Ashley Ingram

We are losing Earth's greatest biological treasures just as we are beginning to appreciate their true value. Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's surface. Due to deforestation they now cover only 6% and getting smaller Rainforests are being destroyed because the value of rainforest land is perceived as only the value of its timber. Nearly half of the world's species of plants, and animals are being threatened because of deforestation to make better industries and economies. As we know the rainforest holds valuable plants that may be a possible cure for diseases such as cancer. Most of the prescription drugs come from the plants that were originally home based in the Amazon.

The Amazon The Amazon Basin is the largest forest in the world and is about 3.4 million square miles. Sixty percent is in Brazil and the other forty percent are in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, and Guiana. This forest is the home to the most diverse amount of animals. Not to mention the amount of trees and plants that are not even found yet. This extreme biology has a very set design that balances perfectly for the ecosystem. The sixth thousand five hundred mile Amazon river is the worlds largest river in terms of the amount of water it holds, but second behind the Nile in being the longest. This region is also being threatened by logging, mining, and oil extraction. This is a danger to what we could have like a cure for cancer or other plants or herbs we have not discovered yet because we are too busy destroying what we don’t know.

There were an estimated ten million Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000. In Brazil alone, European colonists have destroyed more than 90 indigenous tribes since the 1900's. With them have gone centuries of accumulated knowledge of the medicinal value of rainforest species. As their homelands continue to be destroyed by deforestation they too are losing their homes and villages.

The Amazon River The Amazon river is the 2 nd longest river next to the Nile but holds the most water of any river. It runs through Brazil and Peru and empties out in Atlantic Ocean off the northern coast of Brazil.

Mammals of the forest Coatimundi Jaguar Howler Monkey Pygmy Marmoset Kinkajou Tapir Capybara Ocelot Giant River Otters

Animals Info Capybara are the largest type of rodents in the world. They are herbivores and their enemies are alligators, large snakes, and jaguars Howler Monkeys are primates and vegetarians and consume flowers, fruits and leaves. Howler monkeys are about two feet long, with a thirty inch tail. When an enemy approaches they will make a loud call to warn and use its tail to escape. Giant River Otters can grow to over six feet long and weigh more than 70 pounds Marmosets are the world’s smallest true monkeys. Adults are about five inches tall. The Ocelot is a good swimmer. They prefer to stay on the ground, but will climb trees, too. They climb down backwards, feet first! Kinkajous are mammals, related to raccoons. They mostly eat fruits and honey Jaguars are the third largest cat, only lions and tigers are bigger. They have the strongest jaw of any cat. Active both day and night, the Coati is a forest dweller and an agile tree climber. It eats lizards, birds, and fruit and uses its long mobile snout to grub for insects and roots. Tapirs look something like pigs but in all reality that are in the rhinoceros and horse family.

Reptiles/Snakes The Amazon rainforest caiman is a very large reptile, often reaching four meters long Amazon Tree Boa reaches to about 4-6 feet, a very thinly built Boa, this animal rarely exceeds 5 feet. This boa spends the vast majority of its time living in the mid level canopy of the rain forest. The Anaconda The heaviest of all living snakes, the female Anaconda can reach lengths of 20 feet and weights of over 300 pounds. Male Anacondas are considerably smaller than females, a large male may only be 8-10 feet in length and is a considerably thinner bodied animal Anaconda Tree Boa

Frogs Blue poison dart frogGreen and black poison dart frog Yellow-Banded Poison Frog Yellow and blue poison arrow frog

The blue poison dart frog is a colorful frog found in the rainforests of Suriname, a country located in the northeastern part of South America. The blue poison dart frog uses its colors to warn predators of its toxic skin The green and black poison dart frog is a frog found in Central and South America, although in 1932 the frog was introduced to Hawaii in an effort to control mosquitos Yellow-Banded Poison Frog In captivity these frogs can live as long as 15 years.

The cocoa tree studies and research have shown that through the leaves, seeds, fruit, and bark it has produced more then 150 chemicals. Throughout South American history the Aztecs, Mayans, and Olmecs have used this to reduce anxiety, fever, fatigue and coughs. About five hundred years ago this plant was brought to Europe to treat Kidney stones, cuts, and burns.

Natural healing herbs Clavillia is a herb most commonly known to cure or kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This plant also has many active compounds like proteins, alkaloids and steroids.

Natives The Amazon rainforest contrary to the popular belief has held a long history of indigenous tribes and settlements. These people had a surprisingly big population and society. They for a living made artfully designed pottery that can still be seen in the Brazilian markets today. Many tribes lived along the Amazon rivers because they had good means of transportation, plenty of fish for food, and fertile floodplain soil for agriculture. Today although the Amerindians have shed their traditional garb and wear more westernized clothing. Very few tribes continue to live their traditional lifestyle because of their threatened lifestyle and land. More and more are the lands of the Rainforest disappearing and the land of these indigenous tribes are disappearing. One of these groups by the name of Tageri claim to still live their traditional ways in Ecuador but they have a natural resource the world wants and needs; oil. So there is a fight for the right to own what little land they have left.