Most people visit Australia for big cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. But visitors to the more remote Daintree rainforest are sure to be surprised by its incredible biodiversity, including the Wompoo Fruit Dove, Striped Possum, Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, and several species of Kangaroo.
Once you arrive in Daintree National Park, there are several exciting options for exploring the area. Ocean safaris are always popular: They include snorkeling in order to view marine species like Giant Clams and Sea Turtles.
Travelers may also want to visit the Daintree Discovery Center. Here the staff tracks sightings of the rarest species in the park, and can point visitors in the right direction! They also offer walking tours to the most popular portions of the jungle. Regardless of your interest in seeing specific species or ecosystems, Daintree is a gorgeous and welcome respite from Australian city life.
This is why conservationists in Australia are working harder than ever to protect it. The park was established on October 24 th , , and encompasses an area of square miles. The largest national park in Costa Rica , Corcovado protects about a third of the Osa Peninsula, which is one of the most remote areas of the increasingly popular, tourist-friendly country.
Visitors anxious to spot rare or endangered wildlife will not be disappointed. In addition, the coastal waters of the Osa Peninsula are home to Bull Sharks, Dolphins, Sea Turtles , and even Whales, which breed in the warm, protected areas during winter months.
Visiting Corcovado National Park is always ranked among the top things to do in Costa Rica for families. It is also home to vines, moss, and ferns. Because the jungle is already such a harsh environment for plants, they cannot afford to be attacked or eaten by animals, too.
Many types of plants have adapted to give off poisonous toxins if an animal should come to close, using it to protect themselves from danger. There are many different kinds of animals that live in jungles that have become excellent hunters and gatherers in this extreme environment. Some of the most common animals that live in jungles are jaguars, howler monkeys, tigers, and cobras.
Jungles have such a wide mix of plants and animals and they give us beautiful ecosystems to research and study. While they may not be the most ideal places to go on vacation, they still provide amazing environments for animals and plants to grow and live.
Earth Science. Please email or share this article! The ants feed off a secretion from a certain type of insect that also makes its home in the tree, and are looked after by the Tangarana ants. The Tangarana ants fiercely protect their tree and food source by swarming over anything that lands on, or touches the trees, administering very painful bites.
The ants also clear a circle with a radius of up to 1 meter around the tree, which is a helpful way of recognizing it. The tree has pale, mottled bark, and large leaves. These are not the only stinging ants in the forest, so beware when disturbing any ant nest.
Another stinging ant called the Aztec ant, lives in Cercropia trees. Army Ants Eciton sp. Army ants range in size from a few millimeters, to about 2 centimeters and none make permanent nests, instead the queen is kept in a living bivouac of her colony.
Among the worker ants are the impressive, large soldier ants, with their large, often pale heads, and huge mandibles. It is said that some indigenous people use these ants as make-shift stitches for cuts — holding the ant so that it bites both sides of a wound, the body is then broken off and the head remains attached with mandibles holding together the cut. Unless you are standing on one of their trails, they are unlikely to bother you.
Should you find yourself in the middle of one their hunting expeditions, where the army ants cover the ground and vegetation for many square meters, move rapidly onwards until you are out of their reach. An army ant raiding party is a spectacle in itself, as all the insects in their path try and scurry for safety, making them easy targets for the variety of birds — antbirds, antthrushes, antwrens and antshrikes — that follow.
Leaf Cutter Ants Atta sp. More commonly seen at night along the trails they clear between nest and their target tree, highways of ants carry leaves like sails above their heads, cut by specialized ants that purely cut the leaves. Soldiers guard them, and a caste of tiny ant rides upon some of the leaves to protect against parasitic wasps.
In the nest, another caste of ant tends the fungus, which the ants eat, that grows on the leaves. So how could a vegetarian ant possibly be a problem? The ants are highly experimental in what they eat, and it is not unusual for tents, clothes and bags to be cut up and carried away by leaf-cutter ants, so be careful of where you leave your items should you know they are about.
Wasps — There are many, many species of wasp in the jungle, from small, to very large, some that give irritating stings, and some that sting as badly it is like having a hot knife driven into you.
No wonder there are some moths that imitate wasps so well, that predators and the average person would never be able to tell the difference. They are fascinating creatures in themselves, making all variety of nests, from paper nests, to fancy, beautiful, mud sculptures. If a wasp lands on you and you do not want it on you, wave it away, or flick it off. Away from their nests, they are fairly docile and nothing to worry about.
One place to look out for wasps is under the banana-like leaves of Heliconia plants and various palms, which often over grow the trail. If you disturb their nest you will hear the sudden swarming noise of hundreds of angry wings emerging from the nest. Should you disturb a wasp nest — RUN. Once you have reached a safe distance often as little as 10m away , you may want to remove your shirt, as often they attach themselves, in which case they will continue to sting repeatedly.
Luckily for those who may be allergic to wasps, it appears that people with allergies to European wasps do not react to Tambopata wasps. Africanised Honey Bees or Ronsapas — Many years ago the African honey-bee, Apis melifora, was introduced into some parts of South America due to the good quality honey they produce. Inevitably, they escaped, and have now colonized most of South and Central America, up into some parts of the United States. They have a reputation for being very aggressive.
They are attracted to sweat, but only sting if seriously disturbed. They are very protective over their nests, which they tend to make in natural hollows in trees above ground level. Should you disturb a hive RUN until you are sure you are not being followed. If you are allergic to bees, you should inform the coordinating team.
Unlike a wasp, the bee leaves its sting in you along with most of its internal organs as it is barbed. The best way to remove a sting is to scrape it off with a knife, so as not to inject any more poison, or you can pull it out gently using tweezers.
Generally speaking, South America does not have a host of poisonous spiders and scorpions compared to Africa and Australia. The most dangerous of the spiders is the Wandering Spider , which is occasionally found inside human dwellings. These spiders can be aggressive, and the bite is potentially fatal. Treat with care. The spiders you are most likely to encounter are a variety of smaller orb-web spiders that love to make their nests across trails at head height, so that it is not uncommon to end up with a spider web wrapped around your head.
The spiders are usually small and harmless, and run away when their webs are disturbed. There is a yellow orb-web spider with spines on its abdomen, so if brushing away a spider web and you feel a little stab, you have probably not been bitten, but rather just poked by one of these spines. Spider bites are generally not felt.
They can occur at night when the sleeping person squashes the spider against them. A spider bite is two small red puncture marks close together, surrounded by an inflamed area.
Tarantulas are the big daddies of the spiders in the area. The more commonly seen Pink-Footed Tarantula makes a web-like nest, often in the thatching, where they can be regularly viewed. Although Tarantulas can bite if disturbed, their venom is very mild.
They are nocturnal, and will occasionally wander around — they are a good reason to use mosquito nests, and to shake and check your boots before putting them on in the morning — although anything from frogs, cockroaches to scorpions have also been known to seek shelter in boots that have stood neglected for a while.
With more than species of butterflies in the area, there are going to be that number of caterpillars crawling around too. This does not even include the moths! Many of the caterpillars in the area have stinging hairs, which are capable of doing anything from making you feel like you are on fire, to giving you a rash.
A lot of the bigger species are brightly colored to advertise their toxicity, while others rely on camouflage. These are the ones you have to watch out for when leaning against a tree or putting your hands anywhere. Some caterpillars, called procession or army-worms, travel in large groups, and often sleep together in a huge camouflaged mass, so watch what you are doing, and where you put your hands when grabbing anything for support.
Chiggers are tiny, basically invisible mites that are found often in grassy areas like around lodge clearings.
Their favorite areas are around the sock zone, bra zone, or around the belt zone around the waist. The results are a series of very itchy, mosquito like bumps that can last for several days. People sometimes scratch them raw. Try not to do this. Treat the area with alcohol and anti-histamine. To try and prevent chiggers, wear boots, and your socks tucked into your trousers.
Take a shower when you get back from a walk. From afar, the beaches during the summer along the Tambopata look very inviting. Sitting on them for a period of more than 5 minutes will reveal why they are not covered in bronzing bodies reminiscent of the beaches of the Mediterranean. Tiny, black flies called sand flies by some soon congregate around exposed ankles or other areas of skin and proceed to bite and suck blood.
They leave a characteristic pink circle with a bright red dot in the middle after they have finished. Wearing repellant fends them off. Be sure to reapply after emerging from a swim. Black flies are diurnal, while the real sand-flies are a nocturnal, delicate, small, pale fly that resembles more a moth. The Phlebotomus fly is the carrier of the Leishmaniasis protozoan.
Uta, as it is locally called, forms nasty ulcer type sores that need a 20 day treatment of anti-biotic to cure. If left untreated, people noses and lips have been known to rot off. Avoid getting bitten by wearing repellant or covering up with long sleeve shirts and trousers, and wear socks if you are wearing sandals. A larger biting fly will sometimes buzz around you in the forest.
Horse-flies , or Tabanids, give a very painful bite, and the best defense against a persistent individual is to swat it. These critters tend to be very large in the jungle.
There are many varieties, the most common being a large brown cockroach, present at all lodges. They do not pose a threat, but will eat any food left out overnight. They also have a taste for toothbrushes, so leave yours inside your wash-bag. So how could these stationary objects possibly pose a danger you ask? Well, for starters, I bet that during the course of your stay you are going to trip over at least one exposed root that line the forest floor competing for the nutrients in the top couple of centimeters of soil.
Secondly, falling branches and trees are considered to be one of the most dangerous things in the forest.
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