The dense rainforest is the primary habitat for this South American animal, but it also roams freely open areas and forests.

You wouldn’t want to be caught alone with one of these cats. They are exceptionally strong, fast and can deliver an extremely powerful bite. In fact, while many other cats will target the neck and jugular vein of its prey, the Jaguar usually uses a much more blunt method. It uses its crushing jaws to pierce through the skull of its victims, delivering a fatal blow to the brain with over two thousand pounds of head-crushing force.

A South American Animal - The Jaguar

The jaguar feeds only on meat – a carnivore in the purest sense of the word. While this cat prefers larger prey like deer, dogs, foxes, capybaras, and caimans, its will eat any other species that can be caught. It will hunt frogs, birds, fish (the jaguar is a skilled swimmer due to its compact frame), turtles, and monkeys. Basically if you can imagine it, the jaguar has probably tried to eat it. Its jaws are powerful enough to chomp right through a turtle’s shell.

This amazing cat has even been known to prey on one of the most dreaded south american animals: the anaconda.

Ever seen your house cat stalk a bug or small mouse before pouncing? The jaguar takes this to the extreme as it will follow its prey in silence, completely undetected until it shoots in for the kill. Its actually unrivaled among all cat species in its abilities to stalk its prey.

The good news for us is that Jaguars (unlike some other cats) will very, very rarely attack humans.

Its an “apex-predator”, meaning that nothing in the wild (other than humans) will hunt it. Both male and female jaguars hunt their prey, becoming active around dusk and dawn.

One thing is sure: this is a very elusive and mysterious cat. It even has its place in mythology and in south american animal culture as a symbol of force and power.

They feature a large, colorful bill which actually, in several species of toucans, is more than half the length of their bodies! Its more bill than bird. They have short, thick necks with small wings, and short, compact bodies.

Their legs are strong and also .. you guessed it.. short. They generally have black feathers with white, scarlet and yellow splotches.

a toucan just chilling

You would think that with such a large bill, it would be used for catching fish and other creatures. But in reality, the toucan is a vegetarian, eating mostly fruit and berries. Its interesting that the bills are now thought to offer some type of thermoregulation advantages to these birds.

Their tongues are very large and developed — and very adapted to taste. They’ll even throw their heads back when eating small fruits, rolling the food back into their throats before swallowing. So, apparently, Toucan Sam was an appropriate mascot for Fruit Loops They generally do eat berries and other fruits, but if prey is easy, they’ll branch out for some tasty insects or even small lizards.

We aren’t sure how good they are as pets, but here’s a great video of a toucan attacking a camera:

In the wild, you’ll usually catch up with toucans if you look high up in trees, where they’ll be bouncing back and forth as they hop from one branch to another. They are extremely playful and definitely engage with one another in different type of games and other gregarious activities.

They are generally seen in pairs or small groups.

Flying, though, is interesting. They are terrible at flying, flapping their wings rapidly and gliding for very short distances. They prefer to hop and bounce around in the treetops.

All in all, this is definitely one of the most colorful and playful animals in South America. Kellogs hit a homerun with the adoption of this bird for their Froot Loops cereal.

They are called “giant” for a reason, as they can grow to a size of over 7 feet in length. They will often weight up to 120 pounds.

They use their strong sense of smell to locate grubs, ants, and termites. They also have a very keen sense of hearing which allows them to hear movement and also detect the presence of approaching predators. The rest of their bodies are perfectly made to claw out the insects with their extremely sharp claws and then suck up the ants at a rate of a few THOUSAND of them in just a few minutes. Curiously, they don’t stay longer than that at one ant hive in order to avoid the threat of soldier ants.

Soldier ants will fight back with painful stings, so the anteater makes a fast food stop and is outta there in a hurry. They actually will never completely destroy a nest, preferring instead to visit again and again in the future. Pretty smart.

Although the giant anteater is hunted itself by the cougar and the jaguar, they don’t run. These suckers are tough! They’ll stand and fight if threatened, using their sharp claws to work to defend against their predators. Many times they’ll even be successful in warding off an attack from a large South American cat.

They can actually be dangerous to humans. You can imagine — its a wild animal with EXTREMELY sharp claws. Apparently one unlucky 19 year old zookeeper was attacked by a giant anteater in Argentina. The zookeeper’s legs and abdomen were mauled so badly by the claws that she ended up dying after leg amputation surgery.

If you’re ever in Central or South America, where they live in tropical forests and in grasslands, it would be good to remember to observe an anteater, but to never get close to one in the wild. They are absolutely dangerous when cornered and will use its tail for balance while lashing out at whoever gets close. Not a good situation.

A huge problem for the anteater, though, is humans. Not because they are being poached, although that does sometimes happen. But mainly because the human race is gradually consuming the anteater’s habitat. There are estimates that say that there are perhaps as few as 5000 of them left in the wild. The females only have one single offspring per year, so they are disadvantaged in this way — not being able to reproduce rapidly like the south american capybara. They are definitely on several endangered species lists as “threatened.”

They carry their young on their backs for a period of time, even after the offspring is able to walk around on its own. The gestation period is about 40 days and the infant anteater will not hunt for ants and other insects on its own until is at least two years old.

One thing to be careful of, though, and we aren’t sure how this works. But apparently a man was hospitalized after having Chilean Rose Tarantula actually THROW hairs — like spears — into the man’s eye while he was cleaning its cage. So, these spiders, usually very docile and seemingly harmless, can launch their spider hairs like projectiles. Definitely an interesting defense mechanism.

lot of hair on this south american animal

Apparently the spider will quickly rub one of his legs against his abdomen to flick several hairs at what it considers to be an adversary. They shoot off like tiny, sharp javelins. Apparently this man STILL has the spider hairs lodged in his cornea. They are too small to be removed, yet large enough to be extremely uncomfortable.

So, while they would seem to be great pets, you’d want to think twice before obtaining one from the pet store. Or at the very least you’re going to want to wear protective goggles while cleaning its cage.

This South American Animal is actually a very hairy spider, and I suppose, can afford to lose a few of its hairs. It normally feeds on small bugs like crickets,
beetles, cockroaches, and moths. It *CAN*, though, grab hold of creatures that you wouldn’t think it’d be able to handle. Like … a mouse. Yep, these spiders have been known to take down and ingest mice over time.

Another interesting fact with the Chilean Rose Tarantula is its long life-span. This spider can live for over 15 years.. occasionally over 20 years! So, if you want it for a pet, get used to having it around for a good portion of your life.

They are desert animals and are found in the desert regions of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. There seem to be a lot of them — it would seem that they are able to reproduce at a rapid rate.

This is definitely one of the more interesting — if not one of the ugliest — of the south american creatures.

These small, brown ants live inside a tree, and as you might suspect, there’s a very good reason for this. The ants bodies are extremely acidic and their presence in this particular tree actually kills the surrounding plant life.

The natives of the South American Jungle thinking it strange that there were open places with no plants on the jungle floor, assumed that the devil was responsible for the abnormality. So, they named these areas with lemon ants ” devil’s garden”.

Its good for the tree, because apparently it gives it more room to grow and expand — and for whatever reason does not harm the tree itself. Its great for the lemon ants because they are able to live protected inside the bark of the tree.

Well, protected until some rainforest tourists decide to hunt them down for their zing of flavor! (They were recently featured on bizarre foods with Andrew Zimmern) Stripping the tree bark open will reveal thousands of these tiny ants.

And then, well, you guessed it! Stick your tongue down and lick them up. A little gross-sounding, but actually quite good to eat! They won’t fill you up at all (imagine that you’d have to eat nearly the entire colony to even come close to feeling a little bit full), but they’ll provide you with a quick snack, some protein, and a zesty lemon-like flavor!

Just another interesting tip for the next time you’re walking through a thick Ecuadorian jungle. Make sure you take some time out to eat the lemon ants

The hair is so sparse, actually, on full-grown capybaras, that they are prone to sunburns in the hot south american sun. To combat the heat and sun rays, they tend to spend much of their time in the water. Apparently, they are excellent swimmers! They’ve been known to sleep completely underwater except for their snout, which they stick up above the surface in order to breathe. They can also hold their breath for over five minutes.

A capybara does have to be careful, though. Their favorite hideout — the waters and marshes of South America, is also the home of the South American Anaconda! Many capybaras have been known to be a rather large meal for that very hungry snake. It is actually the preferred food source for the anaconda.

Capybaras actually have a life span of 8-10 years, but living in the dangerous wild of South America seems to severely cut down on their lifespans. They are a favorite food of some of the most dangerous animals in South America and are routinely hunted for their meat, which people say seems to taste similar to pork.

To combat the threat of predators, Capybaras stay in packs, with the most dominant male at the center of the pack. He presumably has access to the best resources and is alerted first if their is danger in the area. I would assume that it’d be good to be the dominant male capybara — but I certainly wouldn’t want to be caught out on the edge of the pack.

Humans become another of the predators of the capybara and many times this poor rodent has been hunted so much for its meat and its fur that its come close to being put on the endangered species list. Some farmers also have seen them as competition in grazing for the animals they DO want to raise, so they’ll go on capybara killing sprees to thin out their numbers. Somehow, they always seem to bounce back in number. The capybaras can breed very rapidly and the sperm of the male capybara lasts much longer than that of other rodents — making this a very resilient creature.

The main habitat for the capybara is right in the middle of the South American jungle. They tend to prefer wooded and marshy areas and are right at home in the dense jungle. Some capybaras have made it as far north as Florida, but probably just from having escaped some form of captivity — there have even been some people who have adopted this huge rodent as pets. A MUCH, much larger version of a hamster It is illegal, though, in some states to keep them as pets. I mean, afterall, you’d really want to think long and hard before you took on the investment of keeping this HUGE rodent as a real-life pet.

And how about the weight? That’s right, 550 lbs., possibly higher.

An anaconda feeds on wild pigs, large rodents, deer, and some aquatic animals.
Known for ambushing its prey, it quickly locks on with sharp teeth, dragging them into the water while coiling itself around its prey, squeezing it to death.

Another crazy fact about an anaconda. It swallows its prey whole! It doesn’t chew or bite like other animals, but wraps its entire jaw over and around the animal, slowing moving them down into its stomach.

Then digestion — which takes several days. The anaconda may not eat again for several weeks after taking down a large prey.

Kind of greasy .. but not bad

Cuy ( or guinea pig ) is a type of South American Animal routinely served up in all types of restaurants and roadside stands. It can be tough for foreigners to get past the idea that they may be eating what seems like someone’s pet. But once you actually do start to dig in and eat a cuy, they actually aren’t that bad.

I had my first one the other night in a restaurant in Ecuador. The meat was good – a little greasy – but not bad at all, really. The reactions at the table were mixed. Many people LOVED the taste of it and didn’t think twice about digging in. Several others, though, were more reserved.

Apparently, this South American animal is enjoyed throughout the continent. Sooooo, what’s your vote ?
Given the right social situation, and cultural considerations .. would you eat a cuy ?

Galapagos Giant Tortoise

The Galapagos Giant Tortoise is a South American animal that only lives on the seven islands off of the west coast of Ecuador — the Galapagos Islands. They are absolutely enormous, with full-grown adults tortoises weighing over 300 kilograms. That’s about 660 pounds !

One of the most intriguing things about them is that they outlive humans! They can live to be 100 to 150 years old. So whenever you want to visit your favorite tortoise in the Galapagos, he or she will probably still be there.

As you would expect, they are very slow moving, making their way along at about .3 km/h .. ( .18 miles per hour ). They often bask in the sun to warm their bodies ( they are cold – blooded ) and then become more active the rest of the day.

For one reason or another, probably because of their slow speed and ample supply of meat, the tortoises have been a target.
Other South American animals and humans are both predators. Major conservation efforts have kept the species from complete extinction and now the Galapagos giant tortoise is completely protected by law.

When you visit Ecuador in South America – be sure to stop by the Galapagos island to see this amazing creature!

Red Piranha

This south american animal lives in most rivers below the Equator. Its got VERY sharp teeth and a large appetite for meat!
There are many species of this fish — so many, in fact, that biologists aren’t exactly sure how diverse they are. Typically about 15 to 25 centimeters in length, each piranha is small but sports blade-like, tightly packed teeth.

Not to fear, though. The reputation of this south american animal far exceeds its actual danger. They are more or less like normal fish with very large choppers! They tend to swim in schools for protection from their predators. The myths about this south american animal consuming humans and cattle in swarming attacks — in mere seconds — are only myths.
The “red piranha” is the species that seems to get most of the bad press, apparently for its menacing look and aggressive behaviours.

This aggression, though is mainly with each other. They have been known to not let weaker fish among their groups survive. If they aren’t fed enough, they will actually start to attack and feed on each other! They do occasionally injure swimmers in lakes and rivers in South America, but its usually just a single bite — often a mistake by the fish — that harms the person.

So don’t let this South American animal distract you from a great vacation South of the Equator!