What is a rainforest habitat?
A rainforest habitat is an area of land that is covered in a thick canopy of trees.
A tropical rainforest is different from a temperate rainforest because it is hot and wet due to lots of rain. The plants and animals that live in a tropical rainforest are adapted to live in rainforest conditions.
All animals need the same important things to survive; water, air, shelter and food and a rainforest habitat provides plenty of all of them for all the species that are found there.
Animals don't choose their habitat because they are suited to it. Their adaptations (the features that make them suited to their environment) happen randomly. If these adaptations help an animal to survive then they are passed on to its children. This is called evolution.
Watch: Rainforest habitats
Anna: A habitat is a type of environment where certain plants and animals live. They all need air, water, food and shelter to survive and reproduce. There are lots of different habitats all around the world.
In this greenhouse, there are lots of plants you might find in a rainforest. A rainforest is an example of what we call a habitat. This habitat is wet, very wet.
It's also very warm, and there are lots of trees and plants that can grow very tall and compete for light. And there are lots of different types of animals too.
I've hidden some animals around the greenhouse. Which ones belong in a rainforest, and which ones don't? Oh, what's that you've seen? I think that's a tree frog. Tree frogs live in trees and bushes in the rainforest, and they need wet and warm conditions to survive.
This belongs in a rainforest. What can we find next?
That's an emperor penguin. Is a rainforest its natural habitat? Emperor penguins live in cold polar habitats near the sea where they hunt for fish.
Penguins wouldn't live in a rainforest - it would be too hot for them. This is a sloth. Sloths live in warm temperatures, in trees for shelter and camouflage, and eat plenty of fresh leaves.
I think this would live in a rainforest, don’t you? All habitats are different. They might be large and cover great distances like a desert, which is usually very dry and hot.
Or they might be very small, like under this leaf. We call this a microhabitat.
There are lots of different types of habitats. What habitat do you think some of these other animals live in?
Explore the animals of the Amazon rainforest.
In the UK we get a lot of rain. But this habitat gets so much rain that they named it a rainforest.
This is the Amazon rainforest, the largest rainforest on Earth.
Oh, it's really raining and very warm!
Plants grow well here because it's so hot and wet.
This tree has its own microhabitat. Microhabitats are very small habitats inside a bigger one.
It's home to lots of bugs and insects. All in this tiny spot of the tree!
And what's that animal up in the tree? A jaguar! How did it get up there?
Its sharp claws make climbing trees a simple task.
There are other animals too. Like that howler monkey.
It uses its tail like an extra arm, helping it move from tree to tree.
And it's eating a banana. One of over three thousand types of fruit that grow in the rainforest.
There's an insect too! A butterfly. They can taste fruit through their feet. Imagine that!
So, rainforest habitats are wet and hot.
Ooh, I'm off to find a towel!
Riveting rainforest facts
The rainforest isn't just home to animals and plants, there are also millions of people who make the rainforest their home.
Some people live on the edge of the rainforest nearer larger towns and cities but some indigenous tribes of people, such as the Yanomami, live in villages deep in the rainforest.
Lots of our medicines come from plants that grow in the rainforest.
The rainforest also provides many of the foods that we eat, such as chocolate, Brazil nuts, vanilla, mangoes and pineapples.
Rainforests cover nearly 6% of the Earth's land surface.
The Amazon rainforest is around 4 million square miles in size, crossing eight countries and is roughly 28 times bigger than the UK.
A rainforest habitat can receive between 2,000 to 10,000 millimetres of rain per year.
We have lost up to 17% of the world's rainforests due to deforestation.
What are rainforest habitats like?
Rainforests are made up of four layers. Each layer has its own animals and plants that live there.
- Emergent – The very tallest trees in the rainforest reach out from the emergent layer. Animals that can fly such as birds, bats and butterflies live here.
- Canopy – The main layer of trees that form a cover over everything below it. The canopy blocks out wind, rainfall and sunlight. Animals like sloths and toucans live in the canopy.
- Understory – The dark and cooler section between the canopy and the floor where the shorter, younger trees grow. Tree frogs live in the damp and humid understory because it keeps their skin moist.
- Forest floor – The forest floor is the darkest of the layers of the rainforest. Smaller plants and shrubs grow here in patches of light.
Even though tropical rainforests are found along or close to the equator (which means the countries are usually hot and sunny), rainforests can be quite dark even in the middle of the day.
This is because the canopy of the trees is so thick that it blocks out most of the light from the sun.
Rainforests are very humid because they are in hot areas of the world but also get lots of rain all year round. This means the air feels very damp and the temperature feels hotter than it is.
What is a rainforest habitat?
Image caption, A rainforest is made of lots of different trees and plants, and is a habitat for many animals and insects.
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Did you know?
The Amazon rainforest in South America is the largest rainforest in the world. The areas that covers is about 28 times larger than the United Kingdom.
What plants and animals are found in a rainforest?
Rainforests are home to a wider range of plants, animals and other organisms than anywhere else on Earth with millions of different species found there and new ones being found all the time.
There are some animals and plants in the rainforest that can't be found in the wild anywhere else in the world.
Important words
Adaptation - The way animals change to suit different conditions.
Air - Animals need air to breathe.
Evolution - The way animals can develop small differences over time.
Food - The things an animal or plant eats and gets nutrition from.
Organisms - All living things.
Rainforest habitat - An area of land that is covered in a thick canopy of trees.
Shelter - Where an animal finds protection from predators.
Species - A population of a group of animals or plants.
Temperate rainforest - A rainforest in a cooler, coastal area.
Tropical rainforest - A rainforest that is hot and wet, and has lots of rainfall usually located near the Equator.
Water - All animals need to drink or take in water to survive.
Activities
Activity 1 – Find the rainforest animals
Activity 2 – Rainforest habitats quiz
Activity 3 – Rainforest colouring activity
Colour in the six rainforest animals.
Easter Holidays Activity Pack activity
Check out some Easter inspired activities to complete in the Easter Holidays, for KS1.
More on Living things and their habitats
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