A Short Guide to Understanding Endangered Rainforest Species for Kids!

A Short Guide to Understanding Endangered Rainforest Species for Kids!
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Looking for a way to teach your kids about the rainforest through online reading? The following is an overview of understanding endangered rainforest species for kids.

What Is A Rainforest?

A rainforest is a forest that is made up of very tall trees that grow between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn in countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, The Democratic Republic of Congo, or Indonesia. That means that these forests are near the equator where it is warm and wet year round. Since there is so much rain and so much warmth, many plants and animals grow there instead of places where there are cold winter months. In fact, over half the worlds species of animals call the rainforest their home.

Rainforests are incredibly important because they provide the right habitat for many plants and animals. If we were to transport those plants and animals to another area of the world, they wouldn’t do well because they are adapted for rainforest life. The trees in the rainforest provide food for animals and people, help create medicines, and even make a large amount of the oxygen that we breathe in everyday!

Unfortunately, due to the destruction of human beings, many animals and plants are becoming endangered. That means that there are very few of that plant or animal left on Earth. If we don’t protect them, they might not exist when we are older.

Which Animals Are Endangered In The Rainforest?

The chimpanzee, orangutan, and gorilla are all on the endangered species list. All three of these apes share things with human beings but they are slowly dying off due to destruction of the rainforest. They are also hunted in certain parts of the world for meat or to sell.

Jaguars, tigers, and leopards are similar big cats that live in different parts of the world. Jaguars live in South American rainforests while tigers live in Southern Asia and leopards live in African rainforests. Both of these cats are endangered due to the destruction of the rainforest. There is also poaching, or hunting, of these animals for their beautiful fur.

Other animals like the poison dart frog, toucan, macaw, and harpy eagle as well as hundreds of other reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, insects and plants are constantly in danger from the fact that trees are disappearing as well as pollution and global warming. Every little change we make can affect whether these animals continue to exist or not so it is important that we protect the rainforests while we can. Once the rainforest is completely gone, there is no way to get it back.

Resources

“Endangered Rain Forest Animals.” Liza’s Reef -Coral Reef Art. Web. 16 June 2010. <https://www.lizasreef.com/hope for the rain forests/endangered_rain_forest_animals.html

Endangered Species. Earth’s Endangered Creatures. Web. 16 June 2010. https://www.earthsendangered.com/index\_s.asp.

“Rainforest Biomes.” Blue Planet Biomes. Web. 16 June 2010. https://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm.

“Research & Resources: What Is a Tropical Forest?” Rainforest Alliance. Web. 16 June 2010. https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/resources.cfm?id=tropical\_forest.

Sandhyarani, Ningthoujam. “Endangered Rainforest Animals.” Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 16 June 2010. https://www.buzzle.com/articles/endangered-rainforest-animals.html.