Unique Species of the Essequibo River, Guyana Guyana’s Essequibo River and the nearby Iwokrama Forest and Rupununi Wetlands provide a home for a wide variety of plants and animals, including the crocodilian black caiman and endangered giant otter. Additionally, four hundred species of fish, like the carnivorous piranha, live in Guyana’s rivers, and eight hundred species of birds, such as the endangered harpy eagle, build their nests in the canopy of the rainforest.                                               © CI, Haroldo Castro Without their habitat in the rainforest, these diverse species might not exist. Preserving their home helps these different creatures to survive and maintain the careful balance and food chain of the forest. If one species begins to die out, it can affect all the animals in that area. For example, the excrement of the black caiman used to feed plankton, the base of the food chain. The plankton clean the river by eating waste created by other animals, but the decrease in caiman population led to a decrease in plankton and small fish that feed upon it, therefore altering the food chain. Failing to preserve rainforests and their plants and animals can lead to extinction. These plants and animals may have unknown medicinal qualities that would be lost forever if they died out. The destruction of rainforests over the next 25 years is predicted to wipe out or endanger almost half of the world’s animals, plants, and microorganisms. Although a quarter of Western pharmaceuticals contain ingredients from plant sources, only 1% of rainforest plants have even been tested for medicinal value. Protecting the rainforest keeps these valuable resources intact and prevents further loss of species. © CI, Marcelo Arze *Black caiman: The biggest predator in the Amazon basin, this endangered carnivorous reptile grows to at least 13 feet in length. Maintaining a diet of birds, turtles, fish, and deer, larger caimans may also eat anacondas, jaguars, cougars, and tapirs, while young caimans feed on insects and crustaceans. Humans, the only predators of healthy adult black caimans, often kill the animals for leather or meat, which led to near-extinction of the species at one point. *Giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis): The world’s longest otter, also known as the river wolf, can reach six feet in length and weigh over 70 pounds. With thick chocolate-colored fur, they are often hunted by fur traders, and this has led to its endangerment. Eating fish, snakes, small caimans, and crabs, the giant otter is one of the largest predators in its habitat. These social creatures live in groups with their families and can be negatively influenced by human activity: a nursing mother may get so stressed by tourists coming close to their homes that she may no longer produce milk and cause her pups to starve.                                                                               © CI, Haraoldo Castro    *Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja): The most powerful eagle in the world, the harpy eagle weighs ten to eighteen pounds with a wingspan of about seven feet. Feeding on birds, iguanas, monkeys, opossums, big rodents, etc., the harpy eagle is a carnivore that hunts during the day. A pair of harpy eagles raises only one chick every two to three years, and this low rate of reproduction leads in part to a shrinking population. Destruction of their home, the rainforest, also contributes to their decline, and most forests only have one nest every ten or fifteen miles. The fragile ecosystem of the Essequibo River area, and the 200,000 acre rainforest with which we help to preserve, could have been destroyed. However, Save Your World, in conjunction with Conservation International, leases back the rainforest acres through a timber concession grant and instead conserves this pristine area. By keeping these forests intact, we help enable the various species to continue to remain for future generations. After all, with your help, the purchase of 1 Product Equals 1 Acre of Rainforest Saved for 1 Year. © CI, Russell A. Mittermeier   Unique Animals of the Amazon River The Amazon River contains all sorts of freshwater fish, like the tambaqui, which are frugivorous, or fruit-eating. and feed on the fruit that falls from the trees when the river floods into the forest. Two freshwater dolphin species, the boto and tucuxi, as well as other mammals, like rare uakari monkeys, also live in this area. In addition to hosting all kinds of animals, the rainforest is full of unique plants, such as giant water lilies that can grow to six feet in diameter and support a lightweight human. *Boto: Also known as the Pink River Dolphin because of its unique color, the boto lives in the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. Adult boto are usually around eight feet long and weigh 330 pounds. They feed on crabs, fish, and sometimes turtles and often travel in small groups. © 2007 Save Your World *Tucuxi: Although these dolphins are found in similar locations to the boto, the species are not closely related. The tucuxi are found in the Amazon Basin and coastal waters north and east of South America, like near Guyana. Although comparable in appearance, they are smaller than the bottlenose dolphin and often feed with other river dolphins. Energetic and social, they may leap out of the water, called breaching, somersault, tail-splash, and more. *Uakari: Bald red heads and long-haired bodies distinguish these agile creatures from other monkeys. When moving in the forest, they travel along the trees’ lower branches but search for food in the canopy, feasting on nuts, fruits, leaves, and buds. References: http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0502-wc13.html http://www.projetoboto.com/ http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=263 http://www.livingrainforest.org/about/plants/giantwaterlily http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/308.shtml http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&issn=0097-3157&volume=154&issue=01&page=0039 http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/brittoncrocs/csp_mnig.htm http://www.nature.org/animals/mammals/animals/giantotter. html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy_eagle