Tropical rain forests exist in various parts of the world including the Amazon River Basin in South America. They also make up large areas of Indonesia, India, Australia, Madagascar and the Congo Basin. Tropical rain forests consist of many types, including evergreen wet forests, deciduous forests and mixed lowland rain forests. Lowland rain forests offer the most biological diversity while also being the most endangered.
Much of the destruction of the tropical rain forest occurs when logging and clearance for farms and villages takes place. Some wildlife and birds also face threats from hunting, whether for the food source they provide or for their fur and other parts. Other species face extinction because poachers gather them to sell to commercial markets.
More than 25,000 types of orchids grow in rain forests with many of them threatened, endangered and extinct. Poachers steal orchids to sell to orchid nurseries and growers, which accounts for some of the problem. Another endangered plant, the rare rafflesia flower, offers one of the largest blooms of any flower. The parasitic flower consists of a stinky, fleshy bloom that relies on one other plant, the tetrastigma, for survival. Many more plants face problems thanks to clear cutting and logging, also known as deforestation.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are 25 primates that make up the most endangered creatures of the tropical rain forest. The golden-headed langur numbers linger at only 60 or 70, as of 2010. These langurs are hunted for their bones, organs and tissues. Another endangered animal is the Western gorilla, which is now on the critically endangered list. Gorillas live in the rain forests of West Central Africa. Not only is the gorilla's habitat disappearing, but those that remain face the threat of hunting by people who use the meat as a food source.
A variety of birds, such as the Puerto Rican parrot, remain on the endangered species list. The Puerto Rican parrot, a beautiful green bird with blue wings, once thrived in the tropical forests of Puerto Rico and several nearby islands. Hunting and forest destruction has caused the birds to virtually disappear with only a few remaining in the wild today. Destruction of the forest also contributes to the problems migrating birds face when returning to their wintering grounds, only to find less habitat and resources each time.
Several national parks recently set aside to protect animals and plants of the rain forest include the Madidi National Park and Tambopata National Park located on the borders of Peru and Bolivia. A number of organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund and the Tropical Rainforest Coalition, play a role in helping people become aware of the destruction of the tropical rain forests.
