South America is the fourth largest continent of planet Earth. Among the huge number of beautiful and amazing places on the globe, South America in its beauty takes its rightful place. In her nature, there is something bewitching, unique and inimitable. The animals of South America are striking and diverse, as are she.
This continent can be called the land of contradictions. Tierra del Fuego, divided by Chile and Argentina, lies in the stormy and cold Atlantic Ocean, and dusty and hot Pampas run through all of Argentina and Uruguay. Cool valleys lie in the west and the insurmountable Andes rise. Coffee grows in the fertile valleys, and the Chilean Atacama Desert is the driest place on the planet. The Amazon basin is covered with impenetrable jungle thickets.
To the end, the unexplored fauna of South America is the amazing inhabitants of woodlands and savannahs, inimitable animals of tropical rainforests and Andes. It is not superfluous to mention that the Andes are the longest mountains on our planet. They extend over 9 thousand km and, very interestingly, occupy six climatic zones. This cannot but affect the animals living in this mountain range.
If we talk about a continent such as South America, the animals here are represented by more than 600 species of mammals and amphibians (over 900 species). Also, about 1700 species of birds live here. Mammals are not characterized by living in large clusters. This is due to the dense vegetation of natural plantings.
The animals of South America are as unusual as the birds of this region. A large number of different types of parrots, numerous species of hummingbirds live here. Condor, who used to live in this area, adorned the coat of arms of Colombia. Today it is found only in two areas of this region and is considered an endangered species.
The fauna of South America has been significantly affected by human hands. Andean condor, a huge proud bird with a wingspan of 3.5 meters - one of the long-lived birds of the world, and can live up to 50 years of age. Due to the decline in population, it is listed in the Red Book, and some countries are conducting programs to increase the number of this rare bird.
The animals living on this continent are so unique that they do not cease to attract the attention of zoologists. For example, the only Titicacan whistler and wingless chomga live in the region of the Titicaca Islands. Also the only representative is the pudu deer. His height barely reaches 40 cm, and weighs only 10 kg. In cold weather, he comes to human settlements, where he is mercilessly gnawed by dogs. It is also listed in the Red Book.
Animals of South America are represented by large endemic families of predators, rodents and herbivores. No less interesting are the wide-nosed monkeys, whose habitat is tropical rainforests. They are divided into two families - cebids and marmosets. There are also a large number of spider monkeys, which, because of their structure, can live on the branches of trees.
Upper teeth are represented by a detachment of sloths. These sedentary animals hang on trees all the time. It is very rare to see a sloth on earth. Some species of anteaters also climb trees perfectly.
Animals of South America are also a cat family: jaguars, ocelots, small jaguarundis. There is also a predatory bush dog, which has been little studied.
Animals that prey on trees are kinkaju and nosuha.
The few species of ungulates living in impassable forests are tapir, small-sized spicy-horned deer, and baker pigs.
Representatives of rodents living in these places are also unique. You will never meet capybara, a large representative of rodents, coendu - a tenacious tail porcupine and agouti, which causes significant harm to tropical crops.
Opossums and marsupials rats live in the moist forests of South America. Large flocks of bats live there, some of which feed on warm-blooded blood.
