers, as in some palms. This has meant that many species of birds have evolved to develop robust beaks to break through these covers. This is how birds such as toucans or parrots (macaws and parrots) live in the jungles..
The jungle is a complex plant formation, with many levels of trees, plants that climb, hang and live on trees. This means that there are many places to live at different levels, from the ground to the top of the canopy..
Each area has its particular characteristics, for example the undergrowth is shady and humid. While the upper part of the crowns of large trees receive a lot of solar radiation.
Therefore, there are animals adapted to each condition and in many cases they never interbreed. The jaguar lives in the shady understory, while many insects and birds inhabit only the upper part.
In the jungle there is such a diversity of species that complex and long food webs are formed.
The food chains that make up these networks include primary producers such as plants. They produce their own food using nutrients and water from the soil and energy from the Sun. Therefore, plants form the basis of the food chains of the rainforest..
There are a large number of herbivorous animals, that is, animals that feed on plants. Among these, the most abundant are insects that consume plants, especially leaves..
In tropical rainforests, for example, cutter ants abound. They cut leaves and other plant parts and use them to grow a fungus in their colonies, on which they feed. There are also large herbivores such as the jungle elephant in Africa, the sloth or the tapir in America and Asia..
In turn, herbivores are the food of carnivorous animals, which can be of different sizes. In the jungle there are small ones like the praying mantis that feeds on other insects.
There are also very large carnivores such as the tiger in the jungles of Asia, the jaguar in the American jungles or the leopard in Africa. There are also large flying carnivores such as the harpy eagle and in rivers such as alligators and crocodiles..
Other animals eat both vegetables and other animals, that is, they eat almost everything. Such is the case of chimpanzees, the collared peccary and fish such as piranhas..
Finally, every animal and plant in the jungle ends up dying and their remains go to the forest floor. A large number of animals act here, helping to break down waste, as well as other organisms such as bacteria and fungi. Among the animals that help process organic waste are many insects and earthworms..
These are some of the animals that can be found in jungles around the world:
Animals of the African savanna.
Animals of africa.
Amazon animals.
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