ZOOLOGIST: LINDSAY
The Congo peafowl is also known by the name of Mbundu. They are one of the three species of peafowl in the Congo Basin.
|
The hippos are threatened because they are being poached for their meat and teeth and are losing their habitat.
|
The okapi is a unique species. It is a relative to the giraffe but resembles a zebra.
|
The chimpanzees prey on the Dorylus (also know as driver ants). They catch their prey by using their makeshift tools and strategic maneuvers: they use sap covered branches, sticks or twigs to insert in the ant nests and catch the ants to feed on.
Adaptations
The original genet has a spotted body. Through adaptation, the aquatic genet came to be. It has a brown body and tail to better camouflage with its environment. It feeds on fish, which it catches by tapping the surface of the water in a rainforest stream. It has adapted to have hairless paws for catching fish.
The true parrot have over 300 different species. The grey Congo parrot has adapted to the tropical rainforest by adapting to the neutral colours off its environment. The Congo parrot has the same claws as other parrots, two that face forward and two that face back. The grey parrot has adapted to eating hard seeds and fruits meaning it has adapted to have a strong beak to eat.
Invasive Species
|
The Gambian pouched rat poses a threat to the area it occupies. They burrow in and rear the roots of trees in the rainforest. It is known that the Gambian rat carries many diseases including some that could be transferred to humans and back again.
The Gambian pouched rats are dangerous when traveling in packs because they can affect tons of animals and species, leaving the possibility of the death of a species. |
Food Chain & Food Web
In this food web (located above), the trophic levels are: Producers (fruit tree, nuts & seeds, grass), primary consumers (caterpillar, squirrel, parrot, beetle, ant, okapi, hippo) and secondary consumers (leopard, crocodile, Python, gorilla). This food chain can be affected by deforestation. The plant is the root of the chain. Without the producer, the chain cannot thrive.
|