The South American savanna is also called as tropical savanna. It extends throughout the majority of northern South America, including Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana.
The South American savanna covers about 150,000 square miles in the northeastern part of the American continent. Compared to the African savanna, the South American savanna is much smaller. Due to this small area, a wide variety of animals may also be found in and out of the savanna or live there part time.
There are some famous animals living in the South American savanna, such as the giant anaconda, marsh deer, tamandua, white-bellied spider monkey and many more. Let’s get to know deeper each of these animals living in the South American savanna.
- Giant Anaconda
Anacondas are a large group of snakes found in and around the Amazon rainforest in South America. There are basically four species of anacondas: the green anaconda, the yellow anaconda, the dark-spotted anaconda, and the Bolivian anaconda. Besides anacondas, there is also the list of wild animals that live in the Amazon forest. They are amazing.
The biggest among these 4 species is the green anaconda which also gets a nickname as “the giant anaconda”. Giant anacondas may look shorter than any other snakes, but they are much larger than any pythons.
Their weight can reach over 500 pounds. If you love to study about snakes, you also need to know these venomous snakes in Indonesia and non-venomous snakes.
- White-bellied Spider Monkey
What a unique name! White-bellied spider monkey is also known as white-fronted or long-haired spider monkey. This monkey species is native to the northwestern lowland and montane Amazonian forests of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil.
White-bellied spider monkeys have long, muscular and very strong limbs. Their shoulders can also fully rotate and their wrists are also extremely flexible. They inhabit lowland forest and are noticeable by their blackish fur on the back and anterior limbs and yellow-creamy color fur on the belly.
- Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Black-bellied whistling ducks have an appearance that is more like geese than ducks. They are moderately large as their body can reach 48 cm in length.
They feature long necks along with long legs. While flying, their neck will be outstretched with the head held slightly lower than the body. You can easily recognize the adults by the combination of their coral red bill, pink legs and feet, gray head with chestnut crown and white eye ring.
Besides inhabiting savanna, this duck species can also be found in freshwater swamps, natural and artificial lakes, agricultural fields, river edges and mangroves.
- Southern Tamandua
The southern tamandua has several popular names, such as the lesser anteater or the collar anteater. The southern tamanduas are known as solitary animals aside from mating. They mainly feed on small animals, such as ants and termites, but also eat fruits, bees and honey.
The southern tamandua features short dense fur which is typically golden or tan, but mostly they are black in color. There’s a unique thing about this animal: the southern tamanduas have various means of vocal communication, especially between mother and her baby. The communication includes hisses, snorts, roars and sniffs.
- Orinoco Piculet
The Orinoco piculet is a bird species commonly found in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. It inhabits the subtropical and tropical moist lowland forest.
The adult Orinoco piculet is about 9 cm in length. The upper parts of its body are olive brown, but sometimes lightly barred with tawny brown. The under parts are cream or buff and boldly barred with dark brown.
The males have faint yellow streaking or spotting on the fore crown, different with the females which lack of this. Unfortunately the Orinoco piculet is said to be generally uncommon. Its number declines due to its habitat clearance.
Regarding to declining numbers of animals, some countries also experience the issue of endangered animals, such as endangered animals in South America and endangered animals in North America. We, as humans also need to understand reasons why species are endangered and need to take an action.
- White-faced Tree Duck
The white-faced tree duck is a species of whistling duck that breeds not only in South American, but also in the sub-Saharan Africa.
Just like its name, the white-faced tree duck has a distinctive white face. Besides, it also has a black neck and head, along with a long grey bill, a long head and longish legs.
Besides South American savanna, there is also the Australian savanna. You can check the animals living in the Australian savanna.