Your kids will love learning about the Amazon rainforest predators. And I have more ideas on my pages Rain Forest – Amazon, Rain Forest – Animals of the Amazon, and Rainforest Amazon Activities for Kids.
The Amazon rainforest predators are bold, fierce, and cunning.
And they use different adaptations to survive and catch their prey.
They make a fascinating part of a solid Amazon rainforest unit. Study predator’s hunting range which goes from the water to the forest floor and all the way up into the emergent layer as they swim, run, slither, and fly to catch their prey.
Grab a hands-on activity or two, learn a few new vocabulary words, and hunt up some predator fun with these resources I have gathered for you.
In addition, I have a simple pasta emerald tree boa craft for your child to create.
Amazon Rainforest Predators Facts
- Poison dart frogs are one of the deadliest animals on earth. Although they are cute, their skin has enough poison in it to kill 10 adults.
- The jaguar is the 3rd largest of the big cats and is the main predator in the rain forest and they feed on over 80 species of animals.
- Green anaconda snakes are non-venomous but lethal because they suffocate their prey with their strong bodies.
- The black caiman makes its home in the waters of the Amazon basin and is considered the biggest predator of the Amazon ecosystem. Reaching lengths of 20 ft long, they feed on a wide variety of birds, reptiles, fish, and mammals.
- The giant otter is considered an apex predator in the rainforest. Giant otters are quick and strong, and cunning. Too, they have even been spotted killing and eating caiman and anaconda.
- Harpy eagles, when full grown, are at the top of the food chain and have the largest talons of any eagle.
- The Amazon Basin emerald tree boa is an arboreal species, it lives in trees, are nocturnal and have prehensile tails that grasp things, and can reach lengths of 6-9 ft.
Amazon Rainforest Predators Vocabulary
Introduce some new vocabulary and spelling words to your child.
Here are a few key words and phrases that may come up during your study of Amazon Rainforest Predators to get started with.
- Predator-an animal that naturally preys on others.
- Prey-an animal that is caught and killed by another animal for food.
- Food Chain- list of organisms in a habitat that shows their feeding relationships.
- Food Web-interlocking pattern of food chains.
- Carnivore- an animal or plant that eats the flesh of others.
- Omnivore-an animal that eats both plants and animal materials.
- Instinct- A natural born pattern of behavior.
In addition, look at these books about the rain forest.
21 Rain Forest Animals For Kids Books and Resources
Add these rain forest animal books, games, and toys to round out your study of the animals of the rain forest.
It is a great way to expand the growth with children through physical science.
This book explores the rainforest layer by layer and the creatures that make their home in each part of the rainforest.
Which rainforest animal is a frog that uses its eyes to help it swallow its food? Which rainforest animal is a bird with a big, colorful bill? Let's learn more about rainforest animals such as sloths, poison dart frogs, toucans, and more! Read With You's Who Am I? series encourages children to be more curious about the world around them as they learn fun facts about animals from across the globe.
Part of the critically acclaimed Over and Under series that includes Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt and Over and Under the Snow!Under the canopy of the rainforest hundreds of animals make their homes, but up in the leaves hides another world. Turn the pages of this beautiful and educational book to discover in words and mesmerizing illustration:
Animals like the slender parrot snake and the blue morpho butterfly.
The canopies where toucans and pale-billed woodpeckers chatter and call.
Capuchin monkeys who swing from vines and slow-moving sloths who wait out daily thunderstorms.
Sloth Toy Figurine
The rainforest is home to millions of plant and animal species. Some animals live high up in the trees, some crawl across the forest floor, and some tunnel underground, but they all depend on one another and the rain to survive. With colorful illustrations and fascinating diagrams from author-illustrator Kate Duke, In the Rainforest is a lively look at the most vibrant ecosystem on our planet.
This book introduces readers to the largest snake in the world: the anaconda. Readers learn about the life cycle, behavior, physical characteristics, and habitat of anacondas
Expanding the popular collection of animal books in the Learn to Draw Series, Learn to Draw Rainforest & Jungle Animals will teach kids how easy it is to draw a variety of exciting and exotic creatures from around the world. Each project starts with a basic shape and progresses with simple-to-follow steps to a finished realistic final colored artwork. While they’re learning, kids will also discover fun facts about each featured animal.
Imaginations will soar from the forest floor, up through the canopy and back down again, following the circle of life in this clever adaptation of the song “The Green Grass Grew All Around.” The jungle comes alive as children learn about a wide variety of the animals (jaguars, emerald tree boas, leafcutter ants, sloths, poison dart frogs, toucans, and bats) and plants (kapok trees, liana vines, and bromeliads) living in the lush Amazon rainforest. Delve even deeper into the jungle using sidebars and the three-page “For Creative Minds” educational section.
While it covers more than just the rainforest this is a fabulous resource to have on your shelves. You will find plenty of great pictures and information on many animals that live there- crocodiles, harpy eagles, monkeys, tapir , sloths,Jaguarundi, and the food web.
COLORFUL ARTWORK: Kids will love the colorful puzzle artwork showing the animals, plants, trees and birds that call the rainforest home. The storage box shows the completed puzzle artwork and is an ideal place to keep pieces safe and free from damage.
Tells a story of a man who came to cut down a kapok tree and encounters many of the beautiful and exotic native creatures who make their home in the Amazon Rainforest.
FUN FACTS: How about Reptiles versus Amphibians?! That's just one of the topic cards in this kids card game. Find out more fun facts from Eggs to the Komodo Dragon!
How fun!
FRESH & FRUITY: Fruidles single-flavor gummies pack giant taste into one delicious flavor. After one bite of these fruity gummies, you'll taste the difference of giant fresh fruit flavors & a deliciously soft chew you won't find with other gummy candies.
This bright and exciting Hello, World! board book teaches toddlers all about the amazing world of a rainforest—with easy-to-understand facts about the incredible animals who make their home there.
Human beings have inhabited the banks of the Amazon River since 13,000 BC and yet they make up just a small percentage of the "population" of this geographic wonderland. The Amazon River basin teems with life—animal and plant alike.
Compete to grow the most bountiful rainforest! Carefully select what grows in your forest, and give rise to a thriving ecosystem.
Features a frog, a fly and a parrot with articulated wings and tail, opening mouth and rotatable eyes 3-in-1 model: rebuilds into a chameleon or a tropical fish
Vampire bats and killer ants? That's what Jack and Annie are about to run into when the Magic Tree House whisks them away to the Amazon River. It's not long before they get hopelessly lost. Will they be able to find their way back to the tree house? Or are Jack and Annie stuck forever in the rain forest?
NatureI n a tropical rain forest in Central America, a red-eyed tree frog spends the night looking for food while avoiding potential predators. Award-winning photographer Nic Bishop's larger-than-life, gorgeous images document the hunt, which ends happily with the frog settling down in the leaves to spend his daylight hours sleeping! Joy Cowley's simple, readable text makes the frog's story fun, interesting, and accessible to young readers.
Explores the richness of the Amazon rainforest, how humans have damaged it, and efforts being taken to protect it. Clear text, vibrant photos, and helpful infographics make this book an accessible and engaging read.
More Rainforest Activities for Kids
- Creating Fun Red Eyed Tree Frog Manipulatives for Rain Forest Math
- Cute Colorful Toilet Paper Roll Rainforest Frogs for a Rainforest Frog Craft
- 18 Rain Forest Animals For Kids Books and Fun Resources
- Beautiful And Colorful Amazonian Rainforest Animals Lapbook For Kids
- 100+ Best and Free Tropical Amazon Rainforest Educators Resources
- The Ultimate Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the Amazon Rain Forest
- 3 Free and Amazing Amazon Rainforest Lapbooks for Kids
- Rainforest Crafts for Kindergarten: Make an Easy Paper Plate Monkey
- 19 Fun Hands-on Rainforest Activities for Kindergarten
- Rainforest Science Activities For Kindergarten Amazing and Fun Living Terrarium
- Wildlife in the Amazon Rainforest – Create Fun Macaw and Toucan Crafts
Next, add some of these hands-on Amazon predators activities.
Hands-On Amazon Rainforest Predators Activities
Choose an activity to highlight one of these cunning predators from this list.
- Create two mats by writing predator and pray at the top on construction paper, use plastic amazon animals to sort them into their proper categories.
- Male a cute and simple Paper Plate Anaconda.
- Colorful and fun Poison Dart Frog Printable.
- Create a creepy crawly tarantula craft.
- How cute is this Fuzzy Jaguar Craft?
- Recreate the fierce Cardboard Crocodile..
- Print and complete the Amazon Rainforest Food Web Printable.
- Have your child pick one Amazon predator and create a project around it-diorama, paper mache, LEGO, report, or painting.
- Include this video on the 10 Deadliest Amazonian Predators while you work on one of the hands-on activities above.
Amazon Rainforest Predators- Pasta Emerald Tree Boa
You will need:
- Tube pasta
- Bright green paint
- Gallon ziploc bag
- Pipe cleaners
- White paint
- Paintbrush
- Hot glue gun/glue
Grab a handful of uncooked pasta and place it in a gallon storage bag. You can use any kind of larger diameter tubular pasta like penne, Cannelloni, or even Ditalini.
Squirt a couple teaspoons of paint into the bag on top of the pasta.
Shake and knead the bag gently to massage to paint all over the pasta, be sure it’s well coated.
Transfer pasta to a paper or baking sheet to dry and spread it out a bit so it doesn’t dry clumped together.
If it dries on paper it might stick, I stop this by rolling it around after a few minutes of drying time.
Once the pasta is dry, thread it onto 2-3 pipe cleaners that have been twisted together end to end to make it if you want it.
Use hot glue to secure the pieces on each end but leave the rest loose. I left at least 1” of extra space without painted pasta so the snake could be posed and moved around easily.
Paint a white line all the way down the back with a small paintbrush or a paint pen then make small marks down each side along the length of the snake to mimic the markings on the Emerald Tree Boa.
Finish off by using a marker to draw eyes one either side of the head and add slits for the eyes.
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