Zoologist

Background

Now that you have read all the background information and learned some things about what a rainforest is, where the Amazon is located, why the rainforest is so important, and how ecotourism is an issue for the rainforests right now, it is time to assume your expert role!  You are the zoologist that the Chief has called upon for help.

A zoologist is simply an expert on animals.  Since half the species of animals in the world live in the rainforests, this is quite a job! But we know you can do it and the Chief and his tribe believe that you are the best person for the job, so let's get started!

Your job is to become an expert on the variety of animals that live in the rainforests.  What do they look like? What do they eat?  Where exactly do they live (in trees, in the grass)? Who are their predators (the animals or people who hunt them)?  Who are their prey (those animals they hunt)? Are they endangered (at risk of disappearing)?   There are so many fun things to learn!

Photo Courtesy of Uniglobe Travel

Research

Review the following web sites to explore all you can about rainforest animals.  Copy each set of questions in your journal and then write your answers below the questions. Not all the answers will be found directly on the pages. In some cases you will need to do some thinking to answer the questions.   Don't lose your answers! You will need them to write your report and prepare your presentation to the Chief! They will also be graded by your teacher at the end of the WebQuest.

Also, keep in mind that you are trying to decide whether or not to recommend ecotourism (allowing vacations in the rainforest) to the Chief. So think about how ecotourism would or would not affect the animals you read about!

Animals of the Rainforest
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/
animals/Rfbiomeanimals.shtml

• Explore the contents to learn more about the many different types of interesting animals that make their homes in the rainforest!

Animals of the Rainforest
http://www.ranmedia.org/kidscorner/rainforests/index.php

• What fraction of all the world's species live in the rainforests?
• What are the nearly perfect conditions for life that the site discusses?
• Which type of rainforest species is the most numerous? How would this species be affected by ecotourism? (Would people step on it? Try to kill it? Would noise disturb it? Would people possibly kill or step on the animals and plants that it eats?)
• What is the secret to how all these animals can live together and not run out of food?
• What are some examples of how animals protect themselves from being someone's next meal? For each example, give the name of an animal that uses this technique.
• About how many animal species become extinct everyday in the rainforest? Why do they become extinct? Give three possible reasons.
• Ecotourism is an example of humans altering the animals' habitat too quickly for them to adapt.  How would this affect these animals? What would happen to them?

Tropical Rainforest Animals
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/animals/index.htm

• Read about all the different animals the site discusses. Choose five animals to focus on.
  
• For each one of the five write: it's name, its family (apes, giraffes, etc.), its diet, its conservation status (is it endangered or not?) (If yes, why is it endangered?), where it lives in the rainforest (in the trees, on the ground, in a nest), and where it sleeps. 
• For each animal, brainstorm ways in which ecotourism would or would not affect his life.  Would it take away his food?  Would it cut down or trample his home?  Might people step on it and kill it, or its eggs? Might people try to hunt it for its meats or its pretty fur?  Can you think of any ways this animal might benefit from ecotourism?