Our oldest human ancestors probably lived in rainforests, and we still depend on them for many foods, medicines, woods, fibers, and saps. Thousands of kinds of trees, all different sizes, grow in the rainforest. Flowers, ferns vines, lichens, liverworts, mosses and algae grow there too. Rainforest soil is usually deep but not fertile. The fertility of the soil has been used up by rainforest plants.
Rainforests are homes for more animals, birds and insects than any other places on Earth.
For example, jaguars, pumas, jaguarundis, margays, ocelots, tapirs, peccaries, monkeys, crocodiles, coral snakes, hawksbill turtles, hicatees, ants, red-eyed tree frogs, iguanas, toucans, jabiru storks, macaws, blue morpho and monarch butterflies, and pacas live in rainforests. Each of these creatures has its own special place to live among the forest trees. Rainforests are crisscrossed by streams and rivers. Some rainforests grow near coastal seawaters. These watery places are homes for crocodiles, turtles, manatees, dolphins, and many kinds of fish.