The inhabitants

The tree fern

Like all ferns, tree ferns are relics from the time of the dinosaurs, before flowering plants existed. Therefore, they reproduce via spores. Depending on the species, tree ferns grow five or six meters high. They belong to the species that are mainly found in the always damp mountain forests.

The mountain tapir

The mountain tapir is probably the rarest animal species in our rainforest. Of the four tapir species that have survived to this day, the mountain tapir is the most endangered. It lives in remote mountain and cloud forests in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Overall, its population in the wild has collapsed to just 2500 animals. A sustained decline of another 20 percent is expected for the next 20 years. This is due to the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat as well as poaching. Researchers suspect that a small population of mountain tapirs may have survived in the jungle of Mein Regenwald. Thus, my rainforest would be one of the last retreat areas that this wonderful animal is dependent on.

The leafcutter ant

Various species of leafcutter ants live throughout the jungle of Mein Regenwald. They build huge subterranean nests and are the only known animal species, apart from humans, that practices systematic agriculture. Millions of ants climb the trees and cut the leaves. Then they carry huge pieces of leaves back to their nest in relation to their body size. There are underground gardens there. On the rotting pieces of leaves in growth chambers that are precisely air-conditioned by the ants, the insects grow certain types of fungi, on which the whole colony feeds.

The blue morpho butterfly

The morpho butterfly is a large butterfly, measuring ten centimeters or more. In the semi-darkness of the jungle, its wings flash iridescent blue when the sun's rays fall on them. But when this impressive butterfly perches on dead leaves, it's hard to spot as the undersides of its folded wings provide perfect camouflage.

The spectacled bear

Before the Europeans came to Peru, spectacled bears were everywhere: in the desert dry forests of the coast, in the mountains up to the snow line and in the tropical rain forest. Today the spectacled bear is also endangered. His favorite food is bromeliads, the cup-like plants that grow on trees everywhere. That's why the spectacled bear can climb so well. It is hardly dangerous to humans, unless you accidentally meet a bear with her offspring in the opaque thicket.

The bromeliads

The most well-known plant from the bromeliad family is the pineapple. It is grown in huge monocultures a few kilometers outside the jungle of Mein Regenwald and has completely destroyed the rainforest there. There are hundreds of bromeliad species in the jungle - small, large, spiky, tabby. What they all have in common is that they grow on solid ground, on rocks or simply on the jungle trees. They draw water from the fog or, quite practically, store it themselves between their long leaves, which form a funnel. A mini biotope is created here for tadpoles, mosquito larvae, snails and others who like it wet but want to avoid the company of greedy fish.

The chonta palm

The Chonta palm is a real star among the jungle plants. Its trunk is covered from top to bottom with densely packed, long spikes. This is also necessary because the inside of the trunk, the so-called heart of the palm, is delicious. Spectacled bears, monkeys and others agree on that. The chonta palm has also become rare in most places because commercial collectors are cutting down more trees than can grow back.

The sloth

Sloths are loyal to their home tree. They live on it and only very seldom descend. They are clumsy on the ground, but remain calm high up in the branches, where they feed on hard-to-digest leaves. Amazingly, sloths are good swimmers, but they can only cover 4 meters per minute in trees. With their low-energy leaf food, they cannot afford more action.

The sloth's fur is greenish because certain types of algae thrive in their permanently damp fur. The damp, mossy fur in turn attracts moths, which fertilize the algae plantation in the sloth's fur with their excrement. The algae serve the sloths as a small snack between meals. Every few days something happens in the sloth fur. Every time the sloth climbs down to the forest floor to defecate, the moths get restless. They lay their eggs in the dung of the sloths, which their caterpillars feed on. After the moths hatch, they fly back to a sloth and the sloth-algae-moth cycle begins again.

The Andean cock of the rock

The orange cock rock is a typical resident of the canyons in the mountain rainforests of Peru. The females like to breed in secret behind waterfalls. The roosters live dangerously, because their color and personality draw so much attention to themselves that they are often prey to eagles or wildcats. They take the risk to impress the hens. A real macho bird. In the past, the leaders of the indigenous communities also adorned their crowns with the feathers of the cock of the rock, but today both the indigenous and the cock of the rock are equally rare. In Peru, Leque is called the dance floor of the rock cocks. Every morning around half past six and every evening from 5 p.m. the roosters come together here. They sing and dance. The jury sits hidden in the foliage of the neighboring trees: the inconspicuous hens only choose the rooster who can sing and dance best. In pristine places like the forest reserve of Mein Regenwald there are still courtship sites where 30, 40 or more roosters congregate daily. It's a breathtaking spectacle. Almost everywhere else, however, the rock rooster is endangered today: without forest, no waterfalls and without waterfalls there would be no breeding grounds for rock hens.

The armadillo

Armadillos are typically South American mammals. They are the last survivors of the armored minor articulated family and feed on mollusks and insects. There are several species, distinguished by their body size and the number of belt-like bandages they wear on their backs. The giant armadillo has considerable dimensions, weighing up to 33 kilos. The pygmy armadillo is a real tiny creature and weighs just 1500 grams.

The capuchin monkey

Various species of capuchin monkeys populate all forests of South America, including the rainforest of Mein Regenwald. They are very sociable monkeys that like to live in large families. Some capuchin monkeys have even learned to use simple tools.

The hummingbirds

Dozens of species of hummingbirds live in the forest sanctuary of Mein Regenwald. Depending on the shape of the flowers they fly to for nectar, each species has differently shaped beaks: long, short, thick, thin, straight, curved - the shape of the beak determines which plant species a hummingbird feeds on. Three facts about hummingbirds that are fairly unknown:

1. Among these tiny birds there are real marathon flyers who can migrate hundreds or thousands of kilometers.
2. Some hummingbird species like to build their nests out of cobwebs.
3. The males of many hummingbird species are real brawlers. They will defend their territory to the death if necessary and will brutally attack their competitors in flight, often until both fall to the ground exhausted.

The coati

Another mammal typical of South America. Coatis are very sociable carnivores that feed on a wide variety of small animals. They like to live in larger groups and love to play extensively with each other. These cute guys belong to the small bear family and can also be found in the jungle reserve of My Rainforest.

The orchids

No one can describe the mountain rainforests of the Andes without mentioning the orchids. Thousands of species of these often highly specialized plants occur here. Their high degree of adaptation to very specific climatic conditions and pollinators makes many orchids particularly vulnerable to climate change. There are tiny orchids and huge, magnificent and those with inconspicuous flowers. There are fragrant orchids and stinky orchids. Some are pollinated by bumblebees, others by hummingbirds, bats or ants. Orchids grow on trees, on stones or in the ground. But they all have one thing in common: nothing works without mushrooms. Each species lives together with a fungus, plant and fungus feed on each other. Something else applies to all orchids: They are real artists of life and like it sparse. Where nutrients leak into the soil because villagers fertilize their fields or cattle drive into the forest, the orchids soon die off or are displaced by other plants. Many orchid species are still unknown today, just as many are endangered or threatened with extinction.

The ocelot

Since the trade in its fur was banned and its spotting pattern fell out of fashion, the ocelot has partially reclaimed its original habitat in the forests of South America. The cat, which can weigh up to 20 kilos, is called tigrillo in Peru, meaning little tiger. Although rarely seen, the nocturnal ocelot does not shy away from human settlements. He likes to get a chicken there in the evening.

The peccary

Peccaries are South American wild boars, also known as New World pigs. There are two species of peccary in the rainforest reserve of Mein Regenwald: The collared peccary lives in small family groups and is not yet endangered, even if its population is declining. The much larger whiskered peccary roams the forests in large groups of up to 100 animals. If you encounter such a gang in the jungle, you should be very careful. Since the white-bearded peccary roams large areas on its migrations, it is becoming increasingly rare: poaching, road construction and the destruction and fragmentation of untouched, contiguous forest areas are a very big problem for this species.

The puma

Cougars are found across the Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Today they are rare everywhere. The mountain lion, as it is also known, is the second largest cat species in America after the jaguar. In the forest sanctuary of Mein Regenwald he feeds on monkeys, deer and peccaries.

The toucan

Various species of toucan populate the tropical rainforests of Peru. The smaller species called tucanetas, which are adapted to higher altitudes, occur in the jungle of Mein Regenwald. They feed mainly on fruit and usually fly from tree to tree in small groups or in pairs. Interesting: The beak of the toucan, which is huge in relation to its body size, weighs only a few grams. If this were not the case, the bird could hardly fly.

The ulcumano

The Ulcumano is one of the giants among the trees of the mountain rainforest. But from the 1940s to the 1980s, central Peru was the main supplier of valuable tropical timber. Since then, the Ulcumano has been severely endangered. A few Ulcumano trees have survived in the sanctuary of My Rainforest. Birds spread their seeds and very slowly these hardwood trees are reclaiming their habitat.

The wandering ant

Army ants are the most aggressive killers in the rainforest. They go on a foray by the millions and even kill animals that are much larger than themselves: beetles, grasshoppers, even small frogs and lizards. When army ants approach, panic breaks out among the small forest dwellers. For human rainforest dwellers, however, a visit to a migratory ant army is quite useful. When the ants move on, there will be no more mosquitoes or cockroaches in the house.

The woolly monkey

Woolly monkeys are typical inhabitants of mountain rain forests. The common woolly monkey occurs in the Mein Regenwald area and its population is declining but not yet threatened. The population of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, which lives further north, has shrunk to just a few hundred specimens. Woolly monkeys have thick, woolly fur and can use their tails for grasping.

The strangler fig

The strangler fig is a real cannibal. She doesn't even try to work her way up to the sun as a small tree in the shadow of the big ones. Instead, it grows from top to bottom. Birds and monkeys scatter their seeds in the branches of other trees. That is where the dangerous seed sprout. The strangler fig grows and begins its work. First their roots grow downwards until they reach the forest floor. Then they get thicker and thicker, connect and entangle the host tree so much that it finally dies after decades of agony. What remains is the strangler fig, which has taken the place of its former host tree.

The dwarf deer or pudu

The pygmy deer, or pudu, is only as big as a particularly large house cat. He wears two small croissants on his head. You hardly ever see him because he lives hidden in the thicket of the forest. The pudu is also an endangered species: hunting and human encroachment on the forest make life difficult for it. Because dogs come with people and they are life-threatening for the Pudu. In addition to the pudus, there are several other species of deer in the jungle of Mein Regenwald.