Endangered Species

According to Species+, the harpy eagle, Harpia Harpyja, is a top predator in the rainforest habitat. They exist in small/moderate numbers because of their position in the food chain, making them vulnerable to persistent pesticides and bio-accumulative poisons. They are brownish grey and have a grey crown of feathers, they also have black feathers on their neck. Being one of the largest eagles, they are about a meter tall with a wingspan of 7.5 feet. They live in lowland tropical forests, from Central America to South America, including Colombia, and Venezuela to Guianas. According to Sandiegozoo, Harpies often construct their nests within kapok trees that are high above the ground (around 90 - 140 feet up). For an unobstructed flight path back to their nest, they prefer trees with widely spaced branches. Harpies have various characteristics that aid in their capture of prey, such as strong talons that can rapidly kill their victims by crushing their bones. Their short, broad wings allow them to fly higher in order to get a better look at their prey. Harpy eagles mostly hunt tree-dwelling mammals such as sloths, monkeys, and opossums. Other birds, such as macaws and reptiles, are also preyed upon on occasion according to PBS. This image was provided by the San Diego Zoo.

Based on the study conducted by Kelly MacNamara and published by the Scientific Reports journal, Harpy eagles are the world's largest eagles and the primary aerial predators of the Amazonian rainforest. They studied 16 harpy eagle nests with 0 to 85% forest loss and discovered that they could not transition to open-habitat prey in deforested habitats and preserved a diet centered on deforested landscapes. Their findings demonstrated that the survival of the Harpy eagle was dependent on strong forest conservation action.

According to Global Conservation, the largest threat to harpy eagles is deforestation, which is caused by slash-and-burn agriculture and ranching, road construction, and forest fires. Humans also prey on them since they are commonly shot for their flesh or if they are considered as a threat to cattle. This image was provided by Phys.org.

The Giant Otter is endangered, and almost extinct in many regions of the world. Amazonaid wrote that the decline of the Giant Otter is primarily mainly caused by increased hunting for pelt trade. This is also due to habitat loss, which has resulted in local extinctions throughout the otter's range. Deforestation, river contamination from mining and agriculture, and overfishing have all had an impact on huge otter populations. Protective measures destroyed the economic motivation for hunting in the 1970s, effectively ending all commercial hunting. These otters are ecologically important as they are a predator that help keep the aquatic and river ecosystems balanced in population. This image was provided by WWF-Austrialia.