Rainforest Rescue:
An Amazon Adventure

Interesting Facts and Activities

I always like to see the place I am reading about on a map. This map shows South America with the Amazon River Basin highlighted.  You can see both the city of Manaus and the Rio Negro (Black River) which are mentioned numerous times in Rainforest Rescue.

Amazonian Giant Centipede

Josie is only at her dad’s research station for a little while when she comes in contact with this very large centipede.

The Amazonian giant centipede (scolopendra gigantea) can grow to a length of 12 inches.

Candiru or Toothpick Fish

When Reji invites Josie into the river for a swim, he tells her not to pee in the water because there is a nasty little fish that is attracted to pee. It might seem like he is making this up, but he isn’t.

The fish is called Candiru or Toothpick Fish and only lives in the Amazon River basin of Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia, and Peru. You can read more about it here.

Pink River Dolphin or Boto

Josie sees pink river dolphins a number of time while she is in the rain forest. They are friendly around humans and the Amazon tribes tell stories of the dolphins helping humans by pushing them to shore.

Watch a short video about the pink river dolphin by National Geographic

Click on the moving objects below for more Amazon Facts and Fun!