The most impenetrable jungle. African savannas and jungles What animals and plants are in the jungle

Despite the barbaric destruction of all living things, especially the cutting down of perennial plantations, evergreen forests still occupy about a third of the entire land mass of our long-suffering planet. And this list is dominated by the equatorial impenetrable jungle, some areas of which are still a huge mystery to science.

Mighty, dense Amazon

The largest forest area of ​​our blue, but in this case green planet covering almost the entire basin of the unpredictable Amazon. According to environmentalists, up to 1/3 of the entire animal world of the planet lives here , and more than 40 thousand only described plant species. In addition, it is the forests of the Amazon that produce utmost of the oxygen for the entire planet!

The Amazon jungle, despite the close interest from the world scientific community, still extremely poorly researched . Walk through centuries-old thickets without special skills and no less special tools (for example, a machete) - IMPOSSIBLE.

In addition, in the forests and numerous tributaries of the Amazon, there are very dangerous specimens of nature, one touch of which can lead to a tragic, and sometimes even lethal outcome. Electric ramps, toothy piranhas, frogs whose skin secretes a deadly poison, six-meter anacondas, jaguars - these are just some of the impressive list of dangerous animals that lie in wait for a gaping tourist or a slow-moving biologist.

In the floodplains of small rivers, like many millennia ago, in the heart of the jungle, people still live wild tribes that have never seen a white man. Actually, and a white man he never took them off.

However, they will definitely not experience much joy from your appearance.

Africa, and only

Tropical forests on the black continent occupy a huge area - five and a half thousand square kilometers! Unlike northern and extreme southern Africa, it is in tropical zone optimal conditions prevail for a large army of plants and animals. The vegetation here is so dense that rare rays of the sun can please the inhabitants of the lower tiers.

Despite the fantastic density of biomass, perennial trees and vines tend to reach the top in order to get their dose of by no means gentle African sun. Feature African jungle - practically daily heavy rains and the presence of vapors in stagnant air. It is so hard to breathe here that an unprepared visitor to this unfriendly world can lose consciousness out of habit.

The undergrowth and middle layer are always lively. This is a habitat for numerous primates, which usually do not even pay attention to travelers. In addition to wild noisy monkeys, here you can safely watch African elephants, giraffes, and also see a hunting leopard. But the real trouble of the jungle - giant ants , which from time to time migrate in continuous columns in search of a better food base.

Woe to the animal or person who met on the way of these insects. The jaws of goosebumps are so strong and agile that they within 20-30 minutes of contact with the aggressors, a gnawed skeleton will remain from a person.

Moist forests of Mama Asia

Southeast Asia is almost completely covered with impenetrable wet thickets. These forests, like their African and Amazonian counterparts, are a complex ecosystem that has absorbed several tens of thousands of species of animals, plants and fungi. The main zone of their localization is the Ganges basin, the foothills of the Himalayas, as well as the plains of Indonesia.

A distinctive feature of the Asian jungle – unique fauna, represented by representatives of species that are not found anywhere else on the planet. Of particular interest are numerous flying animals - monkeys, lizards, frogs and even snakes. It is much easier to move in a low-level flight, using the membranes between the fingers in wild multi-tiered thickets, than to crawl, climb and jump.

Wet jungle plants bloom according to one schedule they know, because there is no change of seasons and wet summers are not replaced by fairly dry autumns. Therefore, each species, family and class has adapted to cope with reproduction in just a week or two. During this time, the pistils have time to throw out a sufficient amount of pollen that can fertilize the stamens. It is noteworthy that most tropical plants blooms several times a year.

The Indian jungle has been thinned out, and in some regions almost completely cut down over the centuries. economic activity Portuguese and English colonizers. But on the territory of Indonesia there are still impenetrable virgin forests in which inhabited by Papuan tribes.

They should not be caught in the eye, since eating white-faced for them is an incomparable pleasure since the time of the legendary James Cook.

longest neck

At the very beginning of our century, in the jungles of Africa, they found a "living fossil" okapi - relatives of the giraffe, which was considered extinct long ago. Okapi is no bigger than a donkey. And he has a short neck. And it eats, like a giraffe, grass and leaves. The common ancestor of the giraffe and the okapi was similar to a short-necked short man. But over time, some of these animals moved to the open expanses of the savannah, where it was possible to “graze” enough only on the tops of trees. Therefore, animals with a long neck survived. Gradually, the giraffe grew such long neck, which became completely different from its distant ancestor. And the okapi remained a copy of his great-grandfather.

Gorillas are the largest great apes also live in Africa. The gorilla in the jungle has almost no enemies, except for people, of course. Most of the day, gorillas are on the ground, not in trees like other monkeys. Gorillas are vegetarians. They eat leaves, fruits, tree bark. But in zoos, gorillas very quickly get used to other foods, they begin to eat meat and fish, drink milk.

Cat relatives

Our domestic cat has 37 relatives. These are forest and reed cats, lynxes and manuls, servals and ocelots, snow leopards and leopards, jaguars and cougars, snow leopards, panthers and cheetahs, tigers, lions and other wild cats. Cats are the most dexterous predators. All wild cats hunt in approximately the same way: they sneak up on their prey, then freeze in anticipation. And having chosen a convenient moment, they overtake their victim with one throw. However, our domestic cat hunts mice in the same way as the African leopard hunts antelopes.

Whose lives have been the subject of countless films for Discovery and the BBC, you will immerse yourself in the richest natural world of our planet, which has no equal in its parameters:

1. The Amazon Basin is the largest tropical rainforest in the world with over 6 million km2.
2. Humans settled in the Amazon Jungle at least 11,200 years ago. The Amazon Rainforest itself has existed for over 55 million years.
3. The Amazon rainforest accounts for more than half of the total remaining rainforest on our planet.
4. 20% of the Earth's oxygen is produced tropical forest Amazon, so it is often called the "lungs of the planet."
5. Amazon is the most deep river peace. She takes out in Atlantic Ocean up to ⅕ of the flow of all the rivers of the world. The Amazon River and its tributaries collect water from the territories of 9 states: Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana.
6. The biological diversity of the Amazon is the highest on Earth: over 150,000 plant species, 75,000 tree species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 fish species, 430 mammals, 370 reptiles, and over 2.5 million different insects.
7. The Amazon jungle is home to a number of deadly dangerous inhabitants Earth: jaguars, electric eels, piranhas, poisonous snakes and spiders, etc.
8. About 80% of the food we eat comes from the rainforest - rice, potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, coffee, chocolate, corn, pineapples and more.
9. About 400-500 indigenous Indian tribes today live in tropical forests Amazons. It is believed that about 75 of these tribes have never had contact with the outside world.
10. The city of Iquitos (Peru) is the largest city in the world that has no land connection with other cities. It is located deep in the jungle and has over 400,000 inhabitants.

Wild nature. Flora and fauna of the Amazon jungle

The Amazon forests are rich in a variety of trees and plants, many species of flora and fauna of the jungle are endemic - all over the world they can be found only here. At the same time, 10% of all currently known plant and animal species of the planet are found in the Amazon jungle.

Jaguars, cougars, monkeys, sloths, caimans, anacondas, copybaras, turtles, river dolphins, parrots, toucans, hummingbirds and many, many other inhabitants of the jungle are part of world heritage humanity. In terms of the number of species of animals and plants, the Amazon jungle far exceeds the tropical forests of Africa and Asia.

The jungle is a real treasure useful plants- the fruits of some are used for food, parts of others serve as the basis for modern medicines.

Ferns, orchids, mosses, cacti, epiphytic - each plant has adapted to draw everything useful from humid air jungle. Frequent rains and high humidity led to the fact that some of the inhabitants of the jungle moved to the trees. Frogs in such conditions lay their eggs high in the trees.

The Amazon River is one of the 7 natural wonders of the planet.

In 2011, Amazon was recognized as one of the seven natural wonders planets.

This is the deepest river in the world. The Amazon and its tributaries form a system of internal waterways with a total length of over 25 thousand kilometers. At the confluence with the ocean, the depth of the river reaches 100 meters.

During the dry season, the Amazon reaches a width of 11 kilometers, covering 110 thousand square kilometers with water, and triples during the rainy season, during this period the waters of the river rise to 20 meters, covering an area of ​​350 thousand square kilometers and spilling over 40 km and more.

There are about 3,000 species of fish in the Amazon and its tributaries, but the most famous inhabitants of these rivers are piranhas - predatory fish that can even attack large predators crossing the river.

Wild tribes of the Amazon

Of the more than 10 million Indians who lived in harmony with the jungle, this moment only about 200,000 survived.

According to various sources, 400-500 tribes live in the Amazon rainforest today. Of these, about 75 tribes do not have contact with the outside world.

These people serve as a living reminder of the fragility of ancient cultures. The Indians more than once stood in the way of the commercial exploitation of the Amazon. In the past, oil extraction led to aggressive and disastrous contact with isolated Indians - in the early 1980s, Shell research led to contact with the isolated Nahua tribe, subsequently about 50% of this tribe died within a few years. Wild tribes are powerless before modern society- against epidemics of modern diseases, the Indians do not have immune defenses.

Almost all isolated Indians are nomads - they move through the forest in small groups depending on the season. During the rainy season, when the water level is high, the tribes that do not use canoes live far from the river, deep in the forest. During the dry season, when the water level is low, they live on the banks of rivers.

In the dry season, river turtles lay their eggs on the banks of rivers, burying them in the sand. The eggs are important source squirrel for the Indians, so this is also the reason for moving to the banks of the rivers, along with fishing.

In addition to turtle eggs, non-contact Indians eat variety of dishes from meat and fish, bananas, nuts, berries, roots and larvae.

Rest in the jungle of Peru. National parks of the Amazon

Most of the Amazon River basin is still unexplored and dangerous to humans; you can get into the wild rainforest only in protected areas permitted by the government, and only accompanied by accredited guides.

On the territory of Peru there are 3 interesting protected areas to visit the Amazon Jungle:

• Nature reserves in the Iquitos area
• national park Manu
• Nature reserves in the Puerto Maldonado area

1. Iquitos

This The largest city on Earth, having no overland communication with other cities. You can get to Iquitos only by water or by air.

The city began to grow in the 19th century in connection with the beginning of the "rubber fever". Here they began the production of rubber from natural raw materials - a tree growing in the Amazonian selva. The tycoons who owned rubber factories set up luxurious mansions that still give the city a unique style.

From Iquitos you can make a lot of interesting trips into the jungle, immerse yourself in the world of the jungle, get to know the local tribes and their culture.

How to get there: There are 8-9 daily flights from Lima to Iquitos. You can view tickets on the websites of local airlines: LAN Perú, Peruvian Airlines and Star Perú. The flight takes 1 hour 45 minutes.

2. Manu National Park. Foggy Andean Forests

Manu National Park is one of the largest reserves in the world: it covers almost 2,000,000 hectares and is located at an altitude of 300 to 4000 meters above sea level. Due to this location and vast territory, several different ecosystems meet in the park, which provides a great variety of plant, insect and animal species. Manu is the nature reserve with the largest number species in the world!

Most of the park is closed to visitors, only scientists are allowed in, but even for them it is difficult to get a pass. Visitors can enter the Manu Conservation Area, but only in groups organized by accredited agencies. A limited number of visitors are allowed into the park daily. In this part of the park you can observe a huge variety of landscapes, animals and flora, river bends form lagoons with a magnificent variety of flora and fauna.

How to get there: Groups accompanied by accredited guides leave for the Manu Reserve from Cusco. You can get to Cusco from Lima by plane (1 hour) or by bus (24 hours).

3. Puerto Maldonado

This small town 55 kilometers from the border with Bolivia, it is very similar to Iquitos, but getting to it is much easier. In the vicinity of Puerto Maldonado there are several national parks where you can see caimans, monkeys, capybaras and other animals, reptiles, insects and birds.

How to get there: There are direct flights to Puerto Maldonado from Cusco (the flight takes only 1 hour) and from Lima (1 hour 40 minutes).

Amazon Jungle Tours

The Amazon Jungle Tour is an amazing adventure where you can feel the primeval forces of nature and hear the call of the wild Earth.

Houses on stilts, mosquito nets over beds, night walks with flashlights, boat trips on a seething river, bungee rides and much more will become unforgettable moments of your bright adventure.

Even at night, you will feel with all your senses that you are at the mercy of the wild jungle.

What's included in the tours:

• Transfer
• Accommodation in houses
• Professional English speaking guide
• Meals: all breakfasts, lunches and dinners
• Drinks and water to refill your bottles
• Excursions, active recreation programs

Not included in tours:

• Travel insurance
• Single occupancy (upon request)

Comfort and safety in the jungle. Important information

Do not forget that the jungle is not an artificial park adapted for people. The Amazon forests hide many dangers that are invisible to our eyes - sharp thorns can hide under the soft moss on the trees, and cute ants on your way can be poisonous.

Being close to the best jungle guides, you can be sure of your safety, but you must be vigilant and strictly adhere to the rules that will be announced to you upon arrival.

If you are planning a trip to the rainforests (Manu National Park), we recommend getting vaccinated against yellow fever. We also recommend that you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites: use repellents and wear long sleeves and trousers whenever possible.

When to go. Seasonality, climate, temperature

You can go to the Amazon Jungle in any season, each of them has its own advantages: in the rainy season you can see flowering plants, attracting birds and primates descending to the very water, in the dry season, when the water level drops, you can see migratory schools of fish, birds attracted by easy prey, caimans hunting fish.

The average temperature in the jungle throughout the year is +30º

Rainy season: mid-December - mid-May.

Dry season: mid-May - mid-December.

Most high level water in the river - in May, the lowest - in September.

What to bring? Clothing, footwear, protective equipment

• Clothing: We recommend bringing light, quick-drying, preferably cotton clothing, including several short-sleeved T-shirts, a long-sleeved sweater/jacket, several pairs of socks, a raincoat, and a bathing suit.
• Headwear for sun protection
• Comfortable waterproof shoes
• Flashlight and spare batteries
• Camera and spare battery
• Binoculars
• Repellent (we recommend OFF factor 35)
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• water bottle

In the jungle you will be given rubber boots.

FAQ

Can you get into the jungle on your own?

Some tourists dare to go into the jungle unaccompanied, but this does not always end well. You can find a guide who will agree to work individually and live with tourists for several days in a wild forest away from organized accommodation (hotels and lodges).

What is the maximum group size?

Usually there are no more than 8 people in a group. In the case when the group is large - 10-16 people, it is accompanied by one or two additional guides.

Is there an age limit for being in the jungle?

There are no age restrictions. Lodges welcome guests of all ages.

What if you didn't get vaccinated?

You can get vaccinated in Lima, but you will need to wait 10 days for the vaccine to take effect before heading into the jungle.

Photographer and zoologist Axel Gomil has been exploring India for the past 25 years. There is also a tropical coastline, and snow-capped mountains Himalayas, and the Thar Desert, and tropical forests in the northeast of the country. Such diverse landscapes provide incredible biodiversity.
For example, out of 37 species wild cats 14 live in India, more than in any other country. For comparison: only ten cats live on the entire African continent.

Jungle. An image often arises in the head of an impassable, overgrown and hostile place where light barely penetrates. In fact, the jungle is the most "hot spots" of biodiversity.


The jungles of India are home to some of the rarest and most exotic animal species, and none of them symbolize Indian wildlife better than the tiger.
The tiger is considered the king of the jungle and the most powerful predator in the Indian subcontinent. Today, there are about 50 reserves with a total area of ​​​​more than 70,000 square kilometers where tigers live. Such major conservation projects for tigers and their habitats have also benefited other jungle species.
Tigers love to relax in the shade during a hot day. Like all cats, they are always wary of environment. And judging by her face, she recently had breakfast. The rest of the jungle inhabitants can relax for now - the next hunt will begin at night ...


In the jungle, even squirrels are the size of a domestic cat. This is an Indian giant squirrel, she lives in upper tier forests and rarely leaves the trees. Squirrels jump from tree to tree, overcoming about 6 meters. In danger, these squirrels do not run away, but seem to “hang” and nestle against tree trunks. The main enemies predator birds and leopards.


Water is life, especially in such a hot climate. Not surprisingly, the wetlands are like magnets for wild animals that come here to get drunk or find coolness.
There is a wide variety of people here. Local hosts sitting at the top of the food chain are crocodiles. In India, the swamp crocodile is the most common species.
This spotted deer. Birds are calm, they know that herbivores are not dangerous.


Gray pelicans. These birds live mainly in shallow lakes.


The Thar Desert dominates the northwest of India. It is a very dry area with sand dunes. The distribution of precipitation is uneven, with most of it occurring between July and September. Precipitation falls towards the west. In the most arid regions, precipitation may be absent for up to 2 years.
The appearance of this sloth bear is so peculiar that it has received the nickname "sloth bear". Gubach is very different in appearance and way of life from real bears and is isolated in a separate genus. The sloth bear, like the anteater, has evolved to feed on colonial insects (ants and termites)


A female leopard at the entrance to a cave in a remote area of ​​Rajasthan that she uses as a safe haven for her family.


Cranes are defenseless against predators. The most they can do is fly away quickly.


Kicks well.


And we are moving to the mountains. Some of the most impressive and diverse animal habitats in India are found in the north. This is the realm of the magnificent and ghostly snow leopard others need to be on the lookout.


Big cats have a hard time. People capture everything and capture their original habitats. Food is getting tight. Leopards are forced to visit villages and find easy prey - goats, poultry and even dogs.


Ranthambore National Park is located in the state of Rajasthan and is considered the best tiger reserve.


Life is hard for tigers these days. Over the past century, their number in wild nature seriously decreased from about 100,000 to 3900, half of them live just in India ...

The heart of the "black continent" is a mysterious world. Dense thickets, edge of shimmering shadows. A world of severe trials filled with life. The closer you look at it, the more diversity you see. The African jungle is still a mysterious, unusual, unexplored place. The heart of Africa is not black at all, it is green. And it's jungle...

The sun rises over the equator African jungle are awakening. It's huge green belt stretching from Uganda in the east to Sierra Leone in the west. Its territory is five and a half thousand kilometers. There is more light, heat and water here than anywhere else in Africa. Ideal Conditions for plants. And they are everywhere. An endless sea of ​​sun-worshipping leaves glisten as the African morning comes.

But there are killer trees in the jungle filled with poison. And it's all come up to protect yourself.

How can you survive in the harsh conditions of the jungle? There are opportunities for this, but only for those who can cope with their prey. Here sometimes even the most skilled hunters remain hungry.

And 40 meters above is a completely different world. Here is the motor of all jungle life. The leaves absorb the energy of the African sun and turn it into plant food.

Monkeys have learned to perfectly jump from one tree to another, traveling under the canopy of the forest. This is a paradise for colobus. (By the way, also lives exclusively in tropical forests!) They slurp pretty all day long. But these leaves are not as harmless as they seem. They are protected deadly poison, which is a cocktail of tonin, strychnine and cyanide. Surprisingly, the colobus organism is able to produce bacteria that neutralize these poisons. The poison swallowed in a day is enough to kill a large animal several times.

The crowned eagle does not feed on leaves, but on monkeys. You can't hide from him even under the leaves. A few strokes of powerful two-meter wings, and he already carries the prey to his nest.

Inhabits more than one generation of people. They have learned to earn their own food.

The forest canopy is a world of extremes, a world of scorching sun, sultry winds, heavy torrential rains. The drought is replaced by rains, the seasons differ sharply from each other. The jungle palette is changing. Now red leaves dominate everywhere. But this is not old, but new foliage. In the jungle, spring dresses up in autumn colors.

New tender leaves do not yet have poisonous protection. But in order to survive, trees have more foliage than even the hungriest monkeys can eat.

The forest canopy is a treasure trove. But only for those who can get them.

The most desirable delicacy that the jungle gives in the spring is honey. But in order to get it, you need to climb to a forty-meter height using the branches of vines, and then still withstand the onslaught of bees. In the spring, foraging in the forest is not an easy task, but later comes abundance. It is like a sign of courtesy from nature. Before the onset of the rainy season, the forest gives its best.

Fruits. Sheer temptation. And the birds - as always - the first. This is a hornbill.

And this is an African gray parrot. The climate in Africa has not always been the same as it is today. For centuries, wet cycles have been replaced by dry cycles. also changed. It grows during wet periods and shrinks during dry periods. Africa is currently experiencing a wet period in its history. And the forest has grown a lot. It rains here every day. In some areas, the amount of precipitation per year is 10 meters. Those who live here have to put up with frequent rains.

How many more mysteries does this amazing forest entitled African jungle...

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