Fauna of South America

A wide range of animals, both ordinary and exotic, inhabit the continent of South America. The types of animals found in any geographical area are determined by the climate and the terrain. In the Andes, animals such as the llama have adapted to the terrain and climate of the high, steep mountains. North of Antarctica, in the archipelago known as Tierra del Fuego, there are many penguins, whose layers of feathers help them to survive the frigid sea waters in that area.

Camelids of the Andes

Four members of the camel family live in the Andes Mountains of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile: alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos, and llamas. These camelids all have commercial value in the Andes as pack animals and for their meat and fur. Many people of the Andes also raise sheep on the mountains for both wool and meat.

More than four thousand years ago, alpacas, which are raised for meat and for their fine cashmere fur, were reserved for the exclusive use of the Incas, who prized their coats. Alpacas live from fifteen to twenty years, though some have lived twenty-eight years. Their fleece quality begins to decline at age eight or ten. As the smallest domesticated camelids, adult alpacas are between 100 and 200 pounds (45 and 90 kilograms) and 32 to 40 inches (0.8 to 1.1 meters) tall at the shoulder. In 1999, there were approximately three million alpacas in South America, mostly in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, and by the 2020s, Peru was home to 4 million alpacas, or 70 percent of the world's alpaca population, primarily living in the Andes Mountians' Alto Plano plains.

Closely related to the alpaca is the llama, domesticated as a work animal in the Peruvian mountains more than three thousand years ago. Llamas, used primarily in Peru and Bolivia, have historically been the beasts of burden in the Andes Mountains. A single animal can carry about two hundred pounds (ninety kilograms) for twelve hours a day. However, they cannot be ridden, and when they tire, they often simply lie down and refuse to move. They even spit at their drivers when they no longer want to work. Reaching heights of nearly 4.5 feet (1.5 meters), llamas are larger than alpacas. A llama’s fur is usually white with black and brown, but some are pure white, and others are pure black, gray, red, or beige. Although llamas are used for work, they are also social animals that prefer to live in groups. Some are kept as pets in homes in South America, and some have been trained as service animals. Llamas usually live for twenty to thirty years.

Vicuña fur has historical importance in South America. The Incas used it to make cloth, and only members of Inca royalty could wear clothing made from this cloth. Anyone else found with such clothing was executed. By 1979, only four thousand vicuñas were left in South America. They had been hunted and killed for their fleeces by poachers. Representatives of the governments of Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru signed a treaty for the protection of the vicuña. Twenty years later, there had been a resurgence of vicuñas in Peru, Chile, and Argentina: in 1999, there were 103,000 in Peru, 30,000 in Argentina, 16,000 in Chile, and a small, transplanted herd in Ecuador. Even though el chacu, the communal hunting of vicuña, continued after 1979, laws limited these hunts to local people. Those local hunters sold the fiber from the animals as an important source of income for their families. In the early twenty-first century, the vicuña population completely recovered but remained protected by federal laws. Some illegal poaching continued to occur because of the high cost of the animal’s fur, but the vicuña’s tendency to live at high altitudes, away from human populations, provided protection. Only companies with permission were permitted to harvest their fur and produce clothing.

Vicuñas weigh 88 to 120 pounds (40 to 55 kilograms) and 2.8 to 3.2 feet (86 to 96 centimeters) in height at the shoulder. They have long necks, slender legs, padded cloven feet, large round eyes, and a fine, dense, tawny coat. Aside from their economic value, the vicuña is valuable for scientific study. They are highly communicative animals, signaling each other with body postures and ear and tail positions. They emit soft humming sounds as symbols of bonding and greeting.

The fourth member of the camel family found in South America is the guanaco. The guanaco is more adaptable than the other three camelids. It is found throughout the Andes, in the dry Atacama Desert of Chile, and in Tierra del Fuego, where it rains year-round. This animal, from which the llama was domesticated, began life in the semiarid desert and developed physiological mechanisms for coping with heat and dehydration. They often inhabit areas with little cover from predators, but they are fast, running up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour. They are similar in structure to the other camelids but are the largest members of the camel family living in South America. Guanacos are around 3 to 4.2 feet (90 to 130 centimeters) tall at the shoulder and weigh 100 to 300 pounds (90 to 140 kilograms).

Other Andean Mammals

Throughout the Andes, from Argentina to Colombia and on into Central America, pumas roam. This reddish-brown feline can reach lengths of about 6.5 feet (2 meters), not including its long tail. In some areas of South America, the puma was once considered endangered. This was the result of habitat loss and depleted food sources due to poaching and other human activities. By the mid-2020s, puma populations were highly location-dependent. In Uruguay, they have been rarely spotted, and in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru, they are near threatened. It is a carnivore whose natural prey are elk, deer, and small wild animals; however, it also eats sheep and cattle. Thus, ranchers have retaliated by killing the predators. However, they are a keystone species of many ecosystems in South America, and preserving their existence is important. Another member of the cat family is the elusive Andean mountain cat. Rarely sighted by humans, it is the least-known New World cat. The Andean wild cat is considered sacred by the people of the altiplano of Bolivia, the Aymara.

In the forests of the Andes lives the spectacled bear. Its range extends as far north as Ecuador. This bear, which is endangered because of overhunting and destruction of its environment, has a shaggy brown coat with yellow facial markings and a cream-colored muzzle, throat, and chest.

Several rodents are native to the Andes. Chinchillas were found living in crevices in the mountains when early Spanish explorers first arrived. Living off berries and fruits in Peru, Chile, and Argentina, these rodents belonged to Inca royalty, who used their fur to make chinchilla stoles. In the latter part of the twentieth century, they were nearly extinct in the wild but existed in captivity. In the mid-2020s, chinchillas remained on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as a critically endangered species. Related to the chinchilla is the viscacha, which is prey for such animals as the Andean mountain cat. Mountain viscachas have long, rabbitlike ears, and long, squirrel-like tails. East of the mountains lives the plains viscacha, which has shorter ears and a blunter head. The cavy, the South American guinea pig, lives in the crevices of the Andes.

Andean Birds

Various exotic birds also live in the Andes, many of which also are found in the Amazon Basin to the east. Among these birds are the Andean cock-of-the-rock, the scarlet macaw, the quetzal, the Andean condor, and the James flamingo. The cock-of-the-rock is a huge dancing bird found in the mountain forests. The scarlet macaw, a brilliantly plumed member of the parrot family, lives in tropical forests and near rivers. The quetzal had religious significance to the early Andeans; even in the twenty-first century, it was regarded as a symbol of the Andes Mountains. The Andean condor is found in the high plains area of Bolivia and Chile. With a wingspan of twelve feet (four meters), it is the largest flying bird in the world. It can soar to 26,000 feet (7,925 meters) above sea level.

In the southern Andes lives Darwin's rhea, also called the nandú, a flightless bird related to the ostrich, which is often called the South American ostrich. The three-toed rhea is much smaller than the two-toed ostrich. Rheas live in flocks of twenty to thirty in Brazil’s southern plains and in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Animals of the Amazon Basin

Representatives of almost one-fourth of all known varieties of animals live in South America, mostly in the Amazon Basin. The basin includes the rainforests, plateaus, rivers, and swamps southeast of the Andes Mountains.

The tapir, found in the Andes and in the forests east of the Andes, is South America’s largest native land mammal. With its short, hairy body, it resembles a pig but is actually related to the horse and the rhinoceros. It is known for its prehensile nose which it can use as a snorkle or to pick things up. The number of tapirs in South America lessened over the twentieth century because they were hunted for their flesh and their thick hides, and because the cutting of forest has reduced the land available for their habitat. Around 2,500 adult Malayan tapirs remain in the wild, along with 2,500 Andean tapirs and 4,500 Baird's tapirs.

The tapir’s natural enemy, the jaguar, is found in the eastern Andes and in the forests east of the high mountains. This feline, which was worshiped by pre-Columbian civilizations as a god, lives in the area between the southern United States and northern Argentina and is especially prevalent in Brazil. Strong swimmers, jaguars like to live near rivers and other streams. At the end of the twentieth century, they were on the list of threatened animals in South America because farmers were farming lands that were previously their natural habitat. Also, farmers, claiming that the cats killed their cattle and sheep, were killing the jaguars. The IUCN list identified jaguars as near threatened beginning in the early 2000s.

Several types of foxes are indigenous to the Amazon Basin and roam through lower mountain areas to the east and the west of the Amazon. Among them are the gray fox and the crab-eating zorro. The gray fox roams over the plains, the Pampas, the desert, and the low mountains. In the 1950s, its population was decreasing because farmers were cultivating lands that previously were its habitat. It was heavily hunted for its skin in Argentina and eventually placed on the endangered species list. However, by the 1990s, the gray fox population improved and was listed as vulnerable. By the 2000s, it had become an animal of least concern, with an ample population. In Chile, it is protected by law, but enforcement of the law has been lax. The crab-eating zorro is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, eastern Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and northern Argentina. An omnivore, it eats crabs, insects, rodents, fruit, reptiles, and birds.

Also living within the Amazon Basin are the giant anteater, the sloth, and the peba. The giant anteater has value to the environment and to farmers because it consumes up to thirty thousand insects per day. The peba, a nine-banded armadillo found widely throughout South America, also contributes to agriculture by consuming insects and worms. This nocturnal animal is protected from its predators by a horn and bony plates covering its body. The sloth is the world’s slowest-moving large mammal.

Within the Amazon Basin lives one of the world’s most interesting rodents, the huge capybara. It generally is as large as a big dog but can reach 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length and can weigh as much as one hundred pounds (forty-five kilograms). Humans have little to fear from the amphibious capybara, however, since it is a vegetarian.

The coatimundi inhabits areas from Arizona to northern Argentina. A member of the raccoon family, it is brown or rust-colored. It eats snails, fish, berries, insects, spiders, lizards, birds, eggs, and mice and is often kept as a pet by South Americans.

The rainforest is also inhabited by many bats, squirrels, and parrots, which eat the fruits and nuts of the upper and lower canopies. In the lower canopy live lemurs, flying squirrels, and marmosets, small monkeys found mostly in eastern Brazil. These animals use their sweat glands for communication. Animals of the lower canopy eat fruits, nuts, and insects. Within the rainforests also live vampire bats. These fascinating animals must have two tablespoons of blood per day to survive.

Other residents of the Amazon Basin include the yapok, a member of the opossum family that has webbed feet for swamp travel; the sapajou monkey, a small New World primate; and the octodont, an eight-toothed rodent, also known as a spiny rat or a spiny hedgehog because of the sharp spines embedded in its fur.

Birds and Reptiles of the Amazon

Many types of birds live in the Amazon Basin, some deep within the rainforest, others closer to the mountains. Among the birds in the basin are hummingbirds, parrots, ospreys, macaws, boat-billed herons, great egrets, white-necked herons, least bitterns, and blue and yellow macaws. Toucans, which also live at high elevations up to 10,000 feet (3,050 meters), can be found deep within the Amazon rainforest.

Both the land iguana and the lava lizard live in the Amazon Basin. Land iguanas can live up to twenty-five years and weigh up to 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms). They eat low-growing plants, shrubs, fallen fruits, and cactus tree pads. The lava lizard, about 1 foot (30.5 centimeters) long, is smaller than the land iguana. Lava lizards are beneficial to agriculture because they eat beetles, spiders, and ants.

The boa constrictor also lives in the jungles of this basin. This snake, which is usually six to nine feet (two to three meters) in length, but can reach thirteen feet (four meters), kills its prey by squeezing it to death, using its body coils to suffocate its victims. After killing its meal, the boa constrictor stretches its jaws wide apart and pulls the entire victim into its mouth. Using this method of killing, a boa can eat animals that are much larger than its head.

Another large snake native to the Amazon Basin is the anaconda. Most anacondas weigh several hundred pounds (100 kilograms) but can reach weights of 550 pounds (250 kilograms) and can reach thirty-six feet (eleven meters) in length. The anaconda is found in the Guyanas and throughout tropical South America, east of the Andes. With eyes high on its head, the anaconda can submerge its body in water and watch for the approach of unsuspecting prey.

River Animals

Many animals spend all or part of their lives within the Amazon. The black caiman, an alligator that was nearly extinct in the 1970s, is one such animal. It can weigh as much as a ton. It will eat all vertebrates, including humans, if that is the only food available. By the 2000s, the leather trade, which depleted their population, ceased in popularity, and the black caiman regained its appropriate population.

The semiaquatic brown water lizard also is found in the jungle area around the Amazon. Within the Amazon are manatees, as well as Boto River dolphins, also known as an Amazon River dolphin. This endangered animal is the only dolphin to have a neck. Giant otters live in the waters of the Amazon, as do many types of fish, including piranhas, which, with their sharp teeth, can quickly strip the flesh from their prey.

Animals of the Eastern Highlands

The Eastern Highlands of South America host many unique animals, including the bush dog, woolly tree porcupine, maned wolf, peccary, bushmaster, coypu rat, and many birds, such as flamingos.

The bush dog is a wild dog, but, with its webbed feet, it resembles an otter more than a dog. Bush dogs live in packs and hunt small deer and rodents. Bush dogs can be found from the rainforests into the grasslands, in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas, Brazil, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, eastern Bolivia, and eastern Peru.

The maned wolf is one of South America’s most beautiful and revered animals. Weighing on average one hundred pounds (forty-five kilograms), it is South America’s largest canid. It is found mostly in Argentina and Brazil and has no natural enemies. An omnivore, it will eat nearly anything, including fruits, insects, and small vertebrates. At the end of the twentieth century, the Smithsonian Institution estimated that fewer than ten thousand maned wolves existed in the wild, living mostly in Argentina and Brazil. However, conservation efforts were successful, and by the early 2020s, approximately 20,000 lived in Brazil, and 5,000 lived outside of Brazil. Because of its beautiful red and gold fur, the maned wolf is a tourist attraction. Many South Americans regard it as an important part of their cultural heritage. The rural people of the Serra de Canastra of Brazil believe that the maned wolf has medicinal and supernatural powers.

The peccary and the bushmaster are also found in the Eastern Highlands. The peccary resembles the tapir but is much smaller. It has a big head, sharp teeth, and prickly fur. It eats smaller animals and plants, such as cactus flowers. The bushmaster, the largest poisonous snake in the Americas, is a type of pit viper related to the rattlesnake. Like the rattlesnake, it shakes its tail before striking, but it has no rattles. Gray and brown with a diamond pattern, it averages 8 to 12 feet (2.5 to 5.5 meters) in length.

The coypu rat is also known as a swamp beaver. This relative of the muskrat is found in southern Brazil, Bolivia, and Colombia. The agouti, a rodent nearly two feet (sixty centimeters) long, also lives in the Eastern Highlands. Farmers detest the agouti because it eats sugar and banana plants. A cousin of the jaguar, the ocelot, also makes its home in this area. This slender cat is camouflaged in the forests and deserts of the highlands.

Birds in the Eastern Highlands include the James flamingo, which lives on Bolivia’s frigid salt lakes, and the giant antshrike, which is more than a foot (30 centimeters) in length.

Animals of Tierra del Fuego

In the islands that make up Tierra del Fuego, many unusual animals are found, including penguins and many other types of birds. Penguins cannot fly but use their wings to swim in the icy waters near their home. Penguins are insulated from the frigid ocean waters by three layers of short feathers and an underlying layer of fat. Other birds common to Tierra del Fuego are Magellanic cormorants, imperial cormorants, albatrosses, and various petrels. Sea lions also live on these islands. Other animals include guanacos, South America's largest camelid, and Geoffroy's cat, the continent's smallest wild cat.

Principal Terms

Grazer: An animal that eats grass; some are wild, but many grazers have also been domesticated

Herbivore: An animal that only eats plants

Nocturnal: Active at night and dormant or asleep during the day

Predator: An animal that obtains food by hunting other animals

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