The Graham Amazon Gallery invites visitors to experience and discover the extraordinary diversity and interdependence of aquatic and terrestrial life in the Amazon as they walk through a re-creation of South America s tropical rainforest. The Amazon is the most species-rich area of the world. There are ten times as many freshwater fishes in the Amazon than in all of Canada. More than 1,800 species of fishes are known to inhabit the Amazon.
Scientists estimate that twice that number remain undiscovered.
The Amazon is also home to 50,000 species of higher plants, and one fifth of the world s bird species. Many of the animals and plants in the Amazon are in danger of becoming extinct. The rainforest is being logged and an ever-increasing rate, and we are losing species before we can identify them. Many of these plants and animals are likely of medicinal value. After very few harvests the soils become nutrient deficient and farmers are forced to move to new locations.