HideShark

Rainforest

Tropical rainforests cover about 6% of land yet house more than half of all known plant and animal species, stacked into distinct layers from forest floor to emergent canopy.

25 animals in this habitat

Reptiles LC Boa Constrictor Boa constrictor The boa constrictor is a large non-venomous snake of the Americas that kills by cutting off blood flow, not by suffocation, and gives birth to live young. It is a popular but long-lived, powerful pet. Read the guide →
Mammals CR Bornean Orangutan Pongo pygmaeus The Bornean orangutan is the largest tree-living animal on Earth and the most solitary great ape. It maps hundreds of fruiting trees from memory and is Critically Endangered from forest loss. Read the guide →
Mammals LC Capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris The capybara is the world's largest rodent — a 50-kilogram, semi-aquatic grazer famous for its calm tolerance of almost every other animal. Learn how it lives in the wetlands of South America. Read the guide →
Invertebrates VU Coconut Crab Birgus latro The coconut crab is the largest land invertebrate on Earth, a 4-kilogram hermit crab relative that climbs trees, husks coconuts with the strongest pinch ever measured, and drowns if held underwater. Read the guide →
Fish LC Electric Eel Electrophorus electricus The electric eel is not an eel but a knifefish that generates up to 860 volts — the strongest electric discharge of any animal. Learn how it stuns prey, breathes air, and leaps to shock threats. Read the guide →
Invertebrates LC Emperor Scorpion Pandinus imperator The emperor scorpion is one of the largest scorpions on Earth, yet its sting is milder than a bee's — it kills with its massive pincers instead. Learn why it glows under UV and carries its young. Read the guide →
Amphibians LC Glass Frog Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni The glass frog has translucent belly skin that shows its beating heart and gut, and it hides its own blood in its liver to become see-through while it sleeps. Learn how and why. Read the guide →
Amphibians EN Goliath Frog Conraua goliath The goliath frog is the largest frog on Earth, big enough to move rocks its own body weight to build egg nurseries. Learn how it lives in West African waterfalls and why it is Endangered. Read the guide →
Reptiles LC Green Iguana Iguana iguana The green iguana is a large tree-dwelling lizard of the American tropics — a leaf-eating reptile with a third eye on its head that has become a damaging invasive species in Florida. Read the guide →
Mammals CR Pangolin Manis javanica The pangolin is the only mammal covered in scales, a nocturnal ant-and-termite eater that rolls into an armoured ball when threatened — and the most trafficked wild mammal in the world. Read the guide →
Reptiles LC Panther Chameleon Furcifer pardalis The panther chameleon of Madagascar is the most vividly coloured chameleon, with skin that shifts by moving nanocrystals, eyes that swivel independently, and a tongue longer than its body. Read the guide →
Birds LC Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius The southern cassowary is a huge flightless rainforest bird with a bony head casque and dagger-clawed feet. It is the only animal that can spread some large rainforest seeds. Read the guide →
Mammals VU Sun Bear Helarctos malayanus The sun bear is the smallest bear on Earth, with a 25-centimetre tongue for raiding beehives and a chest patch shaped like a rising sun. Learn how this tree-climbing forest bear lives. Read the guide →
Amphibians LC Surinam Toad Pipa pipa The Surinam toad is a flat, leaf-shaped aquatic frog whose babies erupt from pits in the mother's back. It has no tongue or teeth and feels for prey with star-tipped fingers in murky water. Read the guide →
Mammals LC Common Vampire Bat Desmodus rotundus The common vampire bat is the only mammal that feeds entirely on blood. It runs and leaps like a spider, shares meals with hungry roost-mates, and its saliva has led to a stroke drug. Read the guide →
Mammals EN Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes The chimpanzee is one of our two closest living relatives, sharing about 98.8% of our DNA. Learn how chimp societies work, how they use tools and hunt, and why they're Endangered. Read the guide →
Invertebrates NE Goliath Birdeater Theraphosa blondi The goliath birdeater is the heaviest spider in the world, with 2-centimetre fangs and a coat of barbed defensive hairs. Learn what it actually eats, how it hisses, and why it rarely bites people. Read the guide →
Reptiles LC Green Anaconda Eunectes murinus The green anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world, a non-venomous constrictor that ambushes prey from the water. Learn how it kills, why females dwarf males, and how it gives birth. Read the guide →
Mammals NT Jaguar Panthera onca The jaguar is the biggest cat in the Americas and has the strongest bite of any big cat for its size — it kills by piercing the skull. Learn how it hunts in water and why it's Near Threatened. Read the guide →
Reptiles VU King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake and the only one that builds a nest for its eggs. Learn how it hunts other snakes, why it rears up, and what its venom does. Read the guide →
Amphibians EN Poison Dart Frog Phyllobates terribilis Poison dart frogs wear bright warning colours and carry some of nature's most potent toxins — borrowed from their diet. Learn how the poison works and why captive frogs are harmless. Read the guide →
Amphibians LC Red-Eyed Tree Frog Agalychnis callidryas The red-eyed tree frog isn't poisonous — it survives by hiding green all day and flashing shock colours to escape. Learn its startle trick and the eggs that hatch early to dodge snakes. Read the guide →
Reptiles LC Reticulated Python Malayopython reticulatus The reticulated python is the longest snake in the world, a non-venomous constrictor that swims between islands and lives alongside people across Southeast Asia. Learn how it hunts and breeds. Read the guide →
Mammals LC Sloth Bradypus variegatus The sloth is the slowest mammal on Earth, moving and digesting so slowly that algae grows in its fur. Learn why it only comes down from the canopy once a week — and why that trip is so dangerous. Read the guide →
Mammals CR Western Gorilla Gorilla gorilla The western gorilla is the largest primate and shares about 98% of its DNA with humans. Learn how silverback-led troops live, what gorillas eat, and why the species is Critically Endangered. Read the guide →