Rainforests are a house of a wide range of both animals and plants. There are many kinds of rainforests in the world. There are some rainforests in the world and each rainforest has different inhabitants. Read these amazing animals in Indonesia’s rainforest and animals living in the Australian savanna.
African rainforests are mostly found on the western coast and on the island of Madagascar. The tropical sun keeps the rainforests hot that when the rain falls each day, the water evaporates into steam.
As a result, the rain keeps the forest dripping with water. That’s why most small animals can stay safely hidden in the treetops. They can enjoy eating leaves, fruits and insects.
Let’s find out the animals you can find in the African rainforests. Get to know them and their amazing characteristics!
- Big Eastern Bongo Antelope
The first animal you can find in the African rainforest is these striped antelopes. They are interesting animals to observe in the African rainforests due to the color of their fur that rubs off easily, especially when it is wet.
There are some distinctive features of the male and the female antelopes. Both of them have two hollow horns, however, the males have longer and thicker horns.
They are easily frightened and will run away instead of fighting. Luckily, the natives did not hunt for them as they believe that if they touched or ate a bongo, they would have seizure-like spasms.
Bongo antelopes feed mainly on a wide variety of plants, which makes them herbivores. They also get salt from natural salt licks and eat charcoal from trees which have been burned by lightning.
- Mountain Gorilla
You can also find one of this largest living primate in the African rainforests. Despite the fact that they are strong and huge, they tend to be peaceful and try to frighten off the intruders without any physical violence.
Mountain gorillas are herbivores, and one of their favorites is celery. Their strong molars are able to grind up bamboo, bark, twigs and other plant materials. Meanwhile, their sharp pointy canines are used to threaten a predator or rival.
As they live high in the mountains, they are equipped with thick fur to stay warm. Sadly saying, gorilla is considered as one of the endangered primates in the world. We need to save them!
- Okapis
Okapis look similar to zebra and deer, but they are mostly closely related to a giraffe. Their unique pattern enables them to disappear into the jungle.
They do this to prevent themselves from being captured by their predators. Similar to giraffes, okapis are also herbivores which consume over 100 kinds of plants.
Do you know that they have 18-inch-long tongue? They use this tongue to browse for plants. Not only that, the tongue can also be used to groom their eyes and ears!
- African Grey Parrot
Most types of parrots have bright colors, however the African grey parrots are not that colorful. It is believed to be the most intelligent species of bird. There is a domesticated African grey parrot called Alex who could understand over 100 words.
He was also able to identify some colors and shapes, even the concepts which the average toddlers could understand. He was also considered as the first non-human to ask question. He could ask “What color?” when looking at a mirror.
Amazingly, if he felt tired of being tested, he would say “Wanna go back,” and if someone seemed to be irritated with him, he would say “I’m sorry.” Isn’t that amazing?
The African grey parrots mainly feed on seeds, nuts, fruits, bark and some insects and snails. They also consume clay and soil regularly. They love to use their beak and feed to climb instead of flying.
- Bonobo
Bonobo chimps look different than the common chimpanzees, including their behavior and looks. Compared to chimpanzees, bonobos have smaller heads along with a slimmer bone structure.
Regarding to their diet, they are omnivores and they have similar teeth to humans. Moreover, just like humans, they have distinctive facial features so that we can tell individuals apart.
Compared to other chimpanzees, they are considered less aggressive and scientists claimed that they are extraordinarily peaceful.
- Driver Ants
Let’s start discussing smaller animals living in the African rainforests. Driver ants live in huge colonies in the African rainforest. They are mostly nomadic and march from one food source to another. They can even build a huge living bridge with their bodies in order to get where they need to be.
- Tree Pangolin
Tree pangolin may look strange and unique due to its three-pointed scales. These scales are made of keratin, just like our fingernails. Tree pangolins are nocturnal animals, meaning that they are active at night. They have tail which enables them to hang from trees to another tree.
Tree pangolins are also similar to anteater, as they don’t need teeth to eat their food. Instead, they use their long and sticky tongue to eat the food: ants and termites.
Each of the animals living in the rainforests has amazing characteristics. However, most of the characteristics are similar. Check these characteristics of animals rainforest.