What Is a Rain Forest Rain forests are areas of thick forest where it rains nearly all year round They are home to more than half of all the millions of types of plants and animals on earth Salamander page 21 This map shows the areas of tropical and temperate rain forests Although they only cover a small part of the earth they are home to more than half of all living things Golden lion tamarin page 12 Tropical rain forest Temperate rain forest Warm and Cool Rain Forests There are two types of rain forest Tropical rain forests are found close to the equator where it is always warm Plants grow quickly in the hot damp conditions providing food and shelter for animals as large as tigers and as small as ants Temperate rain forests are often found along coasts and on mountain slopes These forests are home to creatures that prefer a cooler climate such as bears deer and otters Three toed sloth page
EXTREME A rise Home ANIMALS High Rain forests are divided into layers At the bottom The goliath birdeaters of the is the dark damp forest floor where creatures such South American rain forest are as spiders scorpions and beetles live Above this the largest spiders in there are small trees and bushes growing toward the world Some of them are bigger than the sunlight The tops of the trees are called the a dinner plate canopy This layer of the rain forest is buzzing with 12 in life Monkeys swing between the trees butterflies 30 cm flutter among the flowers and snakes curl around the branches Above the very tallest trees eagles soar looking for prey in the canopy below Bengal tiger page 10 Tropic of Cancer Equator Tropic of Capricorn Javan rhino page 9 Forest elephe page
Rain Forests under threat Huge areas of the world's rain forests are being cut down People want the land to live on to grow crops and to graze livestock They also want to make use of the wood from the trees Homeless and Hungry People are worried about the destruction of the rain forests because it contributes to global warming but the destruction also has a huge effect on the forest V Cutting down the animals Without the trees many creatures lose their rain forests affects the homes The flowers fruit and leaves of the trees also environment and leaves provide food for millions of animals No trees means animals without food no food or shelter WHAT DO YOU THINK In Southeast Asia parts of the rain forest are being cut down to make way for oil palm plantations The oil is used to make environmentally friendly vehicle fuels What arguments do you think there are for and against using rain forest land in this
Separation and Competition When parts of the rain forest are cleared groups of animals can become separated from others of their species This is called fragmentation and it reduces the number of potential mates for the animals As more creatures are forced to live in smaller areas of forest there is greater competition for food water and shelter There may not be enough to go around Human Hunters Hunting is also a threat to rain forest animals such as tigers caimans and rhinos Some people kill them for their valuable meat fur or horns but others just hunt them for sport The people who live in and around the rain forests are often respectful of their environment but sometimes they feel they must cut down the trees or kill the animals to survive These leopard skins have been taken away from poachers who were hunting these endangered animals s De St ENDANGERED ANIMALS 7 The International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN lists animals according to how endangered they are Extinct Died out completely a Extinct in the wild Only survive in captivity Critically endangered Extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the near future Endangered High risk of becoming extinct in the wild Vulnerable High risk of becoming endangered in the wild a Near threatened Likely to become endangered in the near future Least concern Lowest risk of becoming endangered as
