The Amazon

        When you heard the word “Amazon Rainforest”, what comes first in your mind? Wild animals? Huge and old trees? A very large forest? Most probably the most popular answer would be is that Amazon Rainforest is one of the most dangerous places on earth. Well at some point there’s a truth on it. There were various kinds of wild and exotic animals inhabiting the area. However, Amazon as the largest rainforest in the world has still many riches which are unknown to many of us. 

In the television documentary I-witness by Kara David in title “Amazon”, the true beauty of this rainforest has been uncovered. One of the highlighted elegance of the said forest is the Sabal tree which is already 600 years old. This forest is a known as the tropical rainforest which means that almost half of the year, it is sink in water. Because of this characteristic of the Amazon, it becomes the habitat of almost two million species of insects. 

When you enter the Rio Negro or the Black River, the water turns into black which indicates that you already reached the  habitat of the feared specie of fish, the piranha. People living in the Amazon freely eat these fishes in which some of them has been accidentally fall in the water and died after being bitten by the sharp teeth of the piranhas. 

photo from mmbzl.com

What makes Amazon forest interesting also is because of the pink dolphins living in the Black River. Their skin is pink because of the fresh water and thus becomes more pinkish when they are happy. Compared to gray color dolphins living in the seas, their beaks are longer for it is more difficult for them to hunt for food underwater. Moreover, the Amazon pink dolphins are the most intelligent fresh water dolphins in the world which in fact, their brain is 40 percent much bigger than that of humans. 

 

photo from popsugar.com

 Not all the animals in Amazon are dangerous. Just look at the cute and kind looking sloth hanging on trees. From a distance you might also mistaken it as a stuff toy. One distinct characteristic of sloth is its slow action that is why they are easy to catch. They have long and sharp claws, hairy skin and long arms which enable them to hang firmly on trees.  

photo from mmussbaum.com

Not only animals but also the tribe living in Amazon is as interesting as their habitat. They are practicing a certain tradition that a young boy should put his hands inside the glove full of bullet ants. The bite of a one bullet ant is somehow equivalent to the pain you will feel after being shot by a gun. This is their indication that a child is already a teenager. 

photo from sites.psu.edu

 

With all of these descriptions, indeed Amazon Rainforest is a gifted and stunning place we should be proud of. With the advent of civilizations nowadays, we are still blessed that exotic animals still have a place to live on. I wish that until the next generation, they will still have the chance to know and witnessed the beauty of Amazon Rainforest. I hope that the tribe living in the forest will be able to preserve the natural beauty of the world’s largest rainforest in the world.