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The Understory
PREDATORS of the RAINFOREST FLOOR
July 31, 2012
Due to the scarcity of large prey, larger predators are relatively rare in the rainforest. Many of these carnivores have adapted to cope with the shortage of large ground-dwelling prey by hunting in the canopy and supplementing their diet with smaller animals like fish, rodents, birds, and reptiles. The largest group of mammalian predators on the forest floor are the cats. Each forested region, except the Australasian realm has its own forest cat species.
CATS
The largest rainforest cat species is the tiger which once ranged from tropical India to Arctic Siberia to Southeast Asia. The tiger is threatened by habitat, hunting as vermin (farmers blame tigers for livestock losses), and killing for use in Chinese Traditional Medicine, where some believe tiger parts can cure illness. In the last century three subspecies of tiger have gone extinct: the Caspian, Javan, and Bali tigers. Of the six surviving subspecies, the Bengal or Indian Tiger is the most abundant [news and information on tigers | photos].
The second largest rainforest cat is the jaguar which once ranged from Arizona in the United States to Argentina, but is now mostly limited to forest areas and savannas in the Orinoco and Amazon basins. Ruthless hunting for its furs and as vermin along with forest clearing have dramatically driven this species to its endangered status throughout its range, and some of the eight sub-species are now extinct in the wild. Although it is protected under CITES (Convention on International on International Trade in Endangered Species), the jaguar is still hunted widely and vigorously. This aquatic cat's diet includes a broad range of animals: frogs, fish, rodents, turtles, deer, and caiman. The jaguar is an excellent swimmer and fisher and usually hunts at night. Jaguars are solitary cats that only pair up at mating times.
Leopards range from Asia to Africa and numerous sub-species and races exist. Some of these forms are extremely rare and some, like the Bali leopard, are extinct. The leopard forms of the Southeast Asian islands are smaller than mainland forms.
The puma, also known as the mountain lion, is a large New World cat which ranges from Canada to Patagonia. Besides the great cats, the rainforest also has several smaller species like the leopard cat (Asia), margay (New World), and ocelot (New World). These generally range from the size of a housecat to a dog. Most are nocturnal and hunt both on the forest floor and in the canopy.
+ Pictures of rainforest floor-dwelling carnivores >>
(08/01/2012) Burning coal fuels climate change, causes acid rain, and spreads toxic pollutants into the environment, but now a new Greenpeace report warns that coal may also imperil the world's biggest feline: the tiger. Home to world's largest population of tigers—in this case the Bengal subspecies (Panthera tigris tigris)—India is also the world's third largest coal producer. The country's rapacious pursuit of coal—it has nearly doubled production since 2007—has pushed the industry into tiger territory, threatening to destroy forests and fragment the tiger's already threatened population.
(06/20/2012) Live jaguars are worth considerably more for ecotourism than they livestock they kill, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation in Bonito, Brazil.
(06/05/2012) Last summer, a wild Sumatran tiger—one of only a few hundred surviving on the island—made news in a story that did not have a happy ending. The cat had become entangled in a snare in a logging concession owned by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). The tiger spent seven days without food or water before wildlife rangers found it, but its snared right paw was a bloody black mess. Although the rangers were able to sedate and free the cat, it died shortly thereafter from its wounds.
(05/16/2012) At first, an encounter between a jaguar (Panthera onca) and a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) seems improbable, even ridiculous, but the two species do come into fatal contact when a female turtle, every two to four years, crawls up a jungle beach to lay her eggs. A hungry jaguar will attack the nesting turtle, killing it with a bite to the neck, and dragging the massive animal—sometime all the way into the jungle—to eat the muscles around the neck and flippers. Despite the surprising nature of such encounters, this behavior, and its impact on populations, has been little studied. Now, a new study in Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park has documented five years of jaguar attacks on marine turtles—and finds these encounters are not only more common than expected, but on the rise.
(03/13/2012) Although officially declared extinct in 2003, some people believe the Javan tiger (panthera tigris sondaica) is still alive in the island's Meru Betiri National Park. To prove the big cat has not vanished for good, wildlife officials have installed five camera traps in the park, reports Antara News.
(02/14/2012) I must confess to a recent addiction: camera trap photos. When the Smithsonian released 202,000 camera trap photos to the public online, I couldn’t help but spend hours transfixed by the private world of animals. There was the golden snub-monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), with its unmistakably blue face staring straight at you, captured on a trail in the mountains of China. Or a southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), a tree anteater that resembles a living Muppet, poking its nose in the leaf litter as sunlight plays on its head in the Peruvian Amazon. Or the dim body of a spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) led by jewel-like eyes in the Tanzanian night. Or the less exotic red fox (Vulpes vulpes) which admittedly appears much more exotic when shot in China in the midst of a snowstorm. Even the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), an animal I too often connect with cartoons and stuffed animals, looks wholly real and wild when captured by camera trap: no longer a symbol or even a pudgy bear at the zoo, but a true animal with its own inner, mysterious life.
(10/18/2011) Africa is known as the continent of big cats: cheetahs, leopards, and of course, the king of them all, lions. Even servals and caracals are relatively well-known by the public. Still, few people realize that Africa is home to a number of smaller wild cat species, such as the black-footed cat and the African wild cat. But the least known feline on the continent is actually a cryptic predator that inhabits the rainforest of the Congo and West Africa. "The African golden cat has dominated my thoughts and energy for over a year and a half now. When carrying out a study like this one, you find yourself trying to think like your study animal," Laila Bahaa-el-din, University of Kwazulu Natal graduate student, told mongabay.com in a recent interview.
(07/14/2011) Worldwide wolf populations have dropped around 99 percent from historic populations. Lion populations have fallen from 450,000 to 20,000 in 50 years. Three subspecies of tiger went extinct in the 20th Century. Overfishing and finning has cut some shark populations down by 90 percent in just a few decades. Though humpback whales have rebounded since whaling was banned, they are still far from historic numbers. While some humans have mourned such statistics as an aesthetic loss, scientists now say these declines have a far greater impact on humans than just the vanishing of iconic animals. The almost wholesale destruction of top predators—such as sharks, wolves, and big cats—has drastically altered the world's ecosystems, according to a new review study in Science. Although researchers have long known that the decline of animals at the top of food chain, including big herbivores and omnivores, affects ecosystems through what is known as 'trophic cascade', studies over the past few decades are only beginning to reveal the extent to which these animals maintain healthy environments, preserve biodiversity, and improve nature's productivity.
(03/14/2011) In The Tiger, John Vailliant weaves a haunting and compelling true narrative of men who live—or die—with tigers. No doubt the story itself is on-the-edge of your seat reading. As well, the book provides factual information on the 400 or so Amur Tigers remaining, and the raw milieu that is Primorye, Far East Russia—a wilderness and people unto their own. What is special, transcendent even in this story, however, murmurs uncomfortably in the background. Questions emerge from deep taiga snow, not unlike the unseen Panchelaza Tiger. What exactly is our relationship with apex predators? How do people live with them? How would you live with them in your backyard? What if your pet dog disappeared? As we ourselves are apex predators, are we wise enough, tolerant enough, compassionate enough to share this planet with them? Evidence today points to the contrary, but this can change.
(08/05/2010) If you have been fortunate enough to visit the Amazon or any other great rainforest, you've probably been wowed by the multitude and diversity of life. However, you also likely quickly realized that the deep jungle is not quite what you may have imagined when you were a child: you don't watch as jaguars wrestle with giant anteaters or anacondas circle prey. Instead life in the Amazon is small: insects, birds, frogs. Even biologists will tell you that you can spend years in the Amazon and never see a single jaguar. Yet rainforest guide and modern day explorer Paul Rosolie says there is another Amazon, one so pristine and with such wild abundance that it seems impossible to imagine if not for Rosolie's stories, photos, and soon videos. This is an Amazon where the big animals—jaguars, tapir, anaconda, giant anteaters, and harpy eagles—are not only abundant but visible. Free from human impact and overhunting, these remote places—off the beaten path of tourists—are growing ever smaller and, according to Rosolie, are in danger of disappearing forever.
(07/13/2010) From bobcats, lynx, and pumas to the thousands of lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and little wildcats living in captive environments, the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society is solely devoted to ending the commercial exploitation of all wildcats. Its primary objectives are to drastically reduce and subsequently eliminate the private ownership of wildcats as pets; wildcats held in roadside zoos and pseudo-sanctuaries; using wildcats for entertainment purposes; as well as hunting, trafficking, and trade of wildcats. Lisa Tekancic is an attorney in Washington, DC and founder and president of WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society. Their mission is to protect and defend all native and non-native wildcats. Lisa is an active member of the DC Bar’s Animal Law Committee and has organized and moderated two legal conferences: 'Trafficking, Trade, and Transport of Wildlife,' and 'Wildlife and the Law.' She presented a paper on the methodology of 'Animal Ethics Committee' for the International Conference on Environmental Enrichment, and for four years was volunteer staff at the National Zoological Park’s, Cheetah Station.
(02/18/2010) Using camera traps over a two year period wildlife biologist Kashmira Kakati has discovered seven species of wild cats living in the same forest: the Jeypore-Dehing lowland forests in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Yet the cat-crazy ecosystem is currently threatened by deforestation, unsustainable extractive industries, including crude oil and coal, and big hydroelectric projects. Some of the cats are also imperiled by poachers. In light of this discovery, conservationists are calling on the Indian government to protect the vulnerable forest system.
(02/02/2010) Few species have faced such vitriolic hatred from humans as the world's top predators. Considered by many as pests—often as dangerous—they have been gunned down, poisoned, speared, 'finned', and decimated across their habitats. Even where large areas of habitat are protected, the one thing that is often missing are top predators. However, new research over the past few decades is showing just how vital these predators are to ecosystems. Biologists have long known that predators control populations of prey animals, but new studies show that they may do much more. From controlling smaller predators to protecting river banks from erosion to providing nutrient hotspots, it appears that top predators are indispensible to a working ecosystem. Top predators sit at the apex of an ecosystem's food chain. Wolves in Alaska, tigers in Siberia, lions in Kenya, white sharks in the Pacific are all examples of top predators.
(09/15/2009) Reuben Clements has achieved one success after another since graduating from the National University of Singapore. Currently working in peninsular Malaysia, he manages conservation programs for the Endangered Malayan tiger and the Critically Endangered Sumatran Rhino with World Wildlife Fund. At the same time he has discovered three new species of microsnails, one of which was named in the top ten new species of 2008 (a BIG achievement for a snail) due to its peculiar shell which has four different coiling axes.
(03/18/2009) The Sumatran tiger, a critically-endangered subspecies, is hanging on by a thread in its island home. Biologists estimate that at most 500 individuals remain with some estimates dropping as low as 250. Despite the animal's vulnerability, large-scale deforestation continues in its habitat mostly under the auspices of one of the world's largest paper companies, Asian Pulp and Paper (APP). Shrinking habitat and human encroachment has led to a rise in tragic tiger encounters, causing both human and feline mortalities.
OTHER CARNIVOROUS MAMMALS
The Civet family originated from Asia to Africa, but now has been introduced worldwide. The Civet family is made up of 16 genera including the well-known mongooses. One interesting member of the family is the fishing genet which has a unique feeding habit. Even though it feeds on fish, it is not a great swimmer and even tries to avoid getting wet whenever possible. The fishing genet fishes by tapping its paw against the water surface of small forest streams in order to attract fish. The fishing genet puts its long whiskers against the surface to detect vibrations caused by fish movements. When it senses movement, the genet takes the plunge.
The best-known members of the family are the mongooses which have been popularized by Kipling's Ricky-Ticky-Tavy story as eaters of snakes, though they also feed on insects, small mammals and birds, and eggs. Mongooses have an interesting technique for opening eggs in which they stand with their back to a rock, egg in hand, and violently thrust the egg against the rock.
The armadillo and giant anteater of the Edentata family are ground-dwelling carnivores of the New World, with 21 species of armadillo distributed from the southern U.S. to Patagonia. They are equipped with protective bony plates that render them virtually inedible to predators. Armadillos are excellent diggers who use their fine sense of smell to locate snakes, mice, lizards, and insects. Armadillos range in size from five inches (12 cm) and three ounces (90 g) to the rare giant armadillo which reaches 39 inches (1 m) and 120 pounds (55 kg), excluding the tail. The giant anteater inhabits savannas and rainforests from Guatemala to Argentina. It is a great swimmer and, like its arboreal relatives, a fine climber. It is well-adapted to feeding on ants and termites with its 39-inch (1 m) sticky tongue, strong sense of smell, and powerful, sharp claws. Sloth bears, weighing up to 300 pounds (135 kg), are distributed in the tropical rainforests of Sri Lanka and Southern India. They feed commonly on termites, forming their lips into a tubular shape and sucking them up like a vacuum sweeper. The related sun bear is found in the forests of Southeast Asia.
Jaguar in the Colombian Amazon. Click picture for more jaguar photos. (Photo by R. Butler)
Review questions:
Why are large predators relatively rare in the rainforest?