| Major wildlife regions North America • Central & South America • Africa • Madagascar • Eurasia • South & Southeast Asia • Australasia • Arctic • Southern Ocean |
Destinations
[edit]South American wildlife varies considerably depending on the ecosystem in a particular region. Many visitors come to the region to see rainforest. On guided rainforest hikes in places like Costa Rica or Manaus, Brazil, you can spot a fascinating variety of jungle plants and animals. Travelers interested in deserts can visit the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, a brutally inhospitable climate known as the driest place on Earth. A large area of Argentina called the Pampas is grassy savannahs where deer, guanacos, and rheas can be found. The southern tip of South America is Tierra del Fuego, and area of rocks, ice, and wind storms where seals and penguins can often be spotted. The Andes mountain highlands of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia have llamas, pumas and soaring condors.
The isolated Galápagos Islands (part of Ecuador) are famous for their unique wildlife, observations of which helped Darwin discover evolution. See Galapagos wildlife for more.
Mammals
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While the llama (Lama glama) is the domestic form of the guanaco, the alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is the domestic form of the Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna). These are closely related to camels, and were the only large livestock animals in pre-Columbian America.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest big cat in the Americas and is the third largest in the world after the tiger and lion. The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as the mountain lion, puma, panther, or catamount, is widespread across the Americas. Numerous smaller wildcats live throughout Central and South America. Many of these cats belong to the genus Leopardus and go by multiple names for the same animal. Most are spotted, like smaller versions of the jaguar, and can be as small as a typical housecat. These small wildcats include the margay, the ocelot, the kodkod, and the oncilla. You may hear some of these referred to as tiger cats or tigrillos.
There's definitely a lot more felines than canines in this region, though the maned wolf roams the grasslands of the Pampas and the Pantanal and a number of smaller fox species can be found throughout the Andean region, where you might also be lucky enough to spot the elusive spectacled bear.
New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) are the monkeys of Central and South America; most of them living in the Amazonas. Some of them are very small; the Pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) weighs only 100 grams as an adult. They form a distinct group from the Old World monkeys of Asia, Europe and Africa; Old World monkeys are more closely related to humans than to New World monkeys. The howler monkey is the largest monkey in this region (and noisiest too). Spider monkeys are the most common, but you are unlikely to get caught in their webs. If you're in the Amazon, you might get to see another small monkey, called the tamarin.
Several species of rodents and herbivorous mammals are native to Central and South America. Some of these are also found in southern Mexico. These include the capybara and tapir, which are among the largest mammals in the region. The nutria is common in wetlands and is sometimes referred to as an otter, though it is a different kind of animal entirely. The nutria are sometimes trapped for fur and at one point were brought to the United States to be raised for their furs, but they are regarded as a destructive invasive species in most of the U.S. The agouti is a cat-sized rodent that lives in the forests throughout South and Central America. Coatimundi are numerous throughout this region and are sometimes mistaken for raccoons (known as mapache in Central and South America). The sloth is one of the jungle's most popular residents. The notoriously slow-moving creatures inhabit tree tops where they are often seen hanging upside down from branches.
Birds
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South America is famous for its colorful birds, including parrots, toucans, and 17 species of macaw (all of which live in the forests throughout Central and South America). Iguaçu Falls is a well-known destination for birdwatching (not to mention the incredible waterfalls). Blue footed boobies are found in coastal areas from Mexico through South America.
The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is a national symbol of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and plays an important role in the folklore and mythology of the Andean regions. Occupying similar mountainous woodland habitats, the harpy eagle is a graceful bird of prey that dines on mid-size animals, including cute little coatis, adorable sloths, and entertaining monkeys.
Penguins are found in southern Argentina and Chile, particularly in Tierra del Fuego. The Humboldt current flows along the Pacific coast of Chile and Peru and is a popular spot for birdwatchers looking for penguins.
Reptiles
[edit]There's good news and bad news when it comes to reptiles in Central and South America. The good news is that you won't find any alligators, but the bad news is that the rivers and coastal wetlands are full of caimans and crocodiles. In theory, the caimans are smaller than the crocs, but in South America, they've captured caimans as big as 18 feet that weigh over a ton. Crocodiles are found in the larger rivers, including both the Amazon and the Orinoco.
If crocs aren't enough to keep you out of the water, they have anacondas too. Supposedly a Burmese python can grow longer than the anaconda, but the anaconda has significantly more bulk. Running into the jungle might be a good way to escape the anaconda, but its cousin, the boa constrictor will be lurking in the tree tops there.
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Not all the reptiles are enormous and waiting to eat you. Central America is famous for its colorful poison dart frogs that excrete toxins through their skin. A person could die from merely holding one, but death is far more likely if you picked up a golden poisonous frog, which lives in the jungles of Colombia. It would be a colossal mistake to pick up a strawberry poison dart frog and lick it to see if it really tastes like strawberry (it doesn't, it tastes like death).
Turtles nest on beaches throughout Central and South America and the Costa Rica national parks have some protected beaches where sea turtles nest. The world's most famous turtles are the giant Galapagos tortoises off the coast of Ecuador.
Snakes are common throughout Central America, and while many are harmless, some are highly venomous. The fer-de-lance is one of the most dangerous snakes because it's very common in both Central America and northern South America, it blends into rotting leaves and tree branches, and is quite aggressive. The neotropical rattlesnake lives in the grassy savannahs like the Pampas of Argentina. The bushmaster is one of the most venomous snakes in Central and South America, but you're not too likely to see one since they're most active at night and they avoid humans.
Fish
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Central America is justly famous for its offshore sportfishing, but there are a lot of fascinating, unique fish living in inland waterways, including huge rivers like the Amazon and Orinoco. The most famous is certainly the piranha whose toothy starring role in a series of horror films named after the feared carnivores keeps many a tourist on their boats or on shore. Piranhas usually prefer dead meat over dining on a living landlubber who landed in the murky river waters, but truth is not always as fun as fantasy is. In the Amazon and its tributaries there are enormous fish known as Arapiema. These monsters of the river can grow to over 200 kg. Fortunately, they aren't particularly dangerous so instead of worrying about them you might want to worry about the electric eels which can deliver a shocking 650 volts. I'd also worry about bull sharks. Most sharks stay offshore where the water is nice and salty, but not the bull sharks. They're perfectly content in fresh water and have been found as far upstreaem as Iquitos Peru, some 3,700 km from the coast.