the amazon rainforest is one of the world’s richest ecosystems and is home to a variety of species not seen anywhere else on the planet they range from the deadliest to the rarest and every year more and more unbelievable discoveries are being made with an environment so ideal for animals to thrive there are some that grow bigger than you’d expect so with some that are astonishing and some that are terrifying here are five of the largest creatures found in the amazon before we begin make sure to hit the like button subscribe to our channel and click the notification bell for more amazing videos every day with that being said let’s begin five capybara the capybara which is native to regions across south america is the largest species of rodent on the planet they’re closely related to guinea pigs and chinchillas but have some important differences they are effective swimmers and spend most of their time either in or next to the water they have webbed feet to allow them to quickly move towards food or away from threats and their faces have evolved to allow them to see and breathe while they’re swimming this also means that while they can hold their breath and dive for up to five minutes capybara are often found asleep in the amazon river with just their noses emerging above the water’s surface similar to other rodents capybara are highly social animals and typically congregate in groups of between 10 and 20 individuals on some occasions colonies of as many as 100 have been found which proves to be highly destructive for the surrounding area each one can grow to over four feet long and can weigh as much as 146 pounds the quite picky herbivores selecting only the best plants fruits and tree barks to feed on and they also regularly eat their own feces which provide a useful source of bacteria for their gut as they exist in such large numbers and can live near virtually any water sources capybara aren’t considered to be at risk they are however regularly hunted by locals for their meat and heights and are highly sought after by pharmaceutical companies because of the grease that can be extracted from their skin capybara can be seen in many zoos around the world and are occasionally kept as pets even though they’re fairly tame and friendly creatures this practice isn’t great for them because they live in such large social groups in the wild and they can also pose a health risk to humans as the ticks that live on them can be a carrier of rocky mounted spotted fever now it’s time for the star topic take a look at this peculiar thing all the animals we’re talking about in today’s video are 112 confirmed to be genuine with the exception of this one this is the photo that we can’t quite make our minds up on which is why we’ve made it the star topic we want you guys to let us know if you think it’s real we were researching large amazonian animals and this photo came up and we simply couldn’t believe it i mean we knew there were big snakes in the amazon but this one seems crazy right and the eyewitnesses are also casual what do you think comment down below with the hashtag hashtag star topic and we will pin the comment that best explains what is being shown on this image let’s move to the next one number four titan beetle this is a titan beetle and rather than being a species of cockroach like it’s often mistaken for it’s one of the largest species of beetle in the world they’re a type of longhorn beetle can grow to up to 6.6 inches long and they have mandibles that are so powerful that they can snap a pencil titan beetles are rare to find though they live in the hot and humid regions near the equator but specifically where there’s a lot of hard wooded trees like there is in the amazon rainforest this is because their larvae are thought to feed exclusively on wood and their life cycle is so dependent on it as a food source that their numbers are being severely affected by deforestation the pupae of the titan beetle have never been seen and are thought to reach maturity within root networks beneath the ground it’s thought that they take many years before growing large enough to turn into adult beetles there’s a good reason why they have to store so much energy before they become a titan beetle though and that’s because once they reach their adult phase they don’t eat anything at all despite having mandibles capable of tearing flesh these monster insects only instinct is to fly around and look for a mate their bites are instead reserved for use as a defensive tactic which they only deploy if their initial attempts at hissing fail the trade in titan beatles because of their incredible size is a thriving industry in the amazon a fully formed adult can sell for as much as 500 to collectors but this is actually thought to be helping to conserve them because they sell for such amounts and because they require good quality wood to grow the people who track and catch them are able to more effectively protect their habitats number three amazonian manatee largest mammal if you were to guess what the largest mammal living in the amazon is then you might go for a species of monkey or perhaps even a jaguar but both would be wrong because it is in fact the amazonian manatee these graceful creatures live in the freshwater regions of the amazon river and its tributaries and are only one of four aquatic species of mammal that only eat plants the others being the other two types of manatee and the closely related dugong they’re cylindrical shaped animals that can be up to seven and a half feet long and weigh as much as 600 pounds in the wild in the relative safety of captivity though they can get even bigger with the largest one on record weighing in at an incredible 836 pounds which is about the same as a large motorcycle their forearms have developed to become large powerful flippers and they’re the only type of manatee that don’t have nails on these flippers they don’t have any hind limbs and the rear part of their body is instead shaped like a large flat paddle that can be used to propel themselves along their lips have a surprising amount of control to allow them to get every last piece of food and they can move each side of their mouth completely independent to the other furthermore they have what are called polyphaedont teeth and are the only mammals to have this adaptation it means that their teeth are continuously replaced throughout their lives and there’s no limit to how often this can happen it’s a good job too because manatees consume as much as eight percent of their body weight each day in particular they love to eat water hyacinths and palm fruits that have fallen into the water but they’ll also target lilies grasses hornworts and bladderworts most of what we know about amazonian manatees comes from observation of them in captivity they have been documented diving for up to 14 minutes for example although usually come up to breathe every 5 minutes or so unlike other aquatic animals they have nostrils instead of a blowhole and these will close while they’re underwater and open when they’re on the surface a large proportion of their body mass is made up of fat and this serves the vital function of keeping their body temperature relatively stable no matter how much the conditions in the environment change it’s also essential for during the dry season when the amazonian manatees are virtually forced to fast because of the lack of food available to them these fat reserves and their low metabolic rates enable them to survive for up to seven months without eating but they’ll definitely make up for that when the food returns number 2. harpy eagle named after the wind spirits from ancient greek mythology the harpy eagle is the largest and strongest species of raptor found in the amazon rainforest they’ll often be seen chasing after parrots and other birds in the canopies and huntry dwell in mammals such as slavs and monkeys they have no natural predators so the only thing that risks harpy eagle populations is human activity deforestation across central america has virtually wiped them out and the knock-on effect that also reduces population numbers of their prey means that any eagles that have managed to survive struggle to find adequate food sources they’re so big that the talons can be the same size as the claws of a brown beer and on average they weigh as much as 22 pounds surprisingly for such a large bird their wingspan is around seven feet while this may sound big it’s actually less than a scene in other eagle species around the world but this is believed to be an adaptation that allows them to navigate the dense canopy of the rainforest more effectively they tend to hunt by waiting on a perch scanning the area and pouncing on prey when it’s most vulnerable so the best place to spot their gray black and white plumage is in the forest canopy they build their nests high up too and will usually pick the tallest places to settle in like the brazil nut and kapok trees in amazonian cultures it’s often viewed as being unlucky to fell a kapok tree because it may disturb nesting harpy eagles which are seen as important spirits within the forest number one south american goliath bird eater the amazon is known for being the home of some truly terrifying creatures but there’s one that’s both frightening and simply massive the south american goliath bird eater it belongs to the tarantula family of spiders and is the biggest spider species in the world based on its size and weight despite the name they rarely prey on birds but they have been documented feeding on small species like hummingbirds they’re opportunistic feeders and more commonly hunt worms frogs toads lizards and snakes goliath bird eaters can grow to have a body up to 5 inches long a leg span of 12 inches and can weigh as much as six ounces it’s described by scientists as having the leg span similar to the size of a child’s forearm and the body the size of a large fist and the overall weight and size of a small puppy it’s so big that as a result of the toughened tips and claws it makes a distinctive sound as it’s walking across the rainforest floor often described as being similar to a quieter version of horse’s hooves they’re native across south america where they live in underground burrows in marshy areas and come out to hunt at night they’re a popular local delicacy where they’re cooked in banana leaves and supposedly taste like shrimp but you need to be careful approaching one if you ever decide you want to they can make sounds by rubbing bristles together on their legs and they can release urticating hairs that cause severe reactions to the skin and can be very harmful if they’re inhaled they have huge fangs too which can measure up to 1.6 inches long this is easily enough to puncture the skin of a human but luckily they’ll only bite a person if they feel threatened they do produce venom that can be injected during a bite and if you’re unfortunate to experience this it’s said to be like having a nail driven through your hand goliath bird eaters are rare to encounter in a forest because they’re nocturnal and tend to keep leaf debris around trees but they aren’t currently regarded as being endangered and it’s thought there are many thousands of them in the undergrowth as you can see the amazon is home to a number of record-breaking animals which ones of these would you want to find if you were trekking through the forest and which would give you nightmares if you ever encountered one make sure to let us know in the comments section also check out our other cool stuff showing up on screen right now see you next time
5 Largest Creatures Found In The Amazon!
