BECAUSE SOUTH AMERICAN is isolated from the other land masses of the world, except for the narrow land bridge of the isthmus of panama, its animal life is quite different from that of other continents.
Some familiar species of the " OLD WORLD " are entirely lacking. And some of south America's animals are found only in the western hemisphere. an interesting fact is that none of south America's animals reaches a very great size. The largest land animals is the tapir, a pig like creature with a short, flexible trunk. The tapir reaches a length of 6 to 8 feet and stand about 3 feet tall. Another south America's mammal is the manatee, or sea cow. The manatee, which lives entirely in the water is shaped like a seal, but its face resemble a calf's. It sometimes makes a noise like the mooning of a cow. The manatee, which live on water plants, grows to a length of nine to fifteen feet. It's skin is black and nearly hairless.The greatest variety of animals life is found in the warm, wet rain forest of the amazon valley and the higher lands bordering it. There are giant anteaters and armadillos. There are vicious jaguars and other members of the cat family. There are twenty-foot boa constrictors and many poisonous snakes such as the deadly fer-de-lance and bushmaster. Chattering monkeys swarm through the trees in the daytime. The noise of the frogs and toads is deafening at night. Ants and termites are everywhere. There are fireflies with red, yellow, and blue lights. One spider grows large enough to hunt birds. Rodents run on the forest floor, and millions of bats fly among the trees. Among them is the vampire bats, which lives on blood which it sucks from animals and human beings. Many of the bird are brilliantly colored parrots, macaws, toucans, and great flocks of parakeets.
