Central and South American wildlife Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

The Neotropic realm consists of South America together with Central America, the Caribbean and southern Florida. The realm consists all different climate zones; tropical forests, the highlands of the Andes, and the South American plains, extending to Antarctica.

Major wildlife regions North America • Central & South America • Africa • Madagascar • Eurasia • South & Southeast Asia • Australasia • Arctic • Southern Ocean

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

South America is famous for its colorful birds, including parrots and toucans. Iguaçu Falls is a well-known destination for birdwatching (not to mention the incredible waterfalls).

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.

• Galapagos wildlife
• North American wildlife