Hobbies And Interests
Primates
Due to rainforest destruction in large parts of Asia, orangutans are now limited to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They occupy the mid-strata of the forest canopy, where they eat leaves, fruits and shoots. They, along with chimpanzees and howler monkeys, are among the few canopy dwellers capable of digesting the unusually thick rainforest tree leaves. Most primates, including lemurs and gibbons, live their whole lives among the trees. Deforestation is the reason for their ever-decreasing numbers.
Birds
Many bird species spend their entire lives deep in the rainforest, such as toucans, macaws and raptors like the harpy eagle of South America. Toucans and parrots have large, strong beaks adapted for crunching on particular nuts. Many rainforest birds are vulnerable to extinction as they are dependent on the tall trees of the canopy. The rhinoceros hornbill of Sumatra can only form its nest holes in tall, mature rainforest trees.
Insects
More than 50 million species of invertebrates are estimated to be living in rainforests worldwide. Many cannot be found anywhere else because they are dependent on a particular tree or plant for survival. Azteca ants of Central America, for example, live on swollen thorn acacia trees, which are only native to the understory layer of the rainforest. They provide the ants lodging, water and food, and the ants in return protect the trees from predators. Insects are especially abundant on the forest floor and understory layers of the forest.
Frogs
Frogs lose water quickly, so they need the moisture that areas with high rainfall provide. Two prominent groups in rainforests are tree frogs and poison dart frogs. Both groups are found in alluring, bright colors, the former to provide camouflage among plants and the latter to warn other animals they are poisonous. The high humidity of the rainforest allows frogs more freedom to climb trees and escape predators.
Sloths
Both three-toed and two-toed sloths are endemic to the rainforests of Central and South America. The former variety feed almost exclusively on cecropia leaves, while the latter require leaves and fruit found high up in the canopy layer of the forest. Although the fur of sloths is naturally brown, it often appears green as a consequence of algae stimulation due to the sloths' slow movement. This camouflages the sloths among the trees and helps protect them from predators.