30 Most Unusual Rainforest Animals

Tropical rainforests are home to some very unique and unusual animals.

Rainforests are dense forests in tropical regions inhabited by a variety of unusual species you won’t find anywhere else on the planet. The warm, humid environment is the perfect habitat for a diversity of critters such as reptiles, insects, birds, amphibians and mammals. Our beautiful, vivid rainforests play an essential role in the ecosystem by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing the oxygen we depend on. They also support plant and animal life (50 percent of the world’s land-dwelling plants and animals live there), contribute to climate stability and control erosion and flooding.

Not surprisingly, 25 percent of all medicines come from the plants growing in the rainforest, with an estimated 80 percent of the world’s diet originating from these lush, tropical areas. Here is a look at some of the most unique animal species that live in the rich vegetation of the rainforest.

Amazonian Jaguar

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Location: Amazon rainforests and nearby Pantanal Wetlands

Size: 6 feet long, 120-300 pounds

Lifespan: 12-16 years

Bottom line: The Amazonian jaguar is the largest feline in the Americas and has the highest bite force of any cat species. These felines can crush a turtle shell and kill other animals four times their own body weight as a major predator of the rainforest. However, the Amazonian jaguar is also one of the most endangered species, with only 170,000 remaining in the rainforest. Their reduced numbers are due to poachers and habitat loss.

Golden Lion Tamarin

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Location: Coastal region of Brazil

Size: 9.5-10.3 inches in length, 1.37 pounds

Lifespan: 8-20 years

Bottom line: Also known as a golden marmoset, this animal is one of the rarest in the Amazon rainforest. The golden lion tamarin is a unique-looking creature with a bright orange mane that resembles a lion. Most female tamarins give birth to twins, and the males are hands-on fathers. Unfortunately, these primates are at serious risk due to the loss of their habitat. It is believed that only 3,200 are left in the wild, while 490 are captive animals in zoos.

Electric Eel

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Location: Northeast section of South America, including the Amazon and Orinoco basins

Size: 8 feet long, 45 pounds

Lifespan: 10-22 years

Bottom line: One of the most dangerous fish species, this eel discharges electricity in 800-plus volts, strong enough to stun predators or kill prey. Their victim dies from drowning most of the time after being paralyzed by the electric volt. The electric eel lives in murky, muddy water that is low in oxygen. For this reason, the eel must surface every 10 minutes to breathe fresh air. Since they have poor eyesight, they rely on their electricity to navigate the muddy waters.

Poison Dart Frog

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Location: Central and South America

Size: 1-2 inches long

Lifespan: 10-15 years

Bottom line: There are 423 different frog species in the Amazon, but the poisonous dart frog is the most famous. Considered one of the most toxic species on Earth, the frog comes in colors that range from orange to red to green-blue, their brightness a deterrent to predators. These unique frogs get their name from the indigenous people of the Amazon, who cover the tip of their darts with the frog’s poison to kill their prey.

Bald Uakaris

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Location: Amazon river basin

Size: 14-22.5 inches in length, 4-7 pounds

Lifespan: 15-20 years

Bottom line: The bald uakaris is a small species of monkey with a bright red face, bald head and long hair that is reddish-orange and brown in color. These monkeys prefer living in flooded rainforest areas, specifically in the Amazon River basin. Sadly, they are hunted for food by the indigenous people in the region. For this reason, the bald ukaris population has decreased by 30 percent over the past 30 years. In 2008, they were classified as a vulnerable species.

Puma

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Location: Northwestern Canada to southern Chile in South America

Size: 64-220 pounds

Lifespan: 8-13 years

Bottom line: Like other large cats, pumas inhabit various environments, from tropical rainforests to dry deserts. However, it’s rare to spot a puma in the Amazon wild. They hunt at night and prey upon smaller animals in the forest. Males require their own hunting space, sometimes as ample as 200 square miles. These big cats have been observed jumping 18 feet onto a tree branch, and they are capable of leaping horizontally up to 40 feet.

South American Tapir

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Location: Amazon Rainforest and River Basin in South America, east of the Andes

Size: 6.6 feet, 710 pounds

Lifespan: 25-30 years

Bottom line: The second largest mammal on the continent of South America, the tapir is related to horses and rhinoceroses. They have not changed much in the past 35 million years. Despite their large size, they are excellent swimmers that can dive to the bottom of riverbeds to feed on aquatic plants. Their flexible nose enables them to grab foliage or snorkel when diving underwater. Unfortunately, tapirs are among the rarest animals in the Amazon rainforest, which places them on the endangered species list.

Proboscis Monkey

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Location: Lowland rainforest areas of Borneo

Size: 19-45 pounds

Lifespan: 20 years

Bottom line: The proboscis monkey has an unusually large nose and reddish-brown skin. Males with very prominent noses attract more females and have a higher social status within the band. Most of these monkeys are tolerant of each other and have existed in one-male groups for six to eight years. The proboscis monkey also has a unique trait that most other monkeys do not share — they can swim! Their partially webbed toes and fingers enable them to escape predators quickly or swim the rivers searching for food.

Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth

Location: Lowland tropical forests in the Amazon

Size: 19-21 inches, 5.5-7.7 pounds

Lifespan: 30-40 years

Bottom line: There are less than 100 known pygmy three-toed sloths living in the wild, making them one of the rarest animals in the Amazon forest. All sloths have three toes, but these critters get their name from the three claws on their forelimbs (compared to the two that other sloth species have). Like any sloth, the pygmy three-toed is a lazy animal that only descends from the trees when it needs to defecate. However, this animal is good at avoiding predators by remaining very still for long periods. It also helps that they have a grey-brown coat that camouflages them while in the trees.

Hyacinth Macaw

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Location: Pantanal and Amazon Basin regions of South America

Size: 3.3 feet, 2.6-3.7 pounds

Lifespan: 50 years

Bottom line: The hyacinth macaw is the largest flying parrot species and is often referred to as a “gentle giant” due to its even temperament. They are beautiful birds with deep blue and green feathers, but they are also quite noisy and can be heard throughout the Amazon rainforest. Unfortunately, the illegal pet trade poses many threats to the hyacinth macaw. As a result, there are only 6,500 left in the wild.

Red Howler Monkey

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Location: Northern half of South America, from Colombia to Bolivia

Size: 3.5-3.7 feet, 9.8-14 pounds

Lifespan: 15-20 years

Bottom line: The red howler monkey has earned its name by its loud roars that can be heard 3 miles away. This is due to their hyoid bone, which allows them to make such loud vocalizations. Their tails are also extremely long (in some cases, up to five times their body length), and their noses can detect food over a mile away. Red howler monkeys usually live in groups of six to 15 monkeys. The majority in the group are females, with only one to three males. Unfortunately, humans are threatening the red howler monkey population with hunting, habitat destruction and capturing these monkeys for zoos or use as personal pets.

Potoo

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Location: Amazon Rainforest

Size: 8 inches-2 feet long

Lifespan: 12-14 years

Bottom line: These nocturnal birds can easily protect themselves from predators as they are often mistaken as wood or fungi on a tree. Their plumage of grey and brown help them blend in with the tree bark, but their large, googly yellow eyes give them a cartoonish appearance. In addition, each species of potoo have its own unique (and eerie sounding!) call as they fly through the night. Interestingly, the indigenous people of South America have created folklore surrounding the bird, believing that the sounds they make are the calls of lost children looking for their parents or wives searching for lost husbands.

Amazon River Dolphin

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Location: Freshwater river basins in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela

Size: 9 feet, up to 400 pounds

Lifespan: 30 years

Bottom line: These rare dolphins, also known as pink river dolphins, reside in the Amazon’s freshwater rivers and lakes. The male dolphins are light pink, but the brighter the color, the more attractive they are to females during mating season. Their population ranges in the tens of thousands, making them one of the more popular species in the Amazon. However, their habitat is also threatened by man’s contamination of the rivers and lakes.

White-Cheeked Spider Monkey

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Location: Amazon Basin

Size: 13-20 inches, 13-18 pounds

Lifespan: 20 years

Bottom line: Also called the white-whiskered spider monkey, these primates are one of six other species of spider monkeys in the Amazon. They are primarily dark brown in color with white hair on their forehead, chin and cheeks. The white-cheeked spider monkey is hard to spot because they stay high up in the canopy of trees to avoid predators. However, habitat loss and hunting have diminished their population considerably, landing them on the endangered species list.

Peanut Head Bug

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Location: Tropical rainforests of Mexico, Central America and South America

Size: 3.3 inches with a 3.9- to 5.9-inch wingspan

Lifespan: 1 week

Bottom line: This odd insect has a protuberance on its head that looks like an unshelled peanut and large, yellow “fake eyes” (like owl eyes) on its hind wings to ward off predators. They also release a foul-smelling odor if threatened by an aggressor. The peanut head bug (also known as a lanternfly or alligator bug) thrives on the sap of plants and is difficult to see during the day since it is easily camouflaged on a tree trunk.

Tube-Nosed Yoda Bat

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Location: Papua New Guinea

Size: 3.2 inches

Lifespan: 20 years

Bottom line: The Tube-Nosed Yoda bat earned its name due to its resemblance to the famous “Star Wars” character, but actually, this mammal is a species of fruit bat. With a rounder jaw than most other bats, the Yoda bat always looks like it’s smiling and has also been called the “happy bat.” It has only been in recent years that this particular mammal has been recognized as a new species. The Yoda bat looks as wise as his namesake with its fuzzy chest, golden ears and amber eyes.

Bullet Ant

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Location: Central and South America

Size: 1.5 inches

Lifespan: Up to 90 days

Bottom line: The bullet ant is the largest ant globally and has one of the most powerful stings that is as painful as a wasp’s. The toxin in their venom is called poneratoxin, and it is very painful. However, they are not aggressive ants and will only become so if their nest is threatened. The bullet ant lives in complex colonies with foraging ants that look for nectar and small anthropods that they carry in their mandibles back to the nest. Recently, scientists discovered that these ants also scavage carrion (dead animals), making them important scavengers as part of the rainforest ecosystem.

Jesus Lizard

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Location: Central and South America

Size: 3 feet

Lifespan: 7 years

Bottom line: These rare lizards, also known as basilisks, can run upright up to 65 feet over the river’s surface at about 15 miles per hour. Their ability to walk on water earned them the nickname “Jesus Lizard.” They can also hold their breath underwater for 30 minutes or remain still for hours at a time to avoid predators. This bright green lizard lives in trees near water and can lay 10 to 20 eggs at a time in a hole in the ground.

Black-Capped Squirrel Monkey

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Location: Upper Amazon basin in Bolivia, western Brazil and eastern Peru

Size: 2 feet, 1.4 pounds

Lifespan: 15-20 years

Bottom line: Black-capped squirrel monkeys are diurnal like humans, which means they are busiest during the day. They are considered very clever animals since their brains are quite large compared to the rest of their body. They live in female-dominated groups of up to 40 to 75 monkeys. Unlike other monkeys, they use their tail for better balance on tree limbs. Interestingly, they are highly vocal creatures and have around 30 different calls when out in the wild.

Harpy Eagle

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Location: South America

Size: 3.2 feet, 8-20 pounds

Lifespan: 25-35 years

Bottom line: The second largest species of rainforest raptors, the harpy eagle is also one of the largest eagle species in the world. They can grow more than 3 feet long and have an average wingspan of 7.5 feet, plus the largest talons of all eagles. Harpy eagles mainly feed on sloths, opossums and monkeys but will also hunt macaws and iguanas. The females take on larger prey than the males, sometimes targeting animals that weigh up to 20 pounds and carrying them in their talons while in flight.

Collard Anteater

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Location: South America and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean

Size: 21-31.5 inches long, 10 pounds

Lifespan: 9-20 years

Bottom line: Although there are several species of anteaters in the Americas, only the collard anteater can be found in South America. Their tongues are about 15 inches long and are used to catch a variety of insects such as ants or termites in the trees. They don’t have teeth but lap up roughly 35,000 insects per day by swallowing them whole. Anteaters can flick out their tongue 150 times per minute, allowing them to eat dozens of insects at a rapid pace.

Mandrill

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Location: Southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo

Size: 22-82 pounds

Lifespan: 20 years

Bottom line: A primate from the Old World monkey family, the mandrill looks like a baboon with bright red and blue faces and ribbed muzzles. The facial colors become more brilliant when the animal is excited. Although shy and reclusive, these monkeys are also very strong and courageous. They will attack if threatened rather than flee. They prefer living in groups of 20 or more mandrills, with one acting as the dominant male over several females and juveniles.

Giant River Otter

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Location: Orinoco, Amazon and La Plata rivers in South America

Size: 3.7-5.6 feet, 53 pounds

Lifespan: 10-12 years

Bottom line: The giant river otter is the largest otter in the wild. They can swim 9 miles per hour and pass 330 feet in 20 seconds. They do this by using their strong, flat tails and short, webbed feet. When they dive underwater, their small ears and nostrils automatically close. Otters have another interesting trait — they’re very vocal animals that can make at least 22 different sounds. Unfortunately, this sensitive species was nearly driven to extinction due to high demands for its fur. Thankfully, since the fur trade has been banned, the otter population is slowly recovering in South America.

Tarsier

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Location: Islands of the Philippines, Celebres (Sulawesi), Borneo, Bangka, Belitung, the Nature Islands and Sumatra

Size: 4.6 inches, 2.8-5.6 ounces

Lifespan: 2-12 years

Bottom line: These nocturnal primates are tree huggers that belong to a sister group of monkeys and apes. They have giant eyes (in comparison to their body) and can also twist their neck 180 degrees like an owl. This enables them to sit quietly and wait for prey to come close. Tarsiers are 100 percent carnivores and feast on lizards, snakes, frogs, birds and even bats. Although their head and body length are roughly 4 to 6 inches, their hind legs are twice as long, with a tail that adds another 8 to 9 inches to their size. These primates are some of the oldest on the planet and date back as far as 55 million years.

Sun Bear

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Location: Southeastern Asia

Size: 5 feet, 150 pounds

Lifespan: 20 years

Bottom line: After the giant panda, the sun bear is the second rarest bear species. Their name comes from the unique markings on their chest, which are pale horseshoe shapes that resemble a setting or rising sun. With a tongue that is 7 to 10 inches long, they can extract honey from beehives, which is why many people refer to them as honey bears. However, that’s not all that they eat — the sun bear is an omnivore that lives on a diet of invertebrates and fruit in addition to honey. These animals are diurnal and do not hibernate but prefer sleeping in trees where they build their nests. In 2007, they were classified as vulnerable since their population decreased by 30 percent over the last 30 years.

Candiru Fish

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Location: Amazon region of South America

Size: 7-16 inches

Lifespan: 2-4+ years

Bottom line: This translucent, eel-like fish is a type of parasitic catfish that’s shaped like a long pencil. Often referred to as a “toothpick fish” or “vampire fish,” the candiru preys on other fish, animals and humans. Their gills are covered with tiny spikes that enable them to latch onto their prey. One of the most disturbing characteristics of this creature is its ability to swim up orifices and fill them with parasites. The candiru fish can also lodge itself in the urethra of humans who may be urinating in the water, although this is very rare.

Fishing Bat (Fisherman Bat)

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Location: Central Mexico down to northern Argentine and many of the Caribbean islands

Size: 4.3-4.7 inches in length with a 27.5-inch wingspan

Lifespan: 10-12 years

Bottom line: Fishing bats are the largest species of bats, but they are also the only ones that can fish. They have claws like an osprey, enabling them to snatch fish from the rivers. Their smooshed facial features have earned them the nickname of “Greater Bulldog Bat.” They’re larger than many other bats due to their large wingspan, which helps them fly long distances over water to find fish. The fishing bat is a social creature that lives in swarms in trees during that day, venturing out at dusk for food.

Aye-Aye

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Location: Island of Madagascar

Size: 16 inches, 5 pounds

Lifespan: 10-23 years

Bottom line: The aye-aye is a long-fingered lemur with rodent-like teeth that continually grow and is considered the world’s largest nocturnal primate. In the past, it was mistaken as a large species of squirrel due to its odd appearance, but in the mid-1800s, it was finally recognized as a type of lemur. Unfortunately, these unique animals are severely endangered and were on the brink of extinction in the 1980s. Although their population has slowly increased in the last 30 years, they are still Madagascar’s most endangered animal species.

Glass Frog

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Location: Central and South America

Size: 0.78-3 inches long

Lifespan: 10-14 years

Bottom line: Part of the amphibian family, the glass frog is primarily lime green in color but has a translucent abdomen that reveals the organs under the skin. They live high in the trees around mountainous streams and can jump as far as 10 feet to escape predators. These exotic frogs do not make croaking sounds; instead, they make a high-pitched whistling sound to attract a mate. Male frogs guard the female’s fertilized eggs until they hatch into tadpoles.

Okapi

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Location: Democratic Republic of Congo

Size: 4.9-5.6 feet tall, 6.2-8.2 feet long, 400-770 pounds

Lifespan: 15-20 years

Bottom line: Also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe or zebra giraffe, the okapi is hidden deep in the rainforest and rarely seen by humans. The stripes on their bodies help camouflage them in the shadows where they can remain unnoticed. The fur on the okapi is so thick that it feels like velvet, but their skin produces an oil that waterproofs them in the damp forest. Another characteristic that makes the okapi unique is their long tongue — so long in fact, that they can wash their eyelids, clean their ears and swat insects away from their neck!