The Ark Files - Amazonia
Have you visited the new Amazonia exhibit at Taronga Zoo yet?
The real Amazonia is in the north of South America around the
Amazon River - the second longest river in the world. It's the world's
largest tropical rainforest - 7 million square kilometres - and it's home to
some of the biggest, longest, most poisonous - and even the smelliest -
creatures on earth. Many of them are found nowhere else.
Our new exhibit can only display a few of these, so what about some
of the other interesting and unique species from the region?
A 140 kilogram fish!
The arapaima is the largest fish of the Amazon Basin
and one of the biggest of all the world's true freshwater
fish. With a green head and body with reddish tints, it can
grow up to 3 metres long and weigh more than 140 kg.
Arapaima are the main fish eaten by the Amazon people
who shoot them with arrows and harpoons and then cut
them up and dry them in the sun.
The fiercest of all fish
Piranhas are probably the most well-known and
supposedly the fiercest of all fish! Their sharp teeth and
unbelievably powerful jaws can tear their prey to ribbons
in minutes, but they usually only behave this way when
food is in short supply. Their main role is to help keep the
rivers clean, and villagers also use their sharp teeth for
arrowheads and their jaw bones for razors.
The Amazon is important
The animals and plants of the Amazon are very
important for the people of the world and the health
of our planet. Plants for curing heart disease, cancer
and infectious diseases have already been found here,
and scientists say many more are yet to be discovered.
This is why Amazonia is so special - the more we
understand their importance and treat these places
with respect, the closer we will be to living in harmony
with our animal friends and their habitat.
Anaconda-The world's
longest snake
Submerged in the waters of the Amazon is the
world's longest and heaviest snake - the anaconda. Its
average length is 6 metres but it can grow as long as
10 metres and weigh as much as 250 kg. The anaconda
is not poisonous, but don't be fooled - it's extremely
lethal. It kills by coiling itself around its prey and
slowly squeezing tighter and tighter. When the victim
finally dies, the anaconda then swallows it whole! The
digestion process is slow and often the snake will sleep
for four or five days after a meal.
An anaconda
- has 63 rows of grey or olive
scales on its back
- has a body as thick as a
man's waist
- gives birth to 60 young, all up
to one metre long
- can go for up to two and a half years without eating
after a big feed
A fish that bites with its
tongue
Another giant fish is the pirarucu, known mainly for
its 'tongue bite'. Most fish bite with teeth set into jaws
but the pirarucu bites with teeth that line its tongue.
Indians dry these tongues and use them to grate seeds for
mixing into drinks.
The world's largest
rodent
Amazonia is also home to the world's largest rodent
- the capybara. With a compact, barrel-shaped body,
long legs, webbed feet and a cover of yellowish-ochre
hair, capybaras look rather like pigs. Weighing up to
66 kg, they live in groups of 15-20 and spend their
mornings resting, usually bathing at midday before
eating heavily during the late afternoon and night.
They are equally at home on land or water,
feeding on grasses and aquatic plants, and can
submerge completely for up to 10 minutes
when escaping predators.
Clumsy, smelly birds
 Flying though the rainforest and alongside the
waterways is the extraordinary hoatzin bird. The hoatzin
is a type of cuckoo with such weak wing muscles that
it can fly, clumsily, for only 100 metres before becoming
exhausted. Because of its strong, musky body odour, it is
known as the 'stink bird'.
Baby hoatzins have two 'fingers' at the top of each wing as
well as strong claws. This makes
the chicks look as though they
have four feet. After a few
weeks these claws disappear
completely. If the baby is
in danger, it drops out of
its tree into the water
and swims away very
quickly to hide
until it is safe.
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