Have you ever dreamed of getting your jungle kit on and going exploring to see what you’ll find?
Well, you can of course, but here we’ll explore the jungle with you so you’ll be all jungled up!
Did you know that only 6% of the land on Earth is covered by jungles and rainforests, but amazingly half of all species live there? That’s amazing.
There are all sorts of creatures that make this wonderful place their home!
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Jungle Facts for Kids
- Jungles are home to a vast range of animals.
- Temperatures can reach 77°F during the day.
- They get excessive rainfall during the wet season.
- Many species live in a jungle environment like Monkeys, Tigers, and Elephants.
- About 6% of the Earth’s surface is a jungle.
What is a Jungle?
It’s an overgrown place with wild tangles and webs of vegetation, and very dense forest.
There are many different jungles in the world. These include the Amazon rainforest in South America and the jungles of Borneo, which are in southeast Asia. There are also many in India and West Africa.
Is it a Jungle or a Rainforest?
Well, they are actually very similar, but rainforests have a thick canopy of tall trees that hardly let any light in, and a jungle is more bright and sunny, which makes it easier for plants to grow.
The extra light in a jungle creates a thick carpet of plants and vegetation. It’s definitely not easy to make your way around here.
They are often on the edge of rainforests, so they’re pretty close to each other.
There are just heaps of plants and animals that live in this amazing place, and you could see some awesome things if you decided to become an explorer.
They are mostly in warm places that have lots of rain, all the better for those plants to grow.
Where are Jungles Found?
They usually surround a rain forest, and they are located in many parts of the world. They are typically found near the equator as they need warm environments with hot temperatures.
There are many in Central America and South America. They are also in Africa and Asia.
The forest floor is like one big moving mat of insects that are really good at eating up anything that falls or dies. The ants alone weigh four times more than all the jungle mammals! No way! There is an average of 800 ants to every square meter.
What Type of Weather Do Jungles Have?
It can be very hot and humid. Temperatures can reach 90°F during the day, and at nighttime, they will fall to 64°F.
Because many are based near the equator, the temperature is never too cold. The hot temperature allows rainforest plants to grow, and order organisms can grow quickly because of the ideal environment.
What kind of plants are in the jungle?
With more than two-thirds of the world’s plant species growing in tropical rainforests, the variety is amazing. The plants help to provide food and shelter for rainforest animals. They are also responsible for the world’s oxygen supply.
You will find Brazil-nut trees, palm trees, Bamboo plants, Devil’s Tongue, Dragons Nest Tree, Green Wig Bush, and so many more.
It can be a very harsh environment for plants in the jungle, and many are always adapting to survive from being eaten are overtaken by other plants. Many have adopted ways to give off poisonous toxins to any animals that try to eat them.
What Kinds of Animals Live There?
You will find so many different animals living in the jungle. Many have adapted to become excellent hunters in the harsh environment.
You will find animals like jaguars, howler monkeys, tigers, and cobras, and maybe a lion or two.
There are plenty of unusual creatures also living there. A quick trip to the jungle, you could find an elephant or an orangutan, or even a Bengal tiger. Many of these wild animals are endangered species and protected by local governments and agencies.
More Fun Facts
- Some of these creatures have even turned themselves into farmers. They create little gardens made of fungi. They look after them, prune them, fertilize them with their poop, yes gross but true, and they even clean them with bacteria to keep their nice neat gardens parasite free. How cool is that?
So, we’ve got heaps of ants but then there is another mysterious animal called the tapir that lives on the jungle floor. They kind of looks like a mix between a pig and an anteater. However, these strange looking animals are the last survivors of a large family of mammals that have hardly changed over 20 million years. That’s amazing!
Tapirs were once found on every continent but there are only four species left; there are three in Central and South America and one in southeast Asia. They are perfectly adapted to life in warm, wet forests and they clearly love it. Very little is known about the tapir; how their families work, where they sleep, and even their strange birdlike whistles.
This is amazing! The world’s 54 billion domestic chickens descend from the red jungle fowl. It is a pheasant indigenous to the jungles of southeast Asia. This pheasant fowl is quite an active pheasant and very fuzzy. They think nothing of flying away to get away from predators. Their eggs are half the size of a domestic chicken’s but the shells are twice as thick.
You also get animals like chimps, jaguars, gorillas, koala bears, lemurs, leopards, monkeys, and tigers.
Where does the word ‘jungle’ come from? Well, it comes from a Sanskrit word which means ‘uncultivated land’. Pretty accurate considering how thick it is in there! Sanskrit is an ancient language from India.
Ever heard of the saying ‘The Law of the Jungle’? It actually comes from Rudyard Kipling’s book called The Jungle Book, which was published way back in 1894! It’s still going strong today.
This is pretty weird if you think about it. Lions are called ‘The King of the Jungle’ but they don’t live anywhere near the jungle. They live in areas of grassland and savannah, which is a grassy plain with few trees.
There are ropes in the Jungle and if you’ve seen Tarzan flying through the jungle, then he’s actually hanging on swing-like ropes called lianas. This is from the Latin word ‘ligare’ which means ‘to bind’. They snake their way up trees towards the light and then twist themselves around the top of the trees and bind the treetops together. They can live for hundreds of years and can be as long as 1.6km. It would be awesome to go swinging through the jungle on one of those.
They have heaps of figs and they are one of the important species. There are over 800, yes 800, varieties of them. That’s a lot of figs to choose from. They grow all year round, so they’re like a cafeteria for the animals…nice and easy food for them.
So, do you feel smart now?
We hope you enjoyed our interesting facts
