prey unnoticed. It is th e ir claws which are used to catch prey. Once they are upon the prey, the
extrem ely pow erful claws go into action. So, y o u 'll see, they are not really as sweet' as they look!
Now, th e ir habitats...
Track 35
In this module, w e're going to be exploring the natural habitats that the planet Earth provides,
starting w ith probably one of the most famous, rainforests. Now, rainforests are exactly that:
forests which see a great am ount of rain. The reason they are so im portant is that they provide
excellent conditions fo r many species to survive in. L e t’s look at how this is by exploring exactly
w hat the rainforest is made up of.
Now, starting from the bottom of the rainforest, we can find the forest floor. Or ra th e r we can’t
find it, as it is littered w ith leaves and branches which cover the ground! This area is a haven fo r
creatures like spiders and a ll kinds of w ild life . Now, this forest flo o r occasionally has a shrub
layer. This layer, which is only located near rivers, contains sm a ll trees and w ell, shrubbery, as
the name suggests. It is a popular area fo r a ll m anner of am phibians.
The next area w ithin the rainforest is generally w itho u t lig h t and extrem ely hot and damp.
This area, which is called the understory, w hich by the way is a ll one word - under - story, is a
popular home fo r creatures w hich dw ell in the branches, like snakes, lizards, and som etim es
even jaguars!
The m ost w ell-kno w n area, called the canopy, is populated by some birds and s m a ll insects.
The canopy is basically the tree-tops. It is the densely-packed canopy that blocks the lig h t to the
low er areas of rainforest. Not much reaches above the canopy, but there are a few exceptional
trees that clim b much fu rth e r into the sky. These trees grow in areas called em ergent zones.
These zones, w hich are a perfect environm ent for birds and other s m a ll creatures, lie at the very
top of the rainforest, and individual trees can stretch up to 50 m etres in the air.
Now, as we can see, this means that rainforests have a m ultitu de of unusual conditions,
perfect fo r many creatures. But why are such conditions perfect? Well, let's go on to look....
