Sumatran Orangutan: Fact File

This fact file is about the Sumatran Orangutan, a beautiful animal we need to save. Here are some facts for the monkey lovers:

1. They are endemic to the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

2. They are ranked as "Critically Endangered" by the IUCN.

3. They can live for over 50 years.

4. Males are roughly 1.4 metres tall; about the size of me. Females are far smaller, at around 90 centimetres.

5. They have a more varied diet than most jungle animals, eating nectar, honey, nuts, insects, fungi, rats. birds, eggs and more.

6. They're Latin name is "Pongo abelii".

Gaboon Viper: Fact File

This fact file is about the Gaboon viper, one of the most incredible snakes alive. If you are a snake fan, you might want to read this:

1. They're Latin name is "Bitis gabonica".

2. They live in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa.

3. They are also known as the butterfly adder, forest puff adder and swampjack.

4. They have the longest fangs of any snake.

5. They eat rodents, birds, monkeys, porcupines and the occasional royal antelope.

6. They have the highest venom yield of any snake.

Proboscis Monkey: Fact File

This fact file is about one of the oddest looking primates I've ever seen, the Proboscis Monkey. Here are some facts about it:

1. They're Latin name is "Nasalis larvatus".

2. They are classified as "Endangered" by the IUCN. Do as much as you can to prevent it from going extinct.

3. They are endemic to the island of Borneo.

4. They have interesting, if a little bizarre, ways of communicating. Males use honks when communicating the status of group and they have a special honk for their babies, sometimes used for reassurance.

5. The proboscis monkey only eats fruit that isn't ripe. Ripe fruit has sugars that ferment in their stomachs which makes them bloated and kills them.

6. Proboscis monkeys also eat seeds, leaves and occasionally insects.

Australian Rainforests: Fact File

Australia's rainforests are famous for dangerous animals, such as the cassowary, and it is a beautiful landscape. Here are some facts about it.

1. 80% of the flowers there can not be found anywhere else.

2. It is home to the platypus, commonly known as the oddest animal alive.

3. It once covered the entire Australian continent.

4. The mean average rainfall in Australia's tropical rainforests varies between 1.2 metres and 3 metres per annum.

5. 60% of that rain falls from December to March, the summer months over there.

1000 Views

On Sunday 8th September, Help Our Rainforests reached it's target by getting 1000 views from the public. Thank you very much.

Sumatra Rainforests: Fact File

Sumatra is home to many weird and wonderful wildlife. Here are some cool facts about it:

1. It is the only home of the Sumatran Orangutan.

2. The island is home to 201 mammal species and 580 bird species.

3. Illegal logging leads to many Critically Endangered animals.

4. The Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is home to many animals endemic to Sumatra. It is also a World Heritage Site.

5. The highest volcano in Indonesia is Mount Kerinci, Sumatra. It is home to many a beautiful animal and is surrounded by the green forests of Kerinci Seblat National Park.

A Few Fun Rainforest Facts

1. About 20% of the world's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest.

2. The Amazon is also known as "Amazonia"

3. Borneo is home to the clouded leopard.

4. The Amazon was formed around 55 million years ago.

5. The closest town to the Amazon is Manaus, Brazil.

6. The Congo is the only home to the okapi, a very rare giraffe-typed animal.

7. Rainforests used to cover 14% of the world's surface, but due to deforestation know it is only 6%.











An okapi.

History of Rainforests Part #001

Long, long, long ago there weren't 7 continents like now. Instead there were 2 super continents named Pangaea and Gondwana. Before, much of Antarctica, South America, India, Africa and Australia was absolutely covered with rainforests. It is the biggest rainforest the world has ever known.

Saint Lucia Parrot: Fact File

The Saint Lucia Parrot is a rare bird that only lives in Saint Lucia. Here are some facts:

1. It is ranked as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List.

2. It is also known as the Saint Lucia Amazon.

3. It's Latin name is "Amazona versicolor"

4. Unsurprisingly, it is the national bird of St Lucia.

5. The story of how it was saved from the brink of extinction is told in Chapter 7 of the book "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard" by Chip and Dan Heath.

St Lucian Rainforests: Fact File

So far, Help Our Rainforests has only posted about big rainforests. Here is some information about a smaller rainforest in St Lucia in the Caribbean:

1. St Lucia's local brand of beer is named after the Pitons, two mountains in the St Lucian rainforest.

2. It is 19,000 acres big.

3. It is home to the national bird of St Lucia, the Saint Lucia Amazon.

4. It is almost 1,800m above sea level.

5. Sulphur Springs, a dormant volcano in St Lucia, is the world's only drive in volcano

Mount Kinabalu: Fact File

Trees don't just grow on flat land. They also grow on hills and mountains like Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Here are some fun facts.

1. It is 4,095 m (13,435 ft) high.

2. It is home to annelids, including the Kinabalu giant red leech.

3. The mountain and it's surroundings are among the most important sights in biology, with in between 5000 and 6000 plant species, 326 known birds and over 100 mammals identified on the mountain.

4. It is protected as Kinabalu National Park, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

5. It is actually an extinct volcano.

Orangutans of Borneo: Fact File

One of the most endangered species of primate is the Bornean orangutan. Here are some facts on Ollie's favourite monkey:

1. It is ranked as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List.

2. Bornean orangutans are not fussy eaters. There diet is comprised of over 400 types of food, including figs, leaves and bird eggs.

3. It's main threats are deforestation, palm oil plantations and hunting.

4. There are only around 54,500 individuals left in the wild in Borneo.

5. They share about 97% of their DNA with humans.

The Borneo Rainforest: Fact File

The Borneo rainforest is the oldest rainforest on Earth. Here are 5 fun facts about it:

1. It is 130 million years old, making it the world's oldest rainforest.

2. It is very famous for it's orangutans.

3. The rainforest of Borneo is owned by three countries. Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.

4. There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees, 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo.

5. There are about 440 species of freshwater fish in Borneo - roughly the same as Sumatra and Java combined.

Reasons to keep the Congo

The Congo is the second largest rainforest in the world. Here are 5 reasons to keep it from turning into logs and sofas.

1. Around 70% of the Congo's population depend on what the Congo rainforests provide.

2. It is home to many animals that only live there and some that don't

3. It is one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. It will only take a year or so's worth of deforestation to completely wipe it out.

4. National parks like Virunga National Park are being destroyed, even staff getting murdered.

5. Deforestation will lead to climate change, meaning the weather changes. It might not sound like much, but can be catastrophic for people and animals alike.

Chimpanzees of the Congo: Fact File

 The chimpanzees of the Congo rainforests are very special. Here are 5 fun facts about them.

1. They are very good toolmakers! This trait is found in no other type of chimp.

2. Both types of chimp live in the Congo.

3. One species is called the bonobo, which is only found in the Congo's rainforests.

4. Bonobos are omnivores, but they are in favour of leaves, fruit, meat from small vertebrates like anomalures, flying squirrels and duikers. Sometimes but rarely they eat other bonobos.

5. Common chimpanzees eat mainly fruit, but will also snack on leaves, leaf buds, seeds, blossoms, stems, pith, bark and resin. There are other plants it eats but its favourite meat is that of the western red colobus monkey's.

2 bonobos at the Cincinnati Zoo

Congo Rainforest: Fact File

1. The Congo Rainforest is the second largest rainforest on Earth.

2. It crosses 5 countries in Central Africa (Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Central African Republic)

3. Some of the primate species found in the Congo are found nowhere else in the world.

4. Despite a ban for over 10 years, the Congolese officials continue to hand out over 15 million hectares in new logging permits - the size of England

5. Logging affects around 70% of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's population.

Amazon Rainforest: 5 Interesting Facts

1. The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world.

2. It covers most of the Amazon Basin, and encompasses a jaw-dropping 1.7 billion acres.

3. The Amazon is an amazing 2,123,562 square miles big.

4. Approximately 438,000 species of plants are found in this jungle.

5. Deforestation of the Amazon has fortunately decreased dramatically since 2004.

Reasons we chop down the Amazon

1. They do it for money, so they can buy stuff.

2. For resources, such as wood and paper.

3. The main reason is to make way for cows and cattle ranches to move in so people can harvest resources like beef and burgers.

4. People need to make mines, roads, houses and many other things. But they need the space that the trees are taking up.

5. People want to create electricity from the water in the Amazon River, but the trees are in the way.

Reasons to keep the Amazon

The Amazon Rainforest is a massive area in South America where lots of wildlife and trees live. Here are reasons to save it.

1. Trees provide us with oxygen and takes carbon dioxide out of the air (It's not good if we have to much
CO2 in the air)

2. Over a quarter of the modern medicines we have are made from trees. If we cut them down they won't be any.

3. Trees keep soil in place so without trees, soil would be scarce.

4. They also give animals places to live. Without trees, those animals would die out.

5. The Amazon holds most of the world's water. Without the trees, we would have a lot, LOT less water.


The world's biggest rainforest and second biggest river needs your help.

Welcome to Help Our Rainforests

Hello and welcome to Help Our Rainforests! The blog where we try to save our beloved rainforests through learning.