What animals live in the African jungle? Law of the Jungle: Amazing Wild India Leopard or Black Panther
longest neck
At the very beginning of our century, in the jungles of Africa, they found a "living fossil" okapi - relatives of the giraffe, which was considered extinct long ago. Okapi is no bigger than a donkey. And he has a short neck. And it eats, like a giraffe, grass and leaves. The common ancestor of the giraffe and the okapi was similar to a short-necked short man. But over time, some of these animals moved to the open expanses of the savannah, where it was possible to "graze" enough only on the tops of the trees. Therefore, animals with a long neck survived. Gradually, the giraffe grew such a long neck that it became completely different from its distant ancestor. And the okapi remained a copy of his great-grandfather.
Gorillas - the largest great apes also live in Africa. The gorilla in the jungle has almost no enemies, except for people, of course. Most of the day, gorillas are on the ground, not in trees like other monkeys. Gorillas are vegetarians. They eat leaves, fruits, tree bark. But in zoos, gorillas very quickly get used to other foods, they begin to eat meat and fish, drink milk.
Cat relatives
Our domestic cat has 37 relatives. These are forest and reed cats, lynxes and manulas, servals and ocelots, snow leopards and leopards, jaguars and cougars, snow leopards, panthers and cheetahs, tigers, lions and other wild cats. Cats are the most dexterous predators. All wild cats hunt in approximately the same way: they sneak up on their prey, then freeze in anticipation. And having chosen a convenient moment, they overtake their victim with one throw. However, our domestic cat hunts mice in the same way as the African leopard hunts antelopes.
Photographer and zoologist Axel Gomil has been exploring India for the past 25 years. There is also a tropical coastline, and the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas, and the Thar Desert, and tropical forests in the northeast of the country. Such diverse landscapes provide incredible biodiversity.
For example, out of 37 species of wild cats, 14 live in India, which is more than in any other country. For comparison: only ten cats live on the entire African continent.
Jungle. An image often arises in the head of an impassable, overgrown and hostile place where light barely penetrates. In fact, the jungle is the most "hot spots" of biodiversity. 
The jungles of India are home to some of the rarest and most exotic animal species, and none of them symbolize Indian wildlife better than the tiger.
The tiger is considered the king of the jungle and the most powerful predator in the Indian subcontinent. Today, there are about 50 reserves with a total area of more than 70,000 square kilometers where tigers live. Such major conservation projects for tigers and their habitats have also benefited other jungle species.
Tigers love to relax in the shade during a hot day. Like all cats, they are always wary of their environment. And judging by her face, she recently had breakfast. The rest of the jungle inhabitants can relax for now - the next hunt will begin at night ... 
In the jungle, even squirrels are the size of a domestic cat. This is an Indian giant squirrel, it lives in the upper tier of the forest and rarely leaves the trees. Squirrels jump from tree to tree, overcoming about 6 meters. In danger, these squirrels do not run away, but seem to “hang” and nestle against tree trunks. The main enemies are birds of prey and leopards. 
Water is life, especially in such a hot climate. Not surprisingly, wetlands are like magnets for wildlife that come here to get drunk or find coolness.
There is a wide variety of people here. Local hosts sitting at the top of the food chain are crocodiles. In India, the swamp crocodile is the most common species.
These are spotted deer. Birds are calm, they know that herbivores are not dangerous. 
Gray pelicans. These birds live mainly in shallow lakes. 
The Thar Desert dominates the northwest of India. It is a very dry area with sand dunes. The distribution of precipitation is uneven, with most of it occurring between July and September. Precipitation falls towards the west. In the most arid regions, precipitation may be absent for up to 2 years.
The appearance of this sloth bear is so peculiar that it has received the nickname "sloth bear". Gubach is very different in appearance and way of life from real bears and is isolated in a separate genus. The sloth bear, like the anteater, has evolved to feed on colonial insects (ants and termites) 
A female leopard at the entrance to a cave in a remote area of Rajasthan that she uses as a safe haven for her family. 
Cranes are defenseless against predators. The most they can do is fly away quickly. 
Kicks well. 
And we are moving to the mountains. Some of the most impressive and diverse animal habitats in India are found in the north. This is the realm of the magnificent and ghostly snow leopard, the rest need to be on the lookout. 
Big cats have a hard time. People capture everything and capture their original habitats. Food is getting tight. Leopards are forced to visit villages and find easy prey - goats, poultry and even dogs. 
Ranthambore National Park is located in the state of Rajasthan and is considered the best tiger reserve. 
Life is hard for tigers these days. Over the past century, their number in the wild has seriously decreased from about 100,000 to 3900, half of them live just in India ... 
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Some frogs have also learned to glide, using the webs between their fingers that are common to all frogs to help them swim. The flying frog has acquired very long fingers - as soon as they spread out, each leg turns into a tiny parachute and all four together allow the frog to glide from tree to tree for decent distances.
However, the most extraordinary of the gliders, whose skill has long been considered the product of the overheated fantasy of gullible travelers, is the flying tree snake. It is small, thin and extremely beautiful, thanks to blue-green scales speckled with gold and scarlet. Under normal circumstances, her special ability is impossible to guess. But it immediately becomes obvious how great her ability to climb trees is: she climbs vertical tree trunks with amazing speed, clinging to the bark with the edges of wide shields located along her belly, and wriggling her body so as to lean on one side or the other on the unevenness of the bark. and stems of creeping plants. Having reached the top of the tree, she moves to the next one in the following way: she quickly moves along the branch to its end and soars into the air, immediately flattening her body so that it turns from a rounded one into a kind of wide ribbon. At the same time, the snake bends in wavy zigzags. As a result, her body rests more on the air than in a simple fall, and she plans. It is even possible that, wriggling in the air, it changes the direction of flight, as if in a turn, and to some extent determines the place where it will land.
You continue to slide down your rope and again find yourself in a layer of foliage, though not as dense as in a canopy, and not nearly as many meters high. This tier is formed by a number of low trees, including palms adapted to the dim light inside the jungle, and young trees relatively recently sprouted from seeds that have fallen from the canopy. After passing them, you finally reach the ground. When pushing, you feel a hard surface under the soles that does not spring at all. Although it is covered with fallen leaves and all sorts of debris flying from above, this layer is surprisingly thin. The stagnant hot air there is full of dampness. These are ideal conditions for the rotting process. Bacteria and mold work without interruption. Countless mushrooms pierce the fallen leaves with threads of hyphae, above which their fruiting bodies of various shapes rise: here are umbrellas, and balls, and tables, and sharp wedges, often in lace skirts. The rate of decay is simply amazing. If in the cold northern forests pine needles rot in seven years, and an oak leaf in European groves turns to dust in about a year, then a leaf dropped by a tree in a tropical forest completely decomposes in just six weeks.
Nutrients and mineral compounds released in this way do not remain in the soil for long. Daily downpours quickly wash them into streams and rivers, and therefore, in order not to lose these priceless treasures, it is necessary for trees to be taken from the soil as soon as possible. To do this, they scatter a dense network of small roots almost at its very surface. But such a shallow root system does not provide adequate stability to the forest giants. And so many trees surround the lower part of the trunk with powerful plank-like roots, reminiscent of the buttresses of medieval cathedrals; they rise above the ground by four to five meters and move away from the butt at about the same distance.
Here is the world of eternal twilight. After all, less than five percent of the sunlight pouring onto the canopy seeps through here. This circumstance, coupled with the poverty of the soil, obviously prevents the appearance of lush herbaceous vegetation. In the jungle, you will not see a colorful flower carpet that could compete with bluebell carpets in temperate deciduous forests. Sometimes there is a bright spot in front of your eye, but on closer inspection it turns out that it consists of dead rims that have fallen from the canopy. And yet you can see some fresh flowers. Much to the surprise of those who have seen only the forests of the temperate zone before, whole bunches of flowers stick out directly from one or another trunk a few meters above the ground. This method of flowering is indirectly related to the poverty of the soil. In order for the seed to develop well in it, the tree must supply it with a supply of food, since the topsoil is too scarce. Therefore, the fruits of many trees are nuts with a large supply of nutritious pulp, which is enough for the sprout in the first stages of growth. But large heavy nuts ripen better on the trunk than on thin twigs at the ends of mighty branches in a canopy. In addition, the flowers below are not obscured by anything, and pollinating animals easily find them. Many rely on bats, which is why the color of their petals is pale, so that the flowers are more visible in the darkness of the night. Curupita Guiana, the "cannon tree", has taken care of the convenience of its night guests even more: a special thorn grows above its flowers, so that bats can suck nectar, freely hanging upside down in their usual position.
This material tells about the life of animals in the tropical zone. The article is illustrated with photographs of tropical forest animals.
In the African forest.
Most of the African forests are located between two tropics: the North (Tropic of Cancer) and the South (Tropic of Capricorn). In this part of the earth all the seasons are alike; throughout the year, the average temperature and the amount of rainfall are almost unchanged. Therefore, almost all animals of this zone lead a sedentary lifestyle - because, unlike the inhabitants of the temperate and cold climatic zones, they do not need to make seasonal migrations in search of suitable places for life.
Hippopotamus.
The name of this animal in Greek means "river horse". It weighs over three tons.
Water is the natural habitat of this huge mammal, in which the hippo spends most of its time. However, with such a thick, squat figure, it is not easy to swim, so usually hippos do not go far into the water, but stay in shallow water, where they can reach the bottom with their paws. The sense organs - movable ears, nostrils equipped with closing membranes, and eyes with protruding overeyes - are located on the upper part of the muzzle, so that the hippopotamus can almost completely submerge in water, continuing to breathe air and carefully monitor everything around. In the event of a danger threatening him or his cubs, he becomes very aggressive and, no matter where - in water or on land, he immediately attacks the enemy.
Mothers give birth to cubs either on the shore, or more often right in the water. In the latter case, newborns, barely born, emerge to the surface so as not to suffocate. Childbirth in hippos takes place during the rainy season, at this time the mother's milk is in abundance due to the abundant and varied food. To feed the cubs, the female gets out on land and stretches comfortably on her side.
hippos never live alone; they gather in groups of several dozen individuals. Often, both in water and on land, adult males play with growing cubs. Moving on land. Hippos always follow the same paths they know.
Feeling in danger, the hippo emits a threatening roar, and opens its huge mouth as wide as possible, showing the enemy unusually long lower fangs. This menacing posture usually produces the desired result.
Crocodile.
Only sometimes crocodiles can swim in sea water; usually they settle along the banks of rivers and lakes in areas with a warm and hot climate. Crocodiles are much more comfortable and calmer in the water than on land. They swim with the help of paws and tail; Under water, large individuals can spend about an hour. In the hottest hours of the day, crocodiles lie on land with their mouths wide open: due to the lack of sweat glands, they can get rid of excess heat only in the same way as dogs sticking out their tongues in the heat.
The female crocodile lays her eggs in a hole specially dug on the shore, not far from the water. The cub breaks the shell with the help of a special horn located on the head, which soon falls off.
Young crocodiles feed mainly on fish, but also on birds and insects. Only when they become adults will they be able to cope with larger mammals that need to be caught, dragged from the shore and kept under water for a while.
Crocodile teeth are not needed for chewing food, but only to grab prey and tear off pieces of meat from it.
Even such terrifying reptiles as crocodiles have enemies - animals that hunt for crocodile eggs. The most dangerous of them is the monitor lizard, a large lizard. Having found an egg, he begins to dig the ground near him unusually quickly, distracting the female crocodile, who usually stands guard, and stealing an egg from the nest, takes it to a place inaccessible to crocodiles and eats it.
Like many other land animals living in the water for a long time, the ears, nostrils and eyes of crocodiles are located on the top of the head, so that they remain above the water when the animal swims.
The smallest crocodile: Osborne's caiman, its length is 120 centimeters.
Chimpanzee.
Due to its intelligence and trainability, it is the most famous of all monkeys. Although chimpanzees are great climbers, they spend a lot of time on the ground and even travel on foot. But they still sleep in the trees, where they feel safer. This is one of the few animals that uses various tools: a chimpanzee puts a broken branch into a termite mound, and then licks insects off it. These monkeys are practically omnivores. Communities living in different regions often eat differently.
The "vocabulary" of chimpanzees consists of various sounds, but in communication they also use facial expressions; their faces can take on a variety of expressions, often very human-like.
As a rule, only one cub is born in a chimpanzee, twins are extremely rare. All childhood cubs spend literally in the arms of their mother, firmly clinging to her wool.
Chimpanzees live in fairly numerous societies, but not as closed as other apes, such as gorillas. In contrast, chimpanzees often move from one group to another.
The strongest males, defending their superiority, uproot small trees and brandish this club with a menacing look.
A tender friendship usually reigns between female chimpanzees. It is not uncommon for a mother to temporarily entrust her cub to another female; sometimes such nannies take for a walk, in addition to their own, two or three other people's cubs.
Gorilla.
Despite its intimidating appearance, this large, over two meters tall monkey is very friendly; males from the same flock usually do not compete with each other, and for the leader to obey him, it is enough to goggle his eyes and utter the appropriate cry, hitting his chest with his fingers. This behavior is just staged, it is never followed by an attack. Before a real attack, the gorilla looks into the eyes of the enemy for a long time and silently. Staring straight into the eyes is a challenge not only for gorillas, but for almost all mammals, including dogs, cats, and even humans.
Baby gorillas stay with their mother for nearly four years. When the next one is born, the mother begins to alienate the eldest from herself, but never does it rudely; she, as it were, invites him to try his hand at adulthood.
Waking up, gorillas go in search of food. The rest of the time they devote to rest and play. After the evening meal, a kind of bedding is arranged on the ground, on which they fall asleep.
Okapi.
These are relatives of the giraffe, its height is slightly less than two meters, and its weight is about 250 kilograms. Okapi are extremely timid animals and are distributed in a very narrow geographical area, so they have not been studied enough. It is known that they live in bushes, and their coloration, at first glance very unusual, actually makes them completely invisible in their natural habitat. Okapi live alone, and only mothers are not separated from their cubs for a long time.
With stripes on the back of the body and on the legs, the okapi resembles a zebra; these stripes serve as camouflage for them.
Okapis resemble some types of horses, but the differences are quite noticeable; for example, males have short horns. When playing, okapi lightly hit each other with their muzzles until the defeated one, as a sign of the end of the game, lies on the ground.
When a mother hears a special call made by a cub in case of danger, she becomes very aggressive and resolutely attacks any enemy.
Asian jungle.
Some species of animals that inhabit the Asian jungle, such as elephants, rhinos and leopards, are also found in Africa; however, over thousands of years of evolution, the inhabitants of the jungle have developed many features that distinguish them from their African "brothers".
Monsoons - this is the name of the winds that periodically blow in the tropical zones of Asia. Usually they bring heavy rains, contributing to the rapid growth and renewal of vegetation.
The time of the monsoons is also favorable for animals: during these periods, plant foods are plentiful and varied, which provides the best conditions for their growth and reproduction. Just like the forests of the Amazon, the Asian jungle is very dense and sometimes impassable.
Tapir.
The tapir is said to be a fossil animal; indeed, this species, which inhabits several distant regions one after another, has survived on earth since very ancient times, having survived several geological epochs.
black-backed tapir can walk on the bottom of the lake!
The female tapir is larger than the male. The most noticeable feature in the structure of the body is an elongated upper lip, which forms a small and very mobile trunk, with which tapirs can pick leaves and tufts of grass - their usual food. Black-backed tapirs live in Asia. Their coloration is very expressive: black with white. It may seem that these contrasting colors should make them very noticeable, but in fact, from afar, they are very similar to an ordinary pile of stones, which are many around. In cubs, on the contrary, the skin is pockmarked, with small specks and stripes. In the second year of life, this coloration will gradually change to an even black color with a characteristic white bandage - a saddlecloth.
Most tapirs eat leaves, shoots and stems of aquatic plants. They love the water and are excellent swimmers. They always walk along the same familiar paths, which eventually turn into well-trodden paths, ending, as a rule, in a "gutter" - a convenient descent to the water.
The most terrible enemies of tapirs are various types of cats on land and gharials in the water. Very rarely, a tapir tries to defend itself; he has practically no means for this and always prefers to run away.
The body of the tapir is squat, the paws are short, there is almost no neck. Movable trunk is a very sensitive organ of smell. - with its help, the tapir explores the surface of the earth and surrounding objects. Vision, on the other hand, is very poorly developed. Asian cats.
There are no felines living in groups in Asia, like lions or cheetahs in Africa. All types of Asian cats are loners, each animal is the owner of its own territory and does not allow strangers there. Only tigers sometimes go hunting in small groups. Representatives of the cat family live everywhere in Asia, even in areas with a climate that is not very suitable for them, such as, for example, in the Far East, where the Ussuri tiger reigns. A feature of tigers living in the jungle is their manner of hunting. It consists in sneaking up to the victim as close as possible, remaining unnoticed, and at the last moment rushing at him with one jump from a place or a short run.
The royal, or Bengal, tiger is now quite rare. Found in India and Indochina.
Leopard or black panther.
The panther also has spots characteristic of a leopard, although they are completely invisible against a black background. The black panther is a dark-colored leopard.
Smoky leopard. He jumps from branch to branch like a monkey. These cats are sometimes called tree tigers.
Spotted cat.
I also call her the fishing cat. In fact, she loves to live near the water and swims well. In addition to fish and shellfish, it catches small vertebrates on land. The habits of this animal are little studied.
Tiger.
Tigers adapt to a wide variety of climatic conditions; they live in flat tropical areas, but are also found in the mountains at an altitude of up to 3000 m and in very cold areas; in the latter case, a thick, more than five centimeters, layer of fat forms under the skin, which protects against heat loss.
Almost all the inhabitants of the jungle are at risk of becoming the prey of the tiger. Only large and warlike thick-skinned, and even bulls and buffaloes with strong horns, can feel safe.
Contrary to popular belief, the tiger is not a very dexterous hunter; he is so heavy. That for a successful jump, he needs to start the run from a distance of 10 - 15 meters; if the tiger comes closer to its prey, it runs the risk of missing.
A tiger brood usually consists of two, three or four cubs. For eight weeks, the mother feeds them exclusively with milk; then solid food is gradually added to their milk. Only six months later, the female begins to go hunting, leaving the cubs for more than a day.
Tigers, like all wild animals, are afraid of humans. However, it happens that an old or sick animal, for which ordinary hunting becomes too difficult, overcomes its innate fear and attacks people.
Monkey.
Among the numerous species of monkeys, there are animals that weigh no more than 70 grams, and there are those whose mass reaches 250 kilograms. In Asian monkeys, the tail does not have a grasping function, i.e. the monkey cannot, clinging to a branch, support his body so that his arms and legs remain free; this is typical only for monkeys living on the American continent.
Orangutan.
The most common monkey in Asia is the orangutan. This is a large monkey that spends most of its time among the branches and only occasionally descends to the ground.
Female orangutans, perhaps, more than all other monkeys care about the upbringing of their children. Mothers bite their cubs' nails, bathe them in rainwater, yell at them if they start acting up. The upbringing received in childhood subsequently determines the character of an adult animal.
Nosach.
This monkey owes its name to a huge ugly nose, which in males sometimes goes down to the very chin. The proboscis not only climbs trees very well, but also swims very well and can sit under water for a long time.
Thin lory.
The pointed muzzle and huge eyes that can see in the dark make this half-monkey very cute. During the day, the lory hides in the branches, and at night it gets its own food.
Indian pachyderms.
The differences between Indian thick-skinned animals and African ones are imperceptible at first glance. The behavior of both of them is also very similar: they do not stay in one place for a long time, but move over fairly long distances in search of suitable food, mostly young foliage. They love water and swim well, sometimes for a long time. They often rest near the water's edge, bathing in silty mud, which is very good for their skin.
Rhinoceros.
He is respected by all other animals who try to avoid meeting him. Only elephants do not fear them and easily put them to flight if they interfere with them. A newborn Indian rhinoceros weighs about 65 kilograms.
Unlike the African rhinoceros, it has only one horn and its body is covered with thick skin shields. Usually he moves slowly, but if necessary, speeds up to 40 kilometers per hour.
Elephant.
Although his skin looks rough, it is actually very sensitive due to a cover of short and flexible bristles that respond to even the lightest touch.
The mother never lets the baby elephant leave her. She watches the cub all the time and begins to call him as soon as she notices that he is a little behind.
The female Indian elephant carries the fetus for about 20 months!