Ganges, foot and for. Compared to more northern regions, conditions there change quite little over the year. means that the amount of light and day length remain almost the same all year. The only fluctuation is in the rainfall.
Hot, humid jungles have covered the Earth for tens of millions of years. Perhaps this was one of the reasons for the truly incredible diversity of life. And this wealth is not limited to plants.
In the jungle there is no clear change of seasons; trees do not receive a climate signal that would prompt them to simultaneously shed their leaves, as in latitudes. Here, each species has its own “schedule”: some shed leaves every six months, others after a completely arbitrary period, and for others, leaves are replaced in parts.
Flowering periods also vary, and even more erratically. The most common cycles are ten and fourteen months. Other plants may bloom once every ten years. But at the same time, plants of the same species bloom at the same time so that they have time to pollinate each other.
In the jungle, plants grow in tiers, depending on the need for light. Trees in the upper tier live a different life than their lower neighbors, as the wind blows freely through their crowns and they use it to transport pollen and seeds. For example, ceiba throws out a huge number of seeds on light fluffs. They are picked up and carried for many kilometers around. In many such giants, the seeds can be equipped with wings, and the wind carries them quite far. The crowns of the upper tier of plants are excellent shelters for many animals and birds. The most rapacious bird of the jungle, the huge eagle, also nests here. In the Yugo it is called the monkey-eating harpy. These birds build large branches in the crown, to which they return from season to season. On such a platform, the birds raise one chick, which feeds on the prey of its parents for almost a year. The harpy eagle, the largest eagle in the world, hunts swiftly and furiously in the canopy. He chases the monkeys, maneuvering and diving among the branches. Snatching the victim from the flock, he takes it to his nest.
The crown of the trees of the upper tier of the jungle itself is a continuous arch of greenery, six to seven meters thick. Each leaf in it is turned exactly at the angle that provides it with the maximum amount of light. The air in this crown is so humid and hot that favorable conditions are created for the development of moss and algae that cling to the crown and hang from the branches. Almost all the leaves of the crown end in an elegant thorn, which is a tiny drain. Thanks to it, rainwater does not linger on the leaf and immediately flows down, and the upper part of the leaf dries immediately.
Tree flowers located in the crown cannot be pollinated by the wind, since the air around them is practically motionless. Consequently, they are pollinated by insects and small birds. To attract them, they have a brightly colored corolla with a strong scent. Sometimes in the crown there are flowers of trees that are pale and have an unpleasant odor. Such flowers are usually visited by bats for pollination. Flowers pollinated by birds usually have a colored corolla.
The fruits of the plants are also brightly colored. This allows them to solve the problem of their seeds. For example, figs grow in one of Indonesia - Kalimantan. It is covered in fragrant wine berries and is simply teeming with all sorts of their lovers. Monkeys jump from branch to branch, sniffing each fruit, checking by its aroma whether it has reached full ripeness, and only after making sure of this, they eat it. The seeds are not digested in the body and are thrown out with droppings far from the plant. Ripe fruits are also eaten by parrots, which climb twigs, clutching the fruit in the claws of one paw; Hornbills and toucans pick off fruits with their powerful beaks. They toss up the fruit and swallow it on the fly. Not all animals eat fruits and seeds. Many of them, living in the crown of trees, feed on leaves, the supply of which is inexhaustible. An example of such animals are the inhabitants of Asia - lemur monkeys.
There are a huge number of host plants in the jungle. These are, firstly, vines. They climb the trunks of forest giants. They begin life on the ground in the form of a small bush, which, throwing out tendrils, begins to tightly wrap around tree trunks or cling to it. The vine's roots remain in the ground, so it asks the tree for nothing but support. But sometimes her “embraces” destroy the plant.
Some types of ficus are the same merciless robbers. Its seeds often germinate on tree branches. Ficus roots grow quickly downwards and reach the ground. They begin to suck out nutrients. From this moment its leaves begin to grow rapidly. New roots no longer rush to the ground, but tightly wrap around the branches and trunk of the tree on which the plant has settled. Its crown grows very vigorously and begins to take away light from the host tree, which a few years later, having lost access to light, dies. Its trunk is rotting, but the intertwined roots of the ficus have already become thick and strong, they are already able to stand without support. In the jungle, you can often see an old tree, the wide branches of which are overgrown with “tenants”: bromeliads, orchids, etc.
Many birds also find some food for themselves on the ground and rarely leave it, flying up onto branches only when absolutely necessary. These include the bank rooster, the progenitor of domestic chickens; Argus is a large pheasant of Southeast Asia. The female resembles turkeys, but the male is a rare beauty in the color of his plumage. It has a meter-long tail, and huge wings are covered with ocellated spots. Birds of paradise live on earth in the jungles of Nova, spending a lot of time on earth dancing during the mating season.
Many people imagine South America as an impenetrable jungle, where all sorts of terrible dangers lurk. In reality, there are several varieties of tropical climates, in most of which, if you suddenly find yourself in an emergency, you will not lack water or plant and animal food.
There are five tropical climate zones: rainforest, semi-evergreen seasonal forest, forest-steppe (bush), steppe (savanna) and swamp. A traveler stranded in the jungle can get absolutely everything he needs to survive.
Rainforests - mostly evergreen trees up to 45-55 m high grow here. Their root systems are very developed, the leaves are thick, covered with durable skin, and the flowers, as a rule, are simple, greenish or white in color. In places open to sunlight - clearings and river banks - shorter plants grow lushly (the so-called secondary jungle), which are practically impassable for humans. Rainforests also contain a huge number of climbing plants that hang like ropes and loops.
It rains very often here - over 200 cm of precipitation falls per year. Most plants in the jungle, even if they are not trees, have solid trunks and are as large as trees. For example, climbing plants and vines, as if fused with the trunks and branches of large trees, themselves become woody. Herbs and cereals are rare, and mostly young woody shoots are found.
In the tropical zone there is no winter and spring - all vegetation looks the same all year round. There are many edible plants growing in the forest edges, clearings and abandoned logging sites. However, deep in the virgin jungle, where the tree canopies are too high to reach fruits and nuts, finding food becomes quite difficult.
The seasonal semi-evergreen forests of South America are quite similar to the monsoon forests of Asia. Trees in such forests grow in two tiers: the upper one is 18-24 m high, and the lower one is 6-14 m high.
Forest-steppe (bush) - is marked by the existence of a pronounced dry season, during which the leaves fall from the trees, and the rains are strong, but short, with thunderstorms. The height of rare trees in the forest-steppe is 6-9 m, but the predominant type of vegetation is shrubs.
The savannas of South America are grassy plains with very sparse trees. The grass can reach great heights and grow, so to speak, in “tufts.” The soils in the savannah are red, which is why trees do not grow well here. The first half of the year is the rainy season, and the second half is the dry season.
In coastal South America, tides and surf often create saltwater marshes. Mangrove trees grow in them, having powerful roots, sometimes branching above the surface of the water. The height of the tide can be up to 12 m - it can be determined by traces of salt and sea grass on tree trunks.
For a traveler in the tropics of South America, it will be especially useful to know that freshwater swamps are often found in the lowlands of the continent. With many islands, thickets of reeds and grass, stunted palms and small trees. In a word, it is here that one can often find water, food, and protection from predators at once, because they try to avoid the swamp.
The heart of the “dark continent” is a mysterious world. Dense thickets, a land of shimmering shadows. A world of hardships, filled with life. The more closely you look at it, the more variety you see. The African jungle is still a mysterious, unusual, unexplored place. The heart of Africa is not black at all, it is green. And this is the jungle...
The sun rises over the equator, the African jungle awakens. This is a huge green belt stretching from Uganda in the east to Sierra Leone in the west. Its territory is five and a half thousand kilometers. There is more light, warmth and water here than anywhere else in Africa. Ideal conditions for plants. And they are everywhere here. An endless sea of sun-worshipping leaves glisten as the African morning dawns.
But there are killer trees in the jungle, filled with poison. And I came up with it all to protect yourself.
How can you survive in the harsh conditions of the jungle? There are opportunities for this, but only for those who can cope with their prey. Here, sometimes even the most skilled hunters remain hungry.
And 40 meters higher there is a completely different world. Here is the engine of all jungle life. The leaves absorb the energy of the African sun and transform it into plant food.
Monkeys have become excellent at jumping from one tree to another while traveling under the forest canopy. This is paradise for colobus monkeys. (By the way, also lives exclusively in tropical forests!) They chomp contentedly all day long. But these leaves are not as harmless as they seem. They are protected by a deadly poison, which is a cocktail of tonin, strychnine and cyanide. Surprisingly, the colobus body can produce bacteria that neutralize these poisons. The poison swallowed in a day is enough to kill a large animal several times.
The crowned eagle does not feed on leaves, but on monkeys. You can't hide from it even under the foliage. A few beats of its powerful two-meter wings, and it already carries its prey to its nest.
Inhabited by more than one generation of people. They learned to get their own food.
The forest canopy is a world of extremes, a world of scorching sun, hot winds, heavy torrential rains. Drought gives way to rain, the seasons differ sharply from each other. The jungle palette is changing. Red leaves now dominate everywhere. But this is not old, but new foliage. In the jungle, spring dresses up in autumn colors.
New tender leaves do not yet have poisonous protection. But in order to survive, the trees have so much foliage on them that even the hungriest monkeys cannot eat.
The forest canopy is a storehouse of valuables. But only for those who can get them.
The most desired delicacy that the jungle gives in spring is honey. But in order to get it, you need to climb to a height of forty meters, using the branches of vines, and then also withstand the onslaught of bees. In the spring, getting food in the forest is not an easy task, but later there is abundance. It's like a sign of kindness from nature. Before the onset of the rainy season, the forest gives its best.
Fruits. Sheer temptation. And the birds - as always - come first. This is a hornbill.
And this is an African gray parrot.
Figs here bear fruit all year round, making it easier to spot wild animals near these trees.
Despite the barbaric destruction of all living things, especially the cutting down of perennial plantations, evergreen forests still occupy about a third of the total land area of our long-suffering planet. And this list is dominated by the equatorial impenetrable jungle, some areas of which still pose a huge mystery to science.
Mighty, dense Amazon
The largest forest area of our blue, but in this case green planet, covering almost the entire basin of the unpredictable Amazon. According to environmentalists, up to 1/3 of the planet's fauna lives here , and more than 40 thousand only described plant species. In addition, it is the Amazon forests that produce utmost of the oxygen for the entire planet!
The Amazon Jungle, despite the keen interest of the world scientific community, is still extremely poorly researched . Walk through centuries-old thickets without special skills and no less special tools (for example, a machete) – IMPOSSIBLE.
In addition, in the forests and numerous tributaries of the Amazon there are very dangerous specimens of nature, one touch of which can lead to a tragic and sometimes fatal outcome. Electric stingrays, toothy piranhas, frogs whose skin secretes a deadly poison, six-meter anacondas, jaguars - these are just some of the impressive list of dangerous animals that lie in wait for a gaping tourist or a sluggish biologist.
In the floodplains of small rivers, as many millennia ago, in the very heart of the jungle, people still live wild tribes who have never seen a white man. Actually, even the white man had never seen them.
However, they definitely won’t experience much joy from your appearance.
Africa, and only
Tropical forests on the black continent occupy a huge area - five and a half thousand square kilometers! Unlike the northern and extreme southern parts of Africa, it is in the tropical zone that optimal conditions prevail for a large army of plants and animals. The vegetation here is so dense that rare rays of sun can delight the inhabitants of the lower tiers.
Despite the fantastic density of biomass, perennial trees and vines strive to reach the top in order to receive their dose of the far from gentle African sun. Feature African jungle - almost daily heavy rains and the presence of vapors in stagnant air. It is so difficult to breathe here that an unprepared visitor to this inhospitable world may lose consciousness out of habit.
The undergrowth and middle tier are always lively. This is an area inhabited by numerous primates, who usually do not even pay attention to travelers. In addition to wild noisy monkeys, here you can calmly watch African elephants, giraffes, and also see a hunting leopard. But The real problem of the jungle is giant ants , which from time to time migrate in continuous columns in search of better food sources.
Woe to the animal or person who meets these insects on the path. The jaws of goosebumps are so strong and agile that they already within 20-30 minutes of contact with aggressors, a person will be left with a gnawed skeleton.
Rainforests of Mama Asia
Southeast Asia is almost completely covered with impenetrable wet thickets. These forests, like their African and Amazonian counterparts, are a complex ecosystem that includes tens of thousands of species of animals, plants and fungi. Their main localization area is the Ganges basin, the foothills of the Himalayas, and the plains of Indonesia.
A distinctive feature of the Asian jungle – unique fauna, represented by representatives of species found nowhere else on the planet. Of particular interest are the numerous flying animals - monkeys, lizards, frogs and even snakes. Moving in low-level flight, using the membranes between the toes in wild multi-tiered thickets, is much easier than crawling, climbing and jumping.
Plants in the humid jungle bloom according to a schedule known to them, because there is no change of seasons here and the wet summer is not replaced by a fairly dry autumn. Therefore, each species, family and class has adapted to cope with reproduction in just a week or two. During this time, the pistils have time to release a sufficient amount of pollen that can fertilize the stamens. It is noteworthy that most tropical plants manage to bloom several times a year.
Indian jungles have been thinned out, and in some regions almost completely cut down during centuries of economic activity by Portuguese and English colonialists. But on the territory of Indonesia there are still impenetrable virgin forests, in which Papuan tribes live.
It’s not worth catching their eye, since feasting on a white-faced fish has been an incomparable pleasure for them since the days of the legendary James Cook.
Bret Easton Ellis said: “The world is a jungle. Wherever I go, it’s the same.” The American writer hardly had animals in mind. They differ in different areas.
While people, taking advantage of the benefits of globalization, mix, species of amphibians and mammals, on the contrary, are fixed in narrow niches of nature. Thus, a variable narrowmouth was discovered in the jungles of Ecuador.
Tevangu slender loris
Bongo antelope
It is no secret that lions live only in, and tigers have occupied Asia. You won't find jaguars outside the new land. Spotted cat - jungle totem animal.
Lego has a construction set with this name. However, we are not talking about games now. The Mayans considered him their totem, that is, their ancestor. The jungle in which their cities stood is disappearing, just as civilization once disappeared. Jaguars “follow” behind, occupying one of the “leading” lines of the “Red Book”.
The jaguar population is maintained in zoos. Spotted cats breed well in captivity. Cases of interspecific crossing have been recorded in the wild.
Cubs were born from a jaguar and a jaguar and a leopard. Hybrids are also capable of procreation. It is a rarity. Perhaps hybrid jaguars are the future.
In the photo there is a jaguar
However, without the jungle it is impossible. By the way, the etymology of the word “jungle” is associated with Sanskrit. This language has the concept “jangal”, meaning “impenetrable forest”.
In fact, it is a particularly dense tropical thicket. They are just as densely populated. Clearing forests for timber and plantations puts thousands of species at risk. The Tasmanian wolf, for example, almost went extinct.
This year, Australian authorities announced that photographs of the animal had been taken. The cameras spotted 2 individuals. They may be the only Tasmanian ones on the planet. If they were of the same sex, procreation would be impossible.
