Anne Silva 
The green parrot snake combines camouflage, a powerful prehensile tail and heat-sensing labial pits to hunt high above the Amazon forest floor. Its biology shows how completely a snake can adapt to life in the canopy.
The word jacaré comes from the Tupian expression ya-karé, which can be translated as the one who looks sideways. Its origin preserves an Indigenous observation of the animal’s eyes and behavior.
River communities count pirarucu when the fish rise to breathe and use those figures to set fishing quotas. The system has helped restore populations, strengthen local monitoring and protect Amazonian lakes.
In riverside and Indigenous communities, biodigesters turn organic waste into biogas and biofertilizer. The technology cuts reliance on LPG and firewood while supporting health and local energy independence.
The samauma can reach 230 feet and turn the ground around its buttress roots into a refuge for animals, fungi, bacteria and invertebrates. Its base also links nutrient cycling, Amazonian culture and climate regulation.
In Pará, the Serra dos Carajás contains more than 1,500 caves in ironstone and evidence of human occupation dating back over 11,000 years. Its forests and rocky fields show how archaeology and biodiversity coexist above enormous iron deposits.
The legend of the pink river dolphin reflects the close relationship between river communities, Amazonian waterways and a species whose biology helped shape one of Brazil’s most enduring myths. It also shows how oral tradition can support biodiversity conservation.
The candiru is far more than a horror legend. Its transparent body, specialized senses and relationship with large fish reveal an extraordinary evolutionary strategy in Amazonian rivers.
The burrowing owl gathers and spreads mammal manure around its nest to attract beetles and other dung-feeding insects. The strategy helps feed its chicks and reveals an extraordinary adaptation to open landscapes.
Jaguars have turned Amazon rivers into a second hunting ground, using powerful bites and unusual swimming skills to catch caimans, fish and other prey.
