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Every animal has a floor.
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Jaguar: the cat that rules the riverbank
How the largest cat in the Americas hunts, where it lives, why it swims, and what threatens it today.
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Jaguar
Panthera onca
The largest cat in the Americas and the top predator of the Amazon. It is a strong swimmer and often hunts along the water, including caiman and turtles.
Harpy eagle
Harpia harpyja
One of the world's largest and most powerful eagles. Its huge talons — larger than a grizzly bear's claws — can snatch monkeys from the canopy.
Scarlet macaw
Ara macao
Brilliantly coloured and highly social, scarlet macaws fly in noisy pairs or flocks above the canopy. They visit clay licks to detoxify unripe seeds.
Brown-throated sloth
Bradypus variegatus
The most common sloth in the Amazon, spending up to 20 hours a day hanging in the canopy. Its slow metabolism and low-energy diet mean it descends to the ground only once a week.
Poison dart frog
Dendrobates tinctorius
Their vivid colours warn predators of potent skin toxins. In the wild, the toxins come from a diet of specific mites and ants — captive frogs lose toxicity.
Amazon river dolphin
Inia geoffrensis
The largest river dolphin in the world, and the only one that turns pink with age. It can rotate its head 180° to navigate through flooded forest roots.
Giant otter
Pteronura brasiliensis
The world's largest otter, living in noisy family groups. They are highly territorial and will confront black caimans to defend their fishing territory.
Black caiman
Melanosuchus niger
The largest predator in the Amazon ecosystem. After near-extinction from hunting, populations have partially recovered since legal protection in the 1970s.
South American tapir
Tapirus terrestris
The largest land mammal in South America, the tapir is a keystone seed disperser. It swims well and often enters water to escape predators and cool down.
Toco toucan
Ramphastos toco
The largest toucan, and what that oversized bill is for.
Howler monkeys
Genus Alouatta
The loudest land animals, heard long before they are seen.
Emerald tree boa
Corallus caninus
A green, non-venomous snake that waits coiled over a branch.
Blue morpho butterfly
Genus Morpho
Wings that flash blue through structure, not pigment.
Leafcutter ant
Atta cephalotes
Leafcutter ants are among the world's most sophisticated farmers. They cut leaves not to eat, but to feed underground fungus gardens — their only food source.
How the forest layers work
Habitat guide
Light, height and humidity: why each layer holds different animals.
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