The rainforest canopy has one of the highest biodiversities in the world. Insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals share this living space with an unbelievable number of plants, in their battle for the light constantly striving for the highest heights. Yet one must look very closely to discover any of its wildlife.

Slowly the caterpillar of the Shag Carpet Moth crawls on a blade of grass to its hiding place. Even if its bright colors and striking form and its poison- soaked hair prevents attacks by their predators, its best defensive strategy still remains hiding under leaves and trees.

Thundering water pours out over the cliffs of the Iguazú, which has been steadily digging in the floor of the rainforest for millions of years. The forces that have shaped this landscape are still going strong. Every year the falls move 3mm upstream. In another million years there will be only a wide valley that the Iguazu flows through.

The Red Macaw with its rainbow coloured plumage is probably one of the most colourful inhabitants of the canopy in the South and Middle American rainforest. This sociable parrot lives with groups of almost 20 animals, leaving their groups only for the duration of brood breeding. Macaws are monogamous and remain together for a lifetime.

Surrounded by a thousand tons of green vegetation and accompanied by the murmur of the rainforest, a stream winds through the Mulu National Park in North Borneo. But with the monsoon season setting in the gentle rippling of a stream forms a thundering boom of a raging river and bulks of water wash away all the path and everything else that stands in its way.

With the first light of day the Iguana climbs to the top of the tree canopy. The morning sun shines on the skin of the reptile, warming it up from the coldness of the night. With temperatures increasing, the archaic-looking dragon embarks on a quest for food: leaves, flowers and fruits.

A seemingly impenetrable green wall grows there, where a giant tree has fallen and knocked a clearing in the forest. Grasses and ferns have already covered the ground and the remains of the giant fallen tree. The shoots of young trees and vines grow in their race for the most light from the sky. Contrary to this, soon the emerging plants in the clearing will be covered with the risen thicket again.

Towards the morning a group of Silver Lutungs move along the deep thicket at the edge of the rainforest. Here´s where the vegetation is less dense and the trees bare tasty leaves and fruits, the group will remain there and eat until around noon. Later, the heat of the sun will drive them back into the cooling shade of the rainforest.

Over the entire history of the earth, there were ferns in the rainforest.  Especially the way they propagate shows how much they differ from other higher growing plants: In dry weather, ferns clench their spores rip the capsule on the underside of leaves, and hurl them out. A Protonema, in which male and female organs are formed and the sperm fertilizes the eggs of the female which forms the actual fern.

Just two centimeters long is the Strawberry Poison Dart Frog. Unlike other species of frogs, the males and the females care for their brood together. The female lays the eggs inside a Bromeliad where the male fertilizes the eggs and it ensures they do not dry out. Once the offspring has reached the larval stage, the female carries the tadpoles on their backs to suitable waters where they can fully develop.

The 510 square kilometer area of the Ankasa National Park is located in Southwest Ghana. Its flora and fauna provides a unique spectrum of the West African rainforest. There are about 600 different species of butterflies, but the jungle elephant can also be seen here. The most spectacular representation of flora is the Ankasa Bamboo Cathedral which is roughly 20 meters high and has a 1500 square meter natural Hall. Its roofing is formed by the dense vegetation of bamboo.

Few would think that crabs are inhabitants in a rainforest. But near the coast of the rainforest you will frequently find the Red Land Crab as an inhabitant. They spend their days underground for protection, but after nightfall they search the undergrowth for food. Only the female goes back to the sea for the egg-laying process.

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