Discover the animals living in the four layers of the forest

The forest floor is the lowest layer of the forest. This is often the darkest and most humid layer of a forest, and it receives the least amount of sunlight. The forest floor contains leaves, twigs, branches, seeds, and fruits that fall from trees. Helped along by bacteria and fungi, these materials decompose, making the forest floor quite rich in nutrients and creating healthy soil.

Large terrestrial animals are most often found on the forest floor, as they are too large to live in trees. In the forests of Central and West Africa, you may find critically endangered African forest elephants roaming the forest floor. As they do so, they help unearth underground water sources, bring food sources closer to the ground, and clear vegetation, allowing smaller plants to access sunlight.

In the forests of eastern Russia and northern China, you may find Amur leopards. Though they sometimes rest in trees, they tend to roam around on the forest floor. Using the cover of vegetation and darkness, they stalk and catch smaller animals as their prey.

An inhabitant of the forest floor in South America is the giant anteater. These animals have long, sticky tongues and tube-shaped snouts that allow them to dig for insects in the ground. Their unique feeding behaviours not only help control ant and termite populations but also aerate the soil and promote nutrient cycling on the forest floor.

Though they can also climb trees, gorillas primarily live on the forest floor as well. They feed on fruit, stems, roots, vines, herbs, tree bark, and grasses-anything they can reach. As they inhabit the Congo rainforest, gorillas often have to seek shelter from the rain. They may simply sit still on the ground underneath trees, or they will find a cave.

Many smaller animals spend time on the forest floor, too, including rodents, frogs, rabbits, and ground-dwelling birds.

Understory