Army Ants

These army ants swarm through the rainforest, covering large areas of the forest floor. They clean the forest floor of dead and dying insects and larger animals, but pose no serious threat to large mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fact, a number of different birds - the "ant birds" - follow the swarms of army ants, swooping down and eating larger insects and small reptiles stirred from their hiding places by the swarm. Army ant is a name that people use for ants that move in a line killing every insect and small animal in their path. People use other names for these ants, including Driver Ants, Legionary Ants, and even Visiting Ants. Army ants live in temporary nests. They seldom make underground burrows like other ants. The temporary nests, or bivouacs, are places where the ants rest between their hunting raids. The bivouac might be inside a hollow log, or it might be out in the open.

Source: http://www.rainforesteducation.com/ants/ants1.htm

Ant Eaters
You will be very lucky if you ever see a Giant Anteater foraging in the amazon rainforest. They are very illusive and well camouflaged. The Giant Anteater lives in the jungles of South America. This amazing creature lives on the forest floor feeding on ants and termites. In the forest the tall trees make the forest floor very humid. It is also very dark on the forest floor because the trees block out the sun. The temperature in the rainforest ranges between 68f and 93f and it is always wet due to the average annual rainfall of 50" to 200" (inches). There are many predators of Giant Anteaters in the rainforest including Jaguars, Panthers, and Ocelots. The forest floor is very soft and muddy, but this helps the anteater because it walks on its knuckles. The claws on the Giant Anteater are very important tools for feeding so they walk on their knuckles to avoid damaging their claws. Anteaters also use their claws to protect themselves against predators like Jaguars and the other large cats. Their claws are also used to dig through ant and termite nests and to dig burrows to sleep in at night, so their claws are very important to them. One unique advantage the Giant Anteater has is its hearing. The anteater can hear the ants working in their nests and it follows the sound until it reaches the nest. The sense of smell is another advantage because its sense of smell is 40 times more stronger than that of a man. Giant Anteaters sense of smell is so strong they can smell ants and termites from miles away. However they have poor eyesight so without their good hearing and strong sense of smell they would probably die of starvation. Giant Anteaters eat up to 30,000 ants and termites daily. To enable them to consume so many they have an extraordinary long and sticky tongue which have been known to be as long as 2 feet. Apart from a sticky substance on the tongue the tongue has little spines on it to catch prey. They keep moving away from the nest for short periods to avoid being stung by the ants. Anteaters don't have any teeth so they consume their food by crushing it against the roof of their mouths with their strong tongues thereby making it easier to swallow. They cannot drink out of ponds or streams because of their long tongues so instead they lick water off leaves and plants. Source: http://www.iquitostimes.com/giant_anteater.htm

Jaguar
Jaguars can run quickly, but they hide and wait for their food to stroll by instead of chasing it like cheetahs and lions do. Their large jaw muscles allow them to kill their prey by piercing the skull with their sharp teeth. As people move into jaguar habitat, these cats have started feeding on livestock Logging, mining, and farming also leave less food and habitat for jaguars, causing them to become endangered. Jaguars love the water and love to swim!!

The spots on their coats are called Rosettes.

Food they eat: Turtles, fish, peccaries, deer, tapirs, cattle, capybaras, and caimans Size: Up to 6 feet long Babies: Cubs are born with eyes and ears closed. Source: http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/mammals/jaguar

The Tapir
Brazilian tapirs live near water and are capable swimmers and divers. In fact, they sometimes run to the water to escape predators. Splayed toes, four on each front foot and three on each hind foot, help the tapir successfully navigate through soggy ground. A long, snout helps tapirs grasp leaves, shoots, buds, fruit, and small branches to eat. They generally feed only at night, hiding in the cool forest during the day. Baby tapirs have brown fur with white stripes to help them blend into the rain forest floor. The white stripes fade as the calves mature.

Source: http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/brazilian-tapir/